MEXICO CITY: Thirteen individuals face arrest for alleged involvement in the murders of two close aides to Mexico City’s mayor three months ago.
Mayor Clara Brugada confirmed the arrests occurred on Wednesday.
Brugada’s personal secretary Ximena Guzman and advisor Jose “Pepe” Munoz were shot dead during rush hour on a busy avenue on May 20.
Among those detained were three people who participated directly in the attack.
Others were linked to the logistical preparation, Brugada told a press conference.
The arrests took place at dawn through a joint operation between local and federal authorities and the army.
Despite apparent hallmarks of a gang hit, Brugada did not discuss a motive.
Public prosecutor Bertha Alcalde Lujan previously called it a direct attack with significant planning.
She noted the perpetrators had prior experience.
Guzman and Munoz were both members of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party.
The Morena party also governs Mexico City.
Brugada is a close ally of Sheinbaum, who condemned the attack as deplorable.
Mexico City has largely escaped the worst of the country’s criminal violence.
This is not the first high-profile attack targeting public officials in the capital.
In June 2020, the city’s then security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch survived an attack by heavily armed gunmen.
The assailants killed two of his bodyguards and a passerby.
Garcia Harfuch, now Sheinbaum’s national security minister, was wounded in the shooting.
He blamed the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel for the attack. – AFP
