EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Authorities in Chihuahua, Mexico, have arrested eight men and a woman in connection with the killing of three state police officers on Tuesday.
At least two of the detainees directly participated in the ambush of several patrol vehicles along a mountain trail near the town of Moris, Public Safety Director Gilberto Loya said. And arsenal of AK-47 rifles, semi-automatic pistols and ammunition and also drugs were seized from the suspects.
“I want to speak firmly, to be clear in this message: There will be no quarter. We will be firm in the fight against criminals and in the search for those responsible for this act,” Loya said on Thursday. “We will find the responsible parties; those who gave the orders and those who executed them.”
A memorial for fallen Officers German Peralta Herandez, Guillermo Aguirre Palma and Ana Esmeralda Arteaga Arroyo was taking place Thurday afternoon in Chihuahua City. Seven additional officers were injured during the attack officials characterized as an “ambush.” Five have been released from hospitals and two remain under medical care; some received gunshot wounds, others were hurt when their vehicles overturned while trying to evade bullets, officials said.
“We are not seeking vengeance, but we want those responsible to face justice, whether in this world or elsewhere. In Chihuahua, you will respect the law,” Loya said at a news conference in the state capital broadcast on social media. Later, he added, “If to restore peace we need to use violence, we can do that. But to restore peace, we also need people in those towns and in the state to point out those who are committing violence. […]
“We will use the full force of the state to detain, and if necessary, to abate (terminate) those responsible for this act. We will not allow criminals to dictate the agenda in this state. There will be no hiding place, we will find them and take them to justice.”
The mountain region of southwest Chihuahua has been the site of constant clashes in the past two years between La Linea and cells of the Sinaloa cartel who used to control the region. The clashes seem to have intensified since the split of the Sinaloa cartel into two warring factions led by the children of its cofounders, both of whom are now jailed in the United States.
It’s not clear what precipitated the ambush. The state officers were driving into the mountains in a caravan of marked vehicles to relieve peers stationed there. Loya said the state police hopes to prevent further ambushes involving unseen suspects shooting from hills or behind bushes by increasing the number of vehicles that make up these caravans.
Loya said the remaining assailants by now likely have fled to other cities.
He said the Mexican army and the Attorney General’s Office of neighboring Sonora are helping in the hunt for the murderers and will assist in future patrols along the Chihuahua-Sonora border.
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