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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Mexican cartel dismembers body, stitches victim's face on soccer ball |
| 2010-01-10 |
| The body of Hugo Hernandez, 36, was left on the streets of Los Mochis in seven pieces as a chilling threat to members of the Juarez drug cartel. A note read: "Happy New Year, because this will be your last." To drive home the point, the assailants skinned Hernandez's face and stitched it onto a soccer ball. The find, confirmed Friday by Sinaloa state prosecutors, represents a new level of brutality in Mexico's drug war, in which torture and beheadings are almost daily occurrences. Hernandez was taken to Sinaloa after being kidnapped Jan. 2 in neighboring Sonora state, said Martin Robles, a spokesman for Sinaloa prosecutors. The motive for his abduction was unclear. His torso was found in a plastic container in one location; elsewhere another box contained his arms, legs and skull, Robles said. The ball was left near City Hall. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #10 Funny, my four year-old son keeps referring to "faceball." Little did I know the game really exists. |
| Posted by: lex 2010-01-10 23:24 |
| #9 Yep, football-mindless viölence, meet each other, enjoy. |
| Posted by: Rhodesiafever 2010-01-10 20:05 |
| #8 Frank, Steve, Go to your rooms. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-01-10 14:04 |
| #7 I thought hockey was the only game with a face-off. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-01-10 12:32 |
| #6 Its about 8:30 AM on Sunday morning and I'm reading a technical discussion about sewing a human face to a soccer ball. Life is simply amazing sometimes. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-01-10 11:31 |
| #5 I've never understood the nuances of soccer. Does this warrant a red card? |
| Posted by: AlanC 2010-01-10 10:40 |
| #4 You have to give them a technical award for this, however, if you consider the degree of difficulty involved in stitching a face to a soccer ball. Ordinary glue would have been sufficient, but stitching to a ball isn't easy. To start with, a soccer ball shell is made from a geometric shape called a truncated icosahedron: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Truncated_icosahedron_flat.png Because a human face is curved, to do the job properly, you have to start stitching when the pattern is flat, then continue while the pattern itself is being shaped into a ball. The finally, just before the shell is folded, the balloon ball has to be inserted. So the police should start looking at any nearby soccer ball factories. Only they would have the industrial strength sewing machines that could stitch through the tough leather. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-01-10 09:20 |
| #3 |
| Posted by: tipper 2010-01-10 08:39 |
| #2 /dammit |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-01-10 07:28 |
| #1 that puts a human face of the drug violence *runs* |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-01-10 07:28 |