More than 90 allegedly corrupt municipal police officers were arrested in Chiapas this week, while 13 state police officers were detained in connection with abduction cases in Veracruz.
In the municipality of Comitán, Chiapas, located near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala, 92 municipal police officers were detained on Monday.
Chiapas’ state Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven posted a video on social media to inform the public about the arrests. In the video, State Public Security Minister Oscar Aparicio said 650 state police officers had been deployed in Comitán.
The Chiapas Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said in a statement that the officers were arrested for rioting and illegal and improper conduct after they sought to “obstruct” an operation that targeted drug dealing in Comitán.
The municipal police officer arrests came just eight days after a new state government led by Governor Eduardo Ramírez Aguilar took office and a new “immediate reaction” state police unit was created.
State Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca told a press conference that Comitán police officers tried to stop authorities from carrying out raids at 25 shops where drugs were allegedly being sold. Those raids went ahead, and 13 people were arrested, according to the FGE. Drugs and cash were also seized.
The arrest of the 92 municipal officers also came after police attempted to stop state authorities from taking control of a surveillance camera office.
Chiapas prosecutors accused the Comitán police of using the video cameras to inform local groups about state and federal raids in the area. Some of those groups, which purportedly represent farmers, are allied with drug cartels, the Associated Press reported.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel are engaged in a long-running turf war in the border region of Chiapas that has claimed scores of lives and displaced residents.
Chiapas Security Minister Óscar Aparicio Avendaño said that some municipal officers drew their guns on state officials who were trying to take control of the surveillance camera facility. The officers allegedly forced the officials out at gunpoint.
The arrests of the municipal officers — among whom is the local police chief — triggered a protest by local residents, who blocked streets in Comitán and destroyed or damaged surveillance cameras. Around 30 people were arrested on riot charges.
After the arrest of the police officers, Governor Ramírez declared that “there is no place for impunity” in Chiapas.
He also said that mayors and municipal police chiefs “have to be aligned” with the state government’s security strategy. Anyone found to be colluding with organized crime “will face the law,” the governor said.
Ramírez also said that Chiapas would receive “full support” in the fight against crime from federal security forces, including the army and navy.
For his part, Comitán Mayor Mario Antonio Guillén Domínguez said he had no intention of resigning in light of the arrest of the 92 municipal police officers. He also said he had no fear of being arrested.
Guillén, currently serving his third term as mayor, defended his record and described himself as a hardworking man and a “clean” man — i.e. not tarnished by any collusion with criminals.
“If the municipal police committed a mistake, that’s what the investigations are for,” he said.
The mayor noted that Comitán has (or had) a municipal police force made up of 250 officers, meaning that the majority are still working.
“There are police working hand in hand with a commissioner we have here who is in charge,” he said.

PRISIÓN PREVENTIVA A POLICÍAS ESTATALES COMO PROBABLES RESPONSABLES DEL DELITO DE DESAPARICIÓN FORZADA DE PERSONAS. pic.twitter.com/VmCuDBj2Ee— FGE Veracruz (@FGE_Veracruz) December 17, 2024
The Veracruz state Attorney General’s Office posted on its social media accounts Tuesday that officers arrested on suspicion of participating in the kidnapping ring were being held in preventative custody.
13 police detained in Veracruz
The Veracruz Attorney General’s Office (FGE) announced Monday that 13 state police officers had been detained in connection with three “forced disappearance” cases in which a total of six people were allegedly abducted. It described the officers — 11 men and two women — as the “probable” perpetrators of the crimes.
The whereabouts of the six people allegedly abducted by police are unknown. Details about the victims were not disclosed.
The 13 officers were detained at a police academy in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata, which adjoins the state capital, Xalapa. They had reportedly been summoned to the facility to participate in a training course. The officers were set to face preliminary court hearings in three different municipalities in Veracruz.
Clandestine graves containing the remains of missing people are commonly found in Veracruz. More than 700 such graves were found in the Gulf coast state between 2011 and 2022, according to official data.
With reports from AP, EFE, El País, El Universal, Aristegui Noticias, Expansión and López-Dóriga Digital
