3 men arrested in connection with killing of 7-month-old baby, family in Mexico drug gang shootout

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Mexican authorities have arrested three men in connection with the killing of a 7-month-old boy and his family during a drug-fueled shootout at a convenience store in January.

A graphic photo of Marcos Miguel Pano Colón lying dead in the arms of his 24-year-old father Juan Alberto Pano Ramos outside of the store in Pinotepa Nacional in Oaxaca state fueled online outrage over the country's gang violence.

The photo shows the child lying face down in a white onesie stained with blood next to Ramos.

Alba Isabel Colón, the boy's 17-year-old mother, was also killed in the shootout.

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The Oaxaca state attorney general's office announced the arrests of Juan Antonio Lopez Lopez, Arturo Arzate Gilbert Vargas and Oscar Olmedo Lopez in connection with the Jan. 29 shooting.

Law enforcement officers arrested the trio Monday in the town of Santiaguito Etla, according to the office.

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The three men, allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the area, were hiding in a safehouse belonging to one of the men's relatives, the office said.

According to Milenio, Lopez is suspected of ordering and paying for the killings.

Prosecutors with the Oaxaca state attorney general's office told CNN that the boy's parents apparently worked for Isidoro Gonzáles Gerónimo, a suspected drug trafficker known as "El Isis" who operated in Guerrero who was also shot and killed in Oaxaca state on Jan. 29.

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The photo of the 7-month-old has since ignited outrage online: the Facebook page Solo Acapulco shared the picture on Jan. 30, obtaining more than 51,000 shares.

The account drew comparisons between the boy and 3-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, whose body washed up on a Turkish beach after the boat he was on capsized in September.

"Do you remember the Syrian boy?" the account asks. "Do you remember how you became indignant and even put a little flag on Facebook? Well, this happens in Mexico, in Pinotepa Nacional to be precise, where drug violence killed this family, including this 7-month-old little angel."

Scroll through the slideshow to see the toll that gang and drug violence has taken on Mexico.

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports