The ex-governor of a Mexican state known for its criminal elements was shot dead inside a restaurant bathroom in the city of Puerto Vallarta, officials said.
Officials in the Mexican state of Jalisco said Aristoteles Sandoval, who governed the area between 2013 and 2018, was killed by an unidentified assassin while Sandoval’s security detail was preoccupied.
Sandoval was killed by a single assailant, but Mexican officials said that up to 10 people might have been outside the restaurant to assist in the assassination. He traveled to the restaurant in a bulletproof vehicle and had up to 15 bodyguards assigned to protect him.
During Sandoval’s time in office, he struggled to limit the expansion of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a powerful Mexican cartel that rose to power in the region. In 2020, officials in Jalisco recorded nearly 35,000 homicides in the area, which has descended into chaos as the local government continues its attempts to contain the group.
