174 Government Officials killed in six years, 83 were police chiefs

In four and a half years 32 mayors have been assassinated, with most of the attacks against police chiefs, according to the account of this newspaper 

By: Jorge Grande

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 11.- During the administration of President Felipe Calderon, 174 public officials and politicians have been murdered by organized crime.

According to a count made by this newspaper, the victims range from candidates, mayors, elected mayors, state and local legislators, retired generals who act as secretaries of local public safety, state secretaries of public security and police chiefs, among others.

The largest proportion of those homicides refers to police officers, with 83 cases.

As for mayors, during this administration there have been 32 homicides reported in 14 states, with five deadly attacks this year.

In respect to the elected office candidates, adds five victims.

Michoacán, with 21 cases, is the entity with more murders.


174 officials and politicians killed in 5 years

During the administration of President Felipe Calderón, 174 murders have been reported on officials and politicians, attributed to organized crime. Among candidates for governor, mayors, elected mayors, state and local legislators, retired generals who served as municipal secretaries of Public Safety, state secretaries of public security and police chiefs, among others.

The largest number of such killings refers to police officers, with 83 cases. The case of Edgar Eusebio Millán Gómez in Mexico City, was the violent death against an official with greater authority, since he was commanding the federal offensive against drug cartels.

Michoacán, with 21 cases is the state where more murders have occurred against public officials, whether administrative or police. However, Veracruz is the entity that killed 14 police chiefs, yesterday in this state a ministerial agent was killed. Followed by the State of Mexico with nine of these cases, Durango, 8, Michoacán and Aguascalientes with seven each, and Guanajuato, with five homicides.

In Hidalgo, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas four senior policemen were killed. In the capital, in addition to Millar, two senior officers were killed. While in Chihuahua, Jalisco, Morelos, Quintana Roo and Tabasco two police chiefs were killed in each state.

Also in the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Colima, Nuevo Leon and San Luis Potosi criminals killed a commander at each of those states.

Rulers in the spotlight

 As for mayors, during this administration 32 cases in 14 states have been reported.

Last February, Excelsior reported that several mayors in Michoacan, Durango and Chihuahua had to leave their homes or had to work outside there demarcation to protect their integrity and that of their families, because of the harassment by criminal groups operating in their region.

On June 4, 2008, Manuel Angulo Torres the mayor of Topia in Durango, was the first to be executed, the last was Jose Nava Eduviges Altamirano in Zacualpan, State of Mexico.

Durango tops the list with six deaths, followed by Chihuahua and Michoacan, with four each, and Guerrero, with three.

Regarding the State of Mexico, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca and Tamaulipas, with the murder of two mayors in each of those. While in Coahuila, Morelos, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Veracruz and Zacatecas have been hit with one each.

So far this year five mayors have completed their terms. 

On January 7, Saul Vera from Zaragoza, Coahuila, was killed in an attack. On the 11th of the same month, Abraham Ortiz Rosales from Temoac in Morelos, was also shot dead. Three days later Luis Jimenez was killed in the municipal of Santiago Amoltepec, Oaxaca.

On July 28, Fortino Cortes, the mayor of Florencia de Benito Juárez, Zacatecas, was shot to death. By the end of this year Jose Eduviges Nava Altamirano, the Mayor of Zacualpan in the State of Mexico, was the last to die at the hands of drug traffickers on August 20.

Against candidates

In respect to candidates elected for office, adds to five victims. Which highlights the assassination of the PRI elective from Tamaulipas, Rodolfo Torre Cantú, that was ambushed on June 28, 2010, on a road in the municipal of Soto la Marina.

That day, Torre Cantú was returning from a rally and on the road Ciudad Victoria to Soto la Marina a commando crossed his path with a bus, as they stopped, they began shooting at them. In that attack they killed six people and sent one to the hospital.

On August 20, 2009, the local deputy of Guerrero and gubernatorial candidate, Armando Chavarria, died of two gunshot wounds inside of his vehicle.

On April 7, 2009, Gustavo Bucio Rodriguez was killed, a congressional candidate for the PRD as federal deputy. He was a colleague of Julio César Godoy Toscano, half brother of the governor of Michoacan, Leonel Godoy.

Other victims who fought elected positions are: Jose Mario Guajardo, who was running for mayor of Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas, died on May 14 of last year.

Romero Núñez Montiel, candidate for mayor of Jololalpan in Puebla, died of bullet wounds, as well as Amador Gonzalo Ortega, a former presidential candidate of Huauchinango, Puebla, who died on the 24 of July.

The states where most politicians have allegedly died at the hands of organized crime are: Michoacán 12, Tamaulipas 10, Chihuahua 8, Durango, Guerrero and Sinaloa with 6 cases each.

In the retelling of this newspaper, more than 40,000 people have lost their life in the context of the federal fight against crime. With the names of 32 mayors, 83 police chiefs, 60 public servants and politicians.

The National Federation of Municipals in Mexico, reported that 126 mayors have been threatened. During the six years their have also died aldermen and trustees, counter this newspaper figure to 14 deaths. 

Chihuahua and Michoacán have each recorded three deaths, while in Baja California Sur and Sinaloa, with two killings. 

In Baja California, Guerrero, Hidalgo and Tamaulipas one person per institution was killed. 

The rest of the states

- Aguascalientes  
7 murders (Police chiefs).

- GUERRERO: 
 7 murders. 4 mayors and an aspiring gubernatorial (Armando Chavarria). 

- HIDALGO: 
6 murders. 1 State Secretary of Public Security (Mark Manuel Souverbille) and 3 local police chiefs. 

- GUANAJUATO: 
 6 murders. (Chiefs and directors of police). 

- COAHUILA: 
 5 murders. 1 mayor (in Zaragoza) and 1 Secretary of Public Safety (in Piedras Negras). 

- BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR:
  4 murders. 1 Police Chief and 3 officials. 

 - JALISCO: 
 3 murders. A former mayor and 2 secretaries of Public Safety. 

- Morelos: 
 3 murders. 1 mayor, Abraham Ortiz and 2 police chiefs. 

- PUEBLA: 
 3 murders. 1 mayor (Eustacio Tarsicio, from San Felipe Xochiltepec). 

- TABASCO: 
 2 murders. (Jorge Alberto Gonzalez, operations coordinator of the SSP in Cardenas, and Amilcar Cruz Martinez, deputy director of Special Group Operations ). 

- COLIMA: 
 2 murders. (Silverio Cavazos, former governor, and Jesus Mejia, inspector of the Federal Police). 

- BAJA CALIFORNIA: 
 2 murders. (Margarito Saldaña, Public Safety Secretary of Morelos, and Arturo Castellanos, Councilman of Ensenada). 

- OAXACA: 
 2 murders. (Artemio Tomas, elected Mayor from Mártires Tacubaya, and Luis Jimenez, Mayor of Santiago Amoltepec). 

- SAN LUIS POTOSI: 
 2 murders. (Alexander Lopez, mayor of El Naranjo, and Roman Santos, the head Police of Santa Catarina). 

- SONORA: 
 1 murder. (Former mayor of Benito Juárez). 

- CAMPECHE: 
 1 murder. (German Soto, Secretary of Public Security in Carmen). 

- ZACATECAS: 
 1 murder. (Fortino Cortes, mayor of Florencia de Benito Juarez). 



Source: http://excelsior.com.mx/index.php?m=nota&id_nota=767638