Mexico City’s top security official narrowly survived an ambush in an exclusive neighborhood that ended with at least three people dead.
Omar Garcia Harfuch, the secretary of public security, was riding in his bulletproof SUV in the wealthy enclave of Lomas de Chapultepec Friday morning when a truck and an SUV blocked the road and the attackers began firing 50-caliber sniper rifles and throwing grenades at the armored vehicle.
The attack involved more than a dozen assailants and lasted for several minutes and ended with Garcia Harfuch, 37, being taken to the hospital to undergo surgery after suffering gunshot wounds and being hit by shrapnel, according to the Associated Press. Two police officers were killed in the carnage, as was a woman who was driving by when the attack began.
Hours after arriving at the hospital, Garcia Harfuch announced on Twitter that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was believed to be behind the attack.
“This morning, we were attacked in a cowardly way by the CJNG,” he wrote, using an acronym for the cartel.
“Two colleagues and friends of mine lost their lives,” he said. “I have three bullet wounds and various pieces of shrapnel. Our nation has to continue standing up to cowardly organized crime. We will continue working.”
Mexico City Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos said a dozen suspects have been arrested, and her office is investigating the attack.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which has been blamed for a wave of violence, emerged around 2010 after it split from the Sinaloa Cartel. Last year, nine bodies were found dangling from a bridge with the initials of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel on a banner, along with a reference to a rival cartel. Seven more chopped-up bodies were discovered nearby.
In February, nine people were killed, including four minors, when a video arcade used by a rival gang to sell drugs was shot up. The shooting is believed to be tied to two members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and another group, Los Viagras.
