Mexico harbors a dark legacy of serial killers intertwined with poverty, cartels, and femicide, from the 19th-century “El Chalequero” who slashed 20 prostitutes to modern cannibals like José Luis Calva and the “Monsters of Ecatepec” who dismembered 20 women. These cases, often underreported due to corruption, reveal patterns of ritualistic brutality and impunity, as seen in the unsolved Ciudad Juárez femicides claiming over 500 lives.

On September 6, 2025, a dispute over a political banner at the Paddle Inn Rafting Company in North Carolina’s Nantahala Gorge spiraled into gunfire. Authorities allege that 37-year-old Benjamin Michael Campbell tore down a pro-Trump banner and later fired multiple rounds from his vehicle toward the business owner’s home. Arrested weeks later in Georgia and extradited to North Carolina, Campbell now faces serious felony charges. This investigative account by Michael Lopez examines what’s verifiable, what remains unconfirmed, and how responsible reporting can separate fact from speculation in politically charged incidents.