Update On 3 Officers Killed In Valparaíso, Zacatecas

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 

As previously covered by Sol, three police officers died in Valparaiso, Zacatecas on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 after being ambushed by members of organized crime. 

How did this ambush begin? According to La Jornada writer Alfredo Valadez Rodríguez, at 1:30 pm it was widely reported that members of the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) and members of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) had begun a new bloody battle Santa Rosa, in the mountainous remote region that lies near Jerez, Fresnillo and Valparaíso.

It was widely reported that dozens of state police, military and members of the National Guard were mobilizing to the region where the skirmish was taking place.

However, at 4:00 p.m., the Zacatecas Public Security Secretariat (SSPZ) via Arturo López Bazán flatly denied there had been a confrontation through a brief statement where he said “After receiving a report through the 911 Emergency System, regarding the presence of a burned vehicle on federal highway 44, section Fresnillo - Valparaíso, near the community of Santa Rosa, authorities from the three levels of Government mobilized to the place, without any vehicle in such conditions being found so far.”

Arturo López Bazán, head of the SSPZ.

"In the same way, no lifeless people have been located, nor were there any signs that indicate that in this region of the state, this Tuesday there was a confrontation." The La Jornada article characterized this response as “hiding” the incident. 

But at a point relatively close to Santa Rosa, in the Boquilla del Refugio community, a few state policemen who had been sent by the SSPZ from the city of Jerez to "verify" if the confrontation happened were ambushed. Portico alleges there were only four officers sent to Boquilla while La Jornada alleges there were five. The ambush on the officers was perpetrated by members of organized crime who had just participated in the confrontation. Whether they were CDS or CJNG was not reported. Three of the officers sent to Boquilla. 

Outraged by the information that Arturo López Bazán had possibly concealed, other state police from Fresnillo and the capital of Zacatecas leaked to various local media an audio where the voice of their fellow police officers was heard. In the audio, the officers were already wounded from the ambush and were desperately asking for support.

In response to the leak, at around midnight on the same Tuesday, the SSPZ corrected their prior statement, admitting through the issuance of three new press releases (with some corrections each time, to the previous message) that detailed the deadly attack against the uniformed men.

The SSPZ "regrets to confirm that this Tuesday, after a cowardly attack registered in the municipality of Valparaíso, three elements of the State Preventive Police lost their lives and one more element was injured."

Keeping the prior context in mind, on August 26, 2021, the three officers who were killed received a state sponsored funeral. Officer Marcelino Villa Salas, Officer Roberto Carlos García Lamas and Officer Marcos Alonso López López all died as a result of the organized crime attack in Valparaiso. The funeral was held in the SSP's aircraft hangar. 

The event was led by the Undersecretary of Police Operations, José Aciano Medrano Orona, who, together with family, friends and colleagues, said their last farewell to the three officers who were killed in the incident.

After expressing his condolences to the families of the fallen officers, on behalf of all the members of the SSP, Medrano Orona said that it is always painful to lose a person, especially when the level of commitment, dedication and conviction, such as the one shown by the fallen policemen. He recognized their courage in the face of organized crime. 

Medrano Orona added that this tribute should be a reminder of the sacrifice that society, the government and police institutions make in favor of security. In addition to condemning the aggression, he reaffirmed the State Police’s commitment to finding those responsible. They also said they were committed to working every day to create better security conditions for the people of Zacatecas state.

In addition to condemning the cowardly aggression, the SSP reaffirmed its commitment and that of the security authorities to find those responsible and to work every day to generate better security conditions for the people of Zacatecas. As part of the tribute, there was a roll call, a moment of silence and honorary gun salutes. The flag of Mexico was presented to family members of the officers by the Undersecretary.

Sources: La Jornada Article 1, Article 2, El Sol de Zacatecas Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, Portico