Helicopter Crash Kills Porfirio Sánchez Mendoza, the Secretary of Security of Aguascalientes Who Was Accused of Torture

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Porfirio Javier Sánchez Mendoza was with four other people, a pilot, a captain, and two gunners aboard a helicopter that crashed.

The Secretary of Security of Aguascalientes, Porfirio Sánchez Mendoza, was traveling in the Águila 1 helicopter on the morning of Thursday, November 17, the same one from which the crash occurred. The official died after the accident occurred, according to local reports, the helicopter fell in the municipality of Jesús María. The day before, on November 16, the helicopter had been used to transport a person who was injured after a violent attack in the town of El Llano. The Águila 1 helicopter, one of the safest in the country, received maintenance every six months and did have an insurance policy. In September it received the last service. "Everything was in order," said the governor.

Tere Jiménez assured that it was an accident, although the causes of it have not been determined. However, she did not report whether it will be investigated as a homicide or an attack. "We must wait for the results of the expert opinion," she said.

The exact moment of the crash of the helicopter where the Secretary of Public Security of Aguascalientes was traveling was recorded by witnesses. 

This crash occurred around 8:00 AM when the authorities were conducting air surveillance tours in the area, which was cordoned off and guarded by emergency services. On board the unit was a pilot, a captain, and two gunners. So far the causes that would have caused the collapse are unknown. In this regard, the governor of Aguascalientes, Tere Jiménez, announced through her Twitter account that she will issue a message shortly before 10:00 a.m. about this accident.

Moments before the accident, Secretary Sánchez Mendoza offered an interview to a local media outlet and later got on the helicopter.

Who was Porfirio Javier Sánchez Mendoza?

Porfirio Sánchez assumed the position of Public Security of Aguascalientes 4 years ago, that is, in 2018. At that time he was appointed by Governor Martín Orozco, belonging to the National Action Party (PAN), since his predecessor had left his position after two years of leading. Last month, the official acknowledged the presence of CJNG and Sinaloa cartel cells in Aguascalientes. "We have information from the Jalisco Cartel, we have information from the Sinaloa Cartel, the other two I don't know, I think they were already eradicated, those Talibanes, I think they moved to Zacatecas, that is the information we have been able to gather," said the official.

Likewise, Porfirio Javier Sanchez said that he doesn’t know if it's a myth or not that the leaders come to Aguascalientes to spend their vacations. However, he pointed out that important arrests have been made in the state, so they must continue working in coordination. The Secretary of Public Security described Aguascalientes as a “porous state”, explaining that criminal groups from other entities filter in. “The state by its nature is porous. What we have done is to implement more security, more operations, more tours of the dirt roads to inhibit crime,” he added.

The state president sent her condolences to the family and friends of Secretary Porfirio Javier Sánchez Mendoza through her social networks.

“An exemplary and dedicated man who managed to position Aguascalientes as one of the safest places in the country”, she mentioned. The press conference ends. "Porfirio Sánchez's orders were always to shield Aguascalientes and they are the ones that remain at the moment," concluded Tere Jiménez. The night of Wednesday, November 16, was the last time that Tere Jiménez communicated with secretary Porfirio Sánchez.

Previous Positions

• Head of the Investigation Department and Deputy Director of Police Investigation at the Federal Investigation Agency (AFI).
  
  
• Director of Undercover Operations of the Federal Police until 2010.
  
  
• General Director of Traffic and Smuggling, Coordinator of Technical Investigation and Operation.

• Coordinator of field investigation in cases of kidnapping in the Federal Police.
  
  
• From 2014 to 218, he was director of tactical situations in the Coordination of Special Operations in the Special Forces Division of the Federal Police.

After the death of Porfirio Sánchez, the ownership of the SSP will be occupied by Manuel Alonso García, the current manager of the Criminal Investigation Agency.

Arrest for Torture

In February 2022, Javier Mendoza was arrested by agents of the current Attorney General of the Republic (FGR), accused of alleged crimes of torture, abuse of authority, and giving false testimony in legal statements. The arrest occurred after a citizen reported being tortured by the Secretary of Security after being detained for no apparent reason by an alleged agent of the Federal Police.

“Yesterday, when there was an arrest, it caught my attention, and I welcome the statement by the governor of Aguascalientes saying that they agreed that it should be investigated. The governor himself, well, that is noteworthy, in general, either they remain silent or they defend themselves and in this case, it is that the law is applied and investigated,” President Andres Lopes Manuel Obrador said that morning.

September 1 of this year, he was released from Reclusorio Norte 1, where he had remained since February. On September 9, the Aguascalientes state government, led by Teresa Jiménez, once again named him head of the entity's SSP. 

Genaro García Luna, former Secretary of Public Security, currently is on trial in the United States for corruption, money laundering, and drug trafficking.

Links to Garcia Luna

The deceased official had entered the Attorney General's Office (PGR) in 2007 and during that period he was a direct collaborator of Genaro García Luna, then Secretary of Public Security, during the six-year term of Felipe Calderón, from 2006 to 2012.

The reason for which he was linked to Luna was revealed in February 2022, since he was accused of torture, abuse of authority, and false legal statements. This after a citizen denounced being detained without charges by a Federal Police agent and being tormented by Sánchez. During the first months of the year, he was accused of torture, abuse of authority, and false legal statements 

The formal investigation against the official began in 2016 after the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) notified the opening of a petition presented by the aforementioned victim.

His arrest took place seven months after the capture on the outskirts of Mexico City of Luis Cárdenas Palomino, who was the former head of the Regional Security Division of the federal police and the right arm of García Luna.

Sources Infobae, Infobae, Borderland Beat, El Universal, Mario Luis, Tere Jimenez