Four teams of gunmen from Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion carried out a brazen assassination attempt against the top security official in Mexico City. The gunmen wounded their target while killing two other police officers and one innocent bystander.
The attack took place on Friday at 6:38 a.m. in Mexico City when a group of gunmen ambushed Public Security Chief Omar Garcia Harfuch as he traveled in an armored SUV. The gunmen used several vehicles in the attack. They utilized a variety of weapons, including .50 caliber rifles, several machine guns, grenades, and smoke grenades. The gunmen not only shot Harfuch and his security detail but fatally wounded an innocent motorist.
“Two elements lost their life in the line of duty, our condolences for their family, they have the full support of the Mexico City government,” said CDMX Head of Government Claudia Sheinbaum during a news conference on Saturday. “Also, our condolences to the woman who lost her life in the attack, again they all have the full support of Mexico City.”
According to Sheinbaum, Mexico city police rushed to the scene within minutes of the attack — facing off against the gunmen and arresting 12 of them. Hours later, authorities managed to arrest seven other individuals tied to the attack.
“It was a failed operation”, Sheinbaum said of the attack. “Our secretary (Harfuch) is doing well and has more energy than before. We will not back down.”
Harfuch took to social media on the day of the attack to blame Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). The public official claimed to have been struck three times and injured by shrapnel as well.
According to information released by the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office, the attack was carried out by four teams of seven gunmen. The cartel hired the teams three weeks prior to the attack and sent them to Mexico City.
The attack comes soon Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his staff revealed that four drug cartels and two other criminal organizations including CJNG have been operating in Mexico City and are tied to numerous acts of violence.
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.
Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report