Mexico: Federal judge riddled with bullets at his home

Mexican soldiers during an operation against the Jalisco cartel. AFP PHOTO / Hector Guerrero

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A federal judge was assassinated on Tuesday June 16 in the state of Colima. According to the first elements of the investigation, five armed men entered his home and dumped their weapons on him and his wife. In a country where violence shows no signs of slackening, this cheeky crime is a clear message: delinquency continues to further undermine state authority.

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With our correspondent in Mexico, Alix Hardy

Judge Uriel Villegas Ortiz dealt with sensitive cases such as drug trafficking, theft of fuel and money laundering. He notably investigated the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel, perhaps the most powerful cartel in Mexico today. He died doing his job,  " said the Minister of the Interior and former judge Olga Sanchez Cordero.

President Lopez Obrador has condemned an " atrocious  " crime  and promised that the culprits would be severely punished in a country where less than one in ten crimes is solved. The horror of this assassination, certainly orchestrated by organized crime, which thus openly defies the authorities, has frightened Mexico. The head of state said he would not be intimidated by the violence, adding that security would be strengthened around justice officials. Over a hundred are already under protection.

Civil society calls for the swift resolution of this crime, because if an assassination of this magnitude goes unpunished, as Mexican journalist Denise Maerker points out, which judge would still dare to take the risk of pronouncing a sentence that undermines organized crime?

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  • Mexico
  • Crime