Latest news with #XimenaGuzmán
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Haunting video shows how close mayor's aides came to being killed... and the chilling reason they were spared
A never-before-seen video showed an assassin waiting for the arrival of two top aides to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada before abandoning the scene only to return a week later to execute them in broad daylight. The coldblooded gunman was spotted the morning of May 14 standing on a busy sidewalk in the Mexico City neighborhood of Benito Juarez waiting for Brugada's secretary, Ximena Guzmán, to arrive to pick José Muñoz, the mayor's advisor. Footage obtained by Telediario television crime reporter Carlos Jiménez showed the hired killer with a motorcycle helmet over his head that exposed his face near the steps of an underground passage between Napoleón Street and Calzada de Tlalpan. The executioner, who was wearing light blue jeans and had a green vest with reflectors, appeared to have been making a call with his cell phone and then sending a text message. He later leaned against the wall of a building as he continued to wait for Guzmán to pull up to meet Muñoz. For unknown reasons, Guzmán and Muñoz never arrived at the meeting point, causing the killer to abandoned the task, sparing the duo for the time being. The same gunman returned Tuesday shortly after 7am local time and approached Guzmán, who was sitting inside her stationed Audi, and waited for Muñoz to walk up to open the front passenger door when he opened fire. Guzmán was shot eight times and Muñoz was struck four times, according to Mexico City prosecutor Bertha Alcalde. Authorities have so far seized the abandoned motorcycle, a car and a van that were used to carry out the attack. The car and van were previously reported stolen. Pablo Vázquez, who oversees Mexico City's Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection, said in a press conference Wednesday that at least four people participated in the brazen attack. Alcalde described the deadly ambush as 'a direct and highly planned attack, and that those who carried it out had prior experience.' Both Guzmán and Muñoz had worked for Brugada when she was mayor of the borough of Iztapalapa from October 2018 to September 2023, before joining her staff when she became mayor of Mexico's largest city. ASÍ CAZABA a XIMENA y a JOSÉ Es el sicario q los atacó a balazos. Así los esperó el 14 de mayo. A la misma hora y en el mismo lugar. Ximena llegó, pero José no… y el sicario se fue. Nadie lo notó. Ahora lo buscan @FiscaliaCDMX @SSC_CDMX y @SSPCMexico Les cuento #C4EnAlerta — Carlos Jiménez (@c4jimenez) May 22, 2025 'I am deeply saddened by the loss of Ximena and Pepe. I shared many years of longing and struggle with them to transform, first Iztapalapa, and now our great city,' Brugada said in a statement. 'Ximena was a wonderful, tireless, and very kind woman. I knew Pepe almost from childhood; he was one of the most intelligent and responsible people I have ever known. 'Our hearts ache. We in the cabinet are deeply dismayed and in mourning. I wholeheartedly embrace their families, friends, and comrades in struggle. 'We will not rest until justice is done.' Mexican journalist and Telediario host Carlos Jiménez obtained a surveillance video that showed the assassin wanted for murdering Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz, officials in the administration of Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada, waiting for the pair the morning of May 14 before he noticed they were not going to arrive and abandoned the scene only to return Tuesday and execute them The murders sent shockwaves through Mexico's capital city, which is widely considered as an oasis of relative security in a country plagued by violence. Brugada's position as mayor makes her the second most powerful politician in the country behind President Claudia Sheinbaum, who previously served as Head of Government for Mexico City. During a press briefing Wednesday, Sheinbaum cautioned against speculating over the assassinations. 'No speculation can be made about yesterday's events,' she said. 'We are guided by the ongoing investigations into what happened [Tuesday].'
