The Security Cabinet of the Government of Mexico City appeared before the press this Thursday to present the latest progress in the investigations into the murder of José Muñoz and Ximena Guzmán, close collaborators of the head of Government, Clara Brugada. Perpetrated almost a year ago, the authorities have reported that the number of detainees has increased to 18, all of whom are part of a criminal group “identified with operations in Mexico City and the State of Mexico,” according to the local police chief, Pablo Vázquez. The prosecutor, Bertha Alcalde, added that 10 of the 18 are already formally charged with murder and aggravated criminal association in the case of Muñoz and Guzmán.
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Executed in broad daylight, on Calzada de Tlalpan, one of the main arteries of the capital, the attack against Guzmán and Muñoz deeply struck the local Government. The victims were very close to Brugada, Guzmán was her personal assistant and Muñoz one of her main advisors. “I fought with Pepe for more than 35 years, I met Ximena 15 years ago and for seven years we worked intensely together for the transformation of this city and this country. I shared sleepless nights, worries, 1,000 stories and a great conviction that we could build a country, a better place,” Brugada said this Thursday.
From the very beginning, the authorities highlighted the sophistication of the attackers, who monitored the victims for 20 days and set up a labyrinthine operation to disappear after the attack, on the border between the capital and the State of Mexico, on its northeastern side. During the planning, the attack and the escape, the criminals used at least seven vehicles, according to prosecutor Bertha Alcalde. Their knowledge of the area and the virtual perimeter established by the capital’s video surveillance system facilitated their escape. So far, the material perpetrator of the attack, the man who shot the victims, remains free.
Vázquez has given some details about the detainees. The first 13 were captured in an operation launched in mid-August last year, in several simultaneous raids in the capital and the State of Mexico. Of the 13, “elements have been gathered to determine that six had material participation in the events,” said the police chief. One of those six, he added, “was allegedly an active part of the execution cell, which would have acted as the material author of the homicides, had it been carried out on May 14, 2025. However, the operation that day was canceled due to a change in the routine of one of the victims.” This is Francisco N, arrested in August.
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The other five have been arrested in the following months, the first days after those raids and the last in February. “On August 26, Isai N was arrested in Xochimilco, who is a suspected member of the execution cell and is linked to another detainee, described as the material author,” Vázquez explained. “On October 1, Jaziel N was arrested, a member of a cell related to the events, dedicated to extortion and drug dealing. On November 7 and 14 in Tlalpan and Xochimilco, Wendy N and Dylan N were arrested, involved in logistical and financial support activities. And on February 21, Jokabeth N was arrested in Mante, Tamaulipas, who participated in the planning of the attack,” detailed the police commander.
Although the outline of the criminal network is now more detailed and extensive than in August, when the last details were given, the depth has barely changed. So far, the motive for the attack against two officials, generally unknown to the media and public debate, remains unknown. “It is a question we all ask ourselves, why it happened, who is behind it,” Brugada said. “It is the question that the investigation tries to answer. What we have to keep investigating is who hired these operators,” she added.
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