Mexico charges police officer with killing 24

Alleged cartel member also accused in massacre outside Mexico City

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updated 11:36 p.m. ET Nov. 27, 2008

MEXICO CITY - A municipal police commander and an alleged drug cartel member have been charged with homicide in the September massacre of 24 men outside Mexico City.

The Attorney General's Office said it also lodged organized crime and drug charges against policeman Antonio Ramirez Cervantes and alleged trafficker Raul Villa Ortega.

The charges, announced Thursday, follow the execution-style killing of 24 men whose bodies were found bound with duct tape and shot in the head on Sept. 12 in a rural area west of Mexico City.

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Cervantes served as police commander of a nearby town and allegedly helped Villa Ortega kidnap and kill the victims, many of whom were believed to be rival drug dealers.