A Mexican national Guardsman died, and three others needed emergency medical care after they consumed fentanyl on their day off. Authorities tried to keep the case under wraps. However, the issue points to the widespread corruption within Mexico’s security forces.
The incident took place earlier this week in the city of Soto La Marina, Tamaulipas, where a group of National Guardsmen got together on their day off to drink. The guardsmen gathered at the apartment of 27-year-old Christofer Campos, a fellow guardsman, a police report from the Tamaulipas State Police obtained by Breitbart Texas revealed.
During the party, Campos pulled out a bag with a white powder inside, telling everyone that it was fentanyl. Campos and three other guardsmen, identified as 31-year-old Alejandro Lores Garcia, Jorge Alberto de la Cruz Hernandez, and 23-year-old Emmanuel Axel Arevalo, all tried the drug and collapsed almost immediately. A fifth guardsman, Franco Pier Luigi (Machin) Aguilar Lopez, who claimed not to have used the drug, called 911 and went to the local hospital. At the hospital, state investigators questioned Aguilar Lopez and began a manslaughter investigation into the case after Axel Arevalo died from consuming the drugs.
In the case’s aftermath, the Tamaulipas government confirmed the ongoing matter and claimed federal authorities would conduct further investigations.
The issue comes at a time when the controversial National Guard and various other security institutions in Mexico have been plagued with allegations of corruption and their apparent refusal to fight against drug cartels. At the start of his administration, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador claimed that the National Guard would be able to resolve most of Mexico’s security matters — something that the institution fell short of since replacing the country’s federal police.
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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