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The attack occurred in a restaurant in the tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta, the regional government reported.
Sandoval was “the victim of an attack in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta,” one of the most important tourist destinations in Mexico, the government of Jalisco said on Twitter.
The governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro, who had a close friendship with Sandoval, He stated in a video posted on Twitter that besides being a “cowardly murder” it is “a challenge to the Mexican State”.
“It is a huge challenge that forces us institutions not to lower our guard, to send a clear message that they are not going to bend us (…). We face criminals who seek to plunge our state into fear and anxiety, “said Alfaro.
The state of Jalisco, on the Pacific coast and a route for drug trafficking, is considered among the most violent in Mexico and is a stronghold of the Nueva Generación cartel, one of the most powerful and which has launched attacks against government targets.
“I am very sorry for the murder of the former governor of Jalisco (…) It is a matter that It will be investigated so that the cause and motive are known and those responsible are punished “said Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference.
The Jalisco prosecutor, Octavio Solís, reported in a conference that the former governor had recently spent a few days of vacation in Puerto Vallarta with “family and friends” and that he returned to that city about a week ago.
The governor settled in a hotel and carried out “various recreational and business activities,” Solís said.
This is how the news of the murder of Aristóteles Sandoval recorded by the Televisa network:
How the former governor of Jalisco was assassinated
On Thursday night he arrived at a restaurant on the main avenue of Puerto Vallarta and around 1:40 a.m. on Friday he got up from the table where he was with three other men and a woman to go to the bathroom.
“In the bathroom, he was attacked from behind, apparently by an individual with a firearm,” the prosecutor explained.
“The area is being swept” and interviewing “witnesses,” he continued.
According to the legislation to protect officials and former officials, the former governor had 15 bodyguards and armored vehicles, Ricardo Sánchez, coordinator of the Jalisco Security Cabinet, said at the same conference.
Restaurant employees altered the crime scene
According to the authorities, a shooting was recorded outside the premises where the attack occurred, and some of its employees altered the scene of the murder.
When the police entered the building, “restaurant staff had lifted all the signs inside, they had practically cleaned up the crime scene. This is going to make the investigations a bit difficult, ”added the prosecutor.
“There was a confrontation outside, there was a series of shots outside this restaurant and different calibers of percussion helmets were found,” he added.
Later, the local prosecutor said in another message that the authorities are searching the place of the events and the nearby restaurants, and asked for support from the citizens to clarify the facts.
Sandoval, 46, was a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and was governor between 2013 and 2018.
His government was marked by a spike in violence with various attacks, including the downing of a military helicopter attributed to Nueva Generación, reports of missing persons and the discovery of numerous clandestine graves.
Since December 2006, when the government of that time launched a military anti-drug operation, se have registered more than 300,000 murders in Mexico, according to official figures according to which the majority are linked to criminal acts.
Between January and November, 31,871 homicides were registered in the country, up from 31,764 in the same period of 2019, according to the latest government report.
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