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Clues emerge after mayor's aides murdered in rush-hour shooting on street in Mexico City
Two female lawmakers killed days apart in Mexico following election of first woman president The murders of two Mexico City officials, in a rush-hour shooting on a busy avenue, were meticulously planned by experienced gunmen, prosecutors said Wednesday, as more details emerged of the worst attack against public officials in the capital in recent years. At least four people were involved in the killing of the personal secretary and a close adviser of Mexico City's Mayor Clara Brugada, the capital's police chief said Wednesday. Pablo Vázquez Camacho said investigators had identified and found a motorcycle and two other vehicles used in the escape of the gunman who killed the two officials Tuesday morning as they traveled in a vehicle along a busy thoroughfare. Brugada's personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead in Guzmán's car, authorities said. Mexico City chief prosecutor Bertha Alcalde Luján said the gunman had fled on a motorcycle that was hidden nearby and then changed vehicles twice as he and others fled into neighboring Mexico State. Clothes were recovered in the vehicles and were being analyzed, but investigators could not yet offer a possible motive, the prosecutor said. She said Guzmán was shot eight times and Muñoz four times. A framed image of Ximena Guzmán, the personal secretary to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada who was murdered a day earlier, adorns an altar during a wake at a funeral home in Mexico City, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Marco Ugarte / AP Alcalde said that given the circumstances, investigators believe "it was a direct attack and with an important degree of planning and those who killed them had previous experience." One suspect was seen carrying out surveillance of the victims in the area of the attack in preceding days, she added. Still, she said investigators could not yet propose a motive or say who was behind the killings. "We cannot conclude that this is tied to organized crime, much less speak now of a particular organized crime group," Alcalde said. Both officials said Wednesday that investigators had detected the presence of an individual at the site of the attacks days before they occurred, which would suggest knowledge of the victims' routines. The attack, which happened at around 7 a.m., left four bullet holes clustered on the driver's side of the windshield. One body lay on the pavement. Vázquez Camacho said that neither Guzmán nor Muñoz had any special security measures, but both had received training about protecting themselves. "They are people who worked very closely with the people ... and they did their work without fear," he said. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who is an ally of Brugada and a former mayor of Mexico City before winning the presidency last year, had declined to speculate on the possible involvement of organized crime during her press briefing earlier Wednesday. Passersby describe "trauma" At the scene of the attack Wednesday morning, hundreds of commuters passed with most oblivious to what had occurred a day earlier. Some, however, noticed the handwritten signs with messages of remembrance to the two victims and flowers and candles left on the sidewalk. University student Loretta García Oriz said she had passed the site Tuesday when Guzmán and Muñoz's bodies were still at the scene. "Passing here gives me the same trauma," she said Wednesday. Police officers stand guard near the crime scene of the killing of Jose Munoz and Ximena Guzman in Mexico city on May 20, 2025. VALENTINA ALPIDE/AFP via Getty Images Oscar Sánchez's taco stand isn't far from the crime scene, but said Wednesday he didn't know what had happened until another vendor told him and police began to set up a perimeter. The attack showed that it doesn't matter if you're an official or an average person, he said. "It's all the same." Pablo Vazquez, the city's police chief, said that in recent weeks authorities had made "very significant arrests of leaders of criminal cells" in the capital. "These arrests will continue, and the dismantling of criminal cells will continue," he told reporters. Mexico City's mayor is considered second in political importance only to the president. The mayor's office has long been a stepping stone to the presidency, something true for Sheinbaum and her predecessor. But for years, the idea has prevailed of Mexico City as a relatively peaceful oasis protected from the brutal drug cartel violence prevalent in other parts of the country. There has always been street crime, but the cartels, while present, maintained a lower profile in the capital. That illusion was partially dashed in 2020 with the brazen ambush of Mexico City's then police chief on another central boulevard. Omar García Harfuch was wounded, but two bodyguards and a bystander were killed in the attack involving more than 20 people and heavy weaponry. García Harfuch, who is now Sheinbaum's national security minister, immediately blamed the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for the attack. There had not been another such attack on public officials in the capital since then. But politicians and their supporters are frequently targeted elsewhere in Mexico. Earlier this month, a mayoral candidate and three other people were shot dead at a campaign event in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz. Like Mexico City's mayor, Yesenia Lara was a member of President Sheinbaum's Morena party. In April, Jose Luis Pereira, a senior member of the Teocaltiche city government, was shot and killed while dining at a restaurant in Jalisco. In December 2024, a Mexican congressman who was a member of the ruling coalition was shot dead in Veracruz. Two female politicians were targeted soon after Sheinbaum took office. In June 2024, a local councilwoman was gunned down as she was leaving her home in Guerrero. Her murder came a few days after the mayor of a town in western Mexico and her bodyguard were killed outside of a gym, just hours after Sheinbaum was elected president. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
CNN
21-05-2025
- CNN
Gunman kills Mexico City mayor's top aides
The personal secretary and an adviser to the mayor of Mexico City were shot and killed in broad daylight on Tuesday while commuting to work. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said the victims, Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz, died as a result of a 'direct attack' in Mexico City's Moderna neighborhood.
