MEXICO CITY, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-five gunmen tortured and murdered anti-kidnap activist Benjamin Le Baron and his brother in law Luis Carlos Widman in a northern Mexican state, local media reported on Wednesday.

    Wearing Mexican army uniform, the killers entered the Le Baron home at 1.30 a.m., beat him and sexually abused his wife in front of their five children, according to family members. Widman's unexpected arrival on the scene made the armed group seized them both and took them away.

    Le Baron, 36 and a U.S. citizen, had led protests demanding government actions against the organized crime in Chihuahua town Galeana, 350 km northeast of the state capital. He staged rallies after his brother Erick was kidnapped with a ransom of one million U.S. dollars. Erick, 16, was later saved and returned unharmed after the police arrested 25 kidnapper suspects in Nicholas Romero, a neighboring town.

    Their bodies were found in Flores Magon, a town 50 km away. The killers left a banner at Le Baron's house threatening fellow activists Romney Jones and Jeffrey Jones and saying the attack was a reprisal for the arrest of the 25 suspects.

    The killer-searching is underway conducted by the joint forces of the state prosecutors' office, as well as the federal and local police.