Aristotle Sandoval, the former governor of the Mexican state of Jalisco, was killed in an attack in the tourist area of Puerto Vallarta, the latest sign of worsening insecurity that shook Latin America’s second largest economy.
The assassination was confirmed in a tweet from the current governor of the state, Enrique Alfaro, in the early hours of Friday. The attack took place after the politician went to dinner with three other people the night before, local authorities said.
While the cause of the attack is unknown, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sandoval’s death would be investigated and that his administration would work closely with Jalisco, Mexico’s fourth most populous state, to bring those guilty to justice.
“This is an issue that will be investigated so that the cause, the reason is known and those responsible are punished,” Lopez Obrador told a news conference on Friday. “It is up to Jalisco authorities to conduct the investigation, but we are willing at any time to help. “
Increasing insecurity
The killings add to nearly 32,000 homicides this year, the most recorded for any period from January to November, according to government data.
“Sandoval’s murder is one of several attacks and killings of Mexican government officials in recent years,” a think tank said Mareen Meyer, the Mexican director of the Washington Bureau in Latin America. “This growing violence and insecurity speaks to the Mexican government’s continued challenge to effectively fight organized criminal organizations that continue to expand their influence in the country.”
One video, local authorities said that Sandoval is in Puerto Vallarta, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, since December 5 for a family vacation and business. He arrived at a restaurant on Thursday around 10 pm and was shot after going to the toilet a few hours later.
Sandoval was shot in the back while on the toilet, and his security team dragged him outside, where they met with an ambush, Jalisco Attorney General Gerardo Octavio Solis said in a radio interview with the journalist. Mexican Ciro Gomez Leyva. One of Sandoval’s bodyguards is in critical condition in hospital.
In the interview, the attorney general said that the restaurant staff “completely manipulated the scene of the events”, erasing the blood and fingerprint evidence.
Sandoval, a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, left his post as governor two years ago and was guarded by a team of 15, authorities said. At the time of the attack, only two of the guards were waiting for him outside the restaurant. The state hosts the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most violent criminal groups in Mexico. In May 2018, under Sandoval’s mandate, the wife of the cartel leader was captured in the state.
“Throughout the year, the federal government exerted pressure on this cartel and disproportionately arrested members of this cartel,” said Arantza Alonso, a senior public safety analyst at Mexico City’s EMPRA-AIS political risk consultancy. “I feel the pressure.”
Alonso added that before the midterm elections next year, Mexico could begin to see more political attacks, a major test for Lopez Obrador’s administration. Last month, a construction businessman was abducted in Puerto Vallarta by an armed group. His body was dumped days later on a road in neighboring Nayarit State.
As governor, Sandoval made a name for himself as one of the party’s new and bright faces and established the state capital of Guadalajara as the Mexican Silicon Valley.
(Updates with additional details about the incident throughout.)