Guadalajara’s Chief of Police, Eduardo Plazola Garcia, along with three of his staff were killed yesterday in an ambush after the group left the commander’s home. The attack, which took place early yesterday morning in the municipality of Tonala, Jalisco state, is believed to be linked to organised crime groups.
The initial reports of the incident, which were released on social media by Guadalajara’s police force, pointed out that yesterday morning’s attack was a response to the arrests of several gang members within the last few weeks. Alongside Plazola Garcia, the three other murdered officers were identified as Roberto Saucedo Torres, José Aguilar Flores and Marcela Guadalupe Maciel Herrera.
Authorities have since rallied together to both condemn the attack and vow to bring gang members to justice for both these crimes as well as the larger allegations of corruptions and violence that are brought about through organised crime. Influential leaders from the state such as Governor of Jalisco, Aristóteles Sandoval and Enrique Ibarra, Municipal President of Jalisco have spoken out against the attack. The police continued to call the murders cowardly and reassured the state’s citizens that the area’s safety remains a top priority.
La Comisaría de la Policía de Guadalajara condena el cobarde ataque perpetrado en el municipio de Tonalá en el que murieron cuatro oficiales tapatíos y no cesará en su labor para coadyuvar a las autoridades estatales para detener y castigar a los responsables pic.twitter.com/7ZMGK3ofuy
— Policía Guadalajara (@PoliciaGDL) September 3, 2018
Police statements from the time of the attack also claim that a number of the assailants were injured by the police at the location, Circuito Loma Dorada and Circuito Loma Sur, in the Loma Dorada neighbourhood but managed to escape the scene.
The deceased police chief was heralded for the major blows he had delivered to cartel power, as well as restoring the rule of law in a number of neighbourhoods such as El Santuario, Analco, San Juan de Dios and Oblates.
It is increasingly commonplace to expect violent retaliation from cartels in the face of authorities effectively doing their jobs and bringing people to justice. With this year predicted to count Mexico’s highest murder rate in recent times, an ongoing battle has been waged between police, politicians and civilians against organised crime groups that are pillaging Mexico’s towns. The abundance of recent attacks tends to reveal the lengths cartels will go to if people don’t agree to turn a blind eye to criminal activity. Murder victims, having sometimes experience brutal attacks, have now stretched to include online bloggers who comment on cartel activity and journalists, of which the majority of cases continue unsolved.
Home to the infamous Jalisco New Generation cartel, the state has seen its fair share of gruesome violence yet, like many authorities across the country, vow that this will not deter them. According to the police, a tracking operation has been implemented following yesterday’s attack and further investigation is currently underway.
