Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Authorities investigate meeting between National Guard, suspected criminals

After photos surfaced on social media of National Guard members sharing a meal with a family of politicians linked to criminal activity in Venustiano Carranza, Puebla, Governor Miguel Barbosa announced he would launch an investigation. 

The governor told a press conference that he will file a complaint with the Ministry of Defense, the head of the National Guard and the Ministry of Public Safety regarding the meeting, which he described as “regrettable.”

The photos show seven uniformed members of the National Guard enjoying a meal in a seafood restaurant with several members of a clan linked to organized crime in the region. Another photo, the governor says, shows National Guard members stationed outside one of the family’s homes.

The family in question, the Valencia Ávila brothers, have taken turns as mayor of the municipality for a total of 12 years, and Vicente Valencia Ávila, the current mayor, is under investigation by the governor’s office. His son, Jonathan, is likely the person who first posted the incriminating photo to social media.

The brothers’ shady past is no secret. In 2018, police raided then-mayor Rafael Valencia Ávila’s home and found 50,000 liters of stolen gasoline, six guns and ammunition. Three people were arrested, including the mayor’s wife.

On April 16 of this year, José Luis Trejo Pérez, head of public safety during the Rafael Valencia administration, was arrested while in possession of a pistol and 43 baggies of cocaine. Trejo has been linked to three murders between 2015 and 2019. 

In October 2019, Governor Barbosa Huerta announced that the state would take over the municipality’s police force due to corruption and criminality.

A statement from the National Guard on the investigation into the incident acknowledges that the family is part of a criminal organization and warns that administrative and or criminal sanctions may be applied to those who appear in the photos.

Source: El Universal (sp), Reforma (sp), Proceso (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.

Fed rate cut sends peso to strongest level vs. dollar in more than a year

0
Wednesday's closing rate of 18.32 pesos per dollar represented a 0.2% gain from Monday's session, capping the peso's eighth consecutive day of strengthening against the greenback.
sacks of drugs

US names Mexico among 23 principal drug-producing countries while praising its anti-cartel crackdown

6
Mexico's inclusion was hardly a surprise, but it was noteworthy that the Trump administration praised the Sheinbaum administration for its increasing cooperation.
Guiengola, Oaxaca

Biologists work to turn Oaxaca’s Guiengola archaeological zone into nature reserve

1
Led by 23-year-old biologist Eduardo Michi, a group of scientists has deployed camera traps across more than 300 hectares to document local fauna like coatis, rabbits, squirrels and ocelots.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity