A group of cartel gunmen killed the police chief of Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, who had just begun his second day on the job in a Mexican border state that continues to experience a dramatic spike in drug shootouts and killings.
The targeted killing took place on Thursday afternoon in the city of Hidalgo located in the northeastern part of the border state of Nuevo Leon, northeast of Monterrey. Lucio Juarez Trujillo, the police chief of the municipality of Hidalgo was driving his personal SUV when a group of gunmen ambushed him. The gunmen shot him several times.
Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that at least three SUVs with gunmen took part in the attack. By the time police forces responded to the scene, Juarez Trujillo had died from his injuries. Despite a search and a manhunt, authorities did not find the shooters.
Juarez Trujillo became the Public Security Secretary (police chief) for Hidalgo just two days before his murder. Before that, he had been an officer with Tamaulipas State Police.
The killing comes at a time when several drug cartels are engaged in fierce turf wars for control of main drug trafficking and distribution areas in Nuevo Leon. Those turf wars have led to numerous targeted killings, as well as several large-scale attacks on police forces in various parts of the state.
Nuevo Leon’s Governor Samuel Garcia has largely ignored the raging violence in his state while he tries to lure foreign investment and business development. The politician who has a very active social media presence, has not made any posts nor any public comments about the police chief’s murder.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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