Mexican consulate hires attorney for victims of Walmart shooting

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The Mexican consulate in El Paso has hired a lawyer on retainer to provide legal advice to Mexican citizens who survived the Walmart massacre and to families of the victims.

“We are making him available to the survivors and the victims’ families in case they wish to pursue a legal claim, in case they want to seek a compensation of some kind as victims of this tragedy, this crime,” Consul General Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de Leon said on Friday.

The attorney is Enrique Moreno, a personal-injury specialist and former Clinton administration nominee to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. His firm has worked with the consulate in the past. “He is a person of integrity known to the consulate for many years. We guarantee he is a person who will give them the best advice possible. … Whether these Mexican citizens wish to pursue claims, that is their decision.”

Eight of the 22 people killed on Aug. 3 at the Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall were Mexican citizens, as were some of the injured survivors. Two of those survivors remain hospitalized.

Mexican officials had previously stated that their government would facilitate its nationals a list of attorneys, should they wish to take legal action later. But many peripheral issues have come up in the meantime, such as recovering property or identification documents, negotiating hospital bills and accommodating visiting family members in El Paso.

Now, the Mexican government wants to make sure its citizens affected by the shooting have the information necessary for any future civil claims or participation in upcoming criminal procedures. Patrick Crusius, from Allen, Texas, remains jailed in El Paso as the only suspect in the Walmart mass shooting.

“Those who decide what course legal they want to follow are the victims and their families; all we are doing is making this very capable lawyer available to them for free consultation,” Ibarra said.