CNN
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Gunman kills Mexico City mayor's top aides
The private secretary and an adviser to the mayor of Mexico City were gunned down in an attack in the Mexican capital Tuesday. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz died 'during a direct attack,' in the Moderna neighborhood. Brugada, as mayor of Mexico City, holds the country's second most powerful political office after the country's President Claudia Sheinbaum. Brugada and Sheinbaum are allies in the Morena party. The Mexico City Attorney General's Office said the attack took place when the two officials were on their way to work and their vehicle was intercepted. Authorities are analyzing a security camera video circulating on social media that allegedly captured the moment Guzmán and Muñoz were shot. It showed a man approaching a parked car and getting in, while another man wearing a helmet stands on the road and fires at the vehicle. The attacker then flees the scene. CNN contacted the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection to find out if the video corresponds to the attack that occurred on Tuesday. They responded that it is under investigation. The attack took place between Calzada de Tlalpan and Napoleón Street. Authorities said Wednesday they have identified at least four people who allegedly participated in the attack. 'Given the dynamics of the events, it is concluded that it was a direct and highly planned attack, and that those who carried it out had prior experience,' Prosecutor Bertha Alcalde Luján told a press conference Wednesday. Alcalde said the motive for the attack was still being investigated and that nothing could be ruled out. Authorities seized a motorcycle near the scene and a vehicle in the Iztacalco borough, possibly linked to the incident, according to a joint bulletin from the Citizen Security Secretariat and the Attorney General's Office. Brugada said her government was 'deeply saddened' by the loss of their colleagues, describing Guzmán as a wonderful and kind woman, and Muñoz as one of the smartest people she's ever met. Sheinbaum expressed condolences to the loved ones of the two officials during her press conference Tuesday morning and offered her support to the investigation. 'We will get to the bottom of this situation and ensure justice is served,' Sheinbaum said. The president said both Guzmán and Muñoz had been 'working in our movement (the Morena party) for a long time; we have known them.' Attacks on politicians are common in Mexico. Last year, the country saw a record number of victims from political violence, with Data Cívica, a human rights organization, reporting 661 attacks on people and facilities. Many of the victims either held or were running for municipal-level positions. In May 2024 a mayoral candidate was killed during a campaign stop in the southern state of Guerrero, in a shooting that was captured on video. Days later, the mayor of Cotija in Michoacán state was shot dead as she was walking from a gym back to her house with her bodyguard. In October, the mayor of Guerrero's capital Chilpancingo was killed less than a week after taking office. Earlier this month, a mayoral candidate in Veracruz state was gunned down alongside three other people during live broadcast of a campaign rally. Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported how many shooters were involved. Authorities say there was one gunman. CNN's Michael Rios contributed to this report.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
At least 4 people involved in killing of Mexico City mayor's senior aides, police say
At least four people were involved in the killing of the personal secretary and a close adviser of Mexico City 's Mayor Clara Brugada, the capital's police chief said Wednesday, as more details emerged of the worst attack against public officials in the capital in recent years. Pablo Vázquez Camacho said investigators had identified and found a motorcycle and two other vehicles used in the escape of the gunman who killed the two officials Tuesday morning as they travelled in a vehicle along a busy thoroughfare. Brugada's personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead in Guzmán's car, authorities said. Mexico City chief prosecutor Bertha Alcalde Luján said the gunman had fled on a motorcycle that was hidden nearby and then changed vehicles twice as he and others fled into neighboring Mexico State. Clothes were recovered in the vehicles and were being analyzed, but investigators could not yet offer a possible motive, the prosecutor said. She said Guzmán was shot eight times and Muñoz four times. The attack, which happened at around 7 a.m., left four bullet holes clustered on the driver's side of the windshield. One body lay on the pavement. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who is an ally of Brugada and a former mayor of Mexico City before winning the presidency last year, had declined to speculate on the possible involvement of organized crime during her press briefing earlier Wednesday.
