Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador described the assassination of journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva (65) at his daily press conference this Friday morning as a “state affair”: “Progress continues [en la investigación] and we’re very interested in clearing that up, because it’s a serious case, because imagine if that attack had been carried out, a crime would have been committed, the smear campaign against the government… Except that we talk about a human life, that’s the most important thing. But it also has a political connotation, it is a matter of state.”
The President used the press conference to reiterate his thesis that the assassination of the journalists was an attempt by “conservatism” to destabilize his government: “It is very obvious why they are targeting a famous journalist who is also has differences with us. as often happens in liberties when there is democracy. But already take one of these steps to arouse suspicion that the government is promoting repression and silencing the voices of the opposition. All of these are big words , I do not rule out that conservatism does, they historically did it, Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press, in 2022 at least 17 journalists were killed.
On his first morning, the new Undersecretary for Security and Citizen Protection, Luis Rodríguez Bucio, has confirmed that Mexico City’s prosecutors have linked 12 people to the trial, seven men and five women, allegedly involved in the failed attack . One of them, identified as Héctor N., 32, is the prime suspect for opening fire on the journalist. Most of the accused are from the country’s capital and are between 23 and 61 years old.
“It is not easy to reach the masterminds. We’re going to find out if it’s possible to make some reforms so that those who cooperate with information can be considerate in their judgments when it comes to matters of public interest, to matters of state, because it’s about destabilization, that’s sabotage , it is subversion,” López Obrador has reiterated.
In addition to Héctor N., the pool associated with the process was Pedro N. (29 years old), Daniela N. (29 years old), Erick Hazael N. (23 years old), Junnuen N. (25 years old), Israel N. (39 years old), Cinthia N. (34 years old), Sergio David N. (32 years old), Aniceto N. (61 years old), Juan Antonio N. (36 years old), Elizabeth Mireya N. (32 years old) and Tanya Jaqueline N. (38 years old).
Police arrested 16 people suspected of taking part in the attempted attack. The first 11 were arrested on January 11; the remaining five a day later. According to Mexico City’s head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, at least nine of them belong to a criminal organization specializing in contract killers, extortion and drug trafficking. No information on the legal status of the other four detainees, which was not linked to the trial, was released.
On December 15, Gómez Leyva, a well-known Mexican journalist, was attacked about 200 meters from his home in an affluent area south of Mexico City while returning home from work. As he drove, he felt like he was being shot at. The vehicle ahead blocked his path as a motorcycle caught up to his left flank and opened fire on the communicator, who could only duck. According to Sheinbaum, Héctor N. was the co-pilot on the motorcycle.
The journalist, as he himself explained, was saved because his car had previously been armored for security reasons. After the failed assassination attempt, Gómez Leyva fled to the house of his friend Manlio Fabio Beltrones, the historical leader of the PRI. The news quickly spread across the country because the presenter of Imagen Televisión is one of the most recognizable faces in the world of national journalism.
Less than a month later, police conducted 12 simultaneous searches in Mexico City, where, in addition to the first 11 detainees, they found at least 11 long and short weapons, two grenades, more than 4,000 cans of drugs and capsules initials of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel and one of the cars used in the assassination. Authorities believe the suspect, identified as Pedro Pool, was the leader of the squad.
Five more people were arrested the next day, including Héctor N. in Michoacán. The other four were located by police in the communities of Chalco and Los Reyes, in the state of Mexico. During the searches, the police also found “vehicles, cell phones, weapons and possible drugs.” The authorities believe that the commando had been preparing the attack for days and had already been monitoring the Grupo Imagen buildings where Gómez Leyva works on December 6, 10, 11, 12 and 13. Monitoring the images from C5, Mexico City’s Center for Emergency Awareness and Citizen Protection, allowed investigators to find the alleged culprits of the attack.
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