Two members of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) died in an armed attack on Friday while conducting investigation work on a kidnapping in the municipality of Omealca, Veracruz State, according to the head of the department, Omar García Harfuch. A third agent was injured and is hospitalized as a result of the attack, which the official has attributed to organized crime. The secretary has mourned the death of the two police officers and extended condolences to their families. “We recognize their bravery and commitment to protecting the public,” he stated in a message via X, in which he noted that an operation was deployed to locate and arrest the criminals. “This crime will not go unpunished. Those responsible will be brought to justice,” he assured.
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The SSPC specified in a statement that, during the shootout, a fourth police officer had gone missing but has since been found “in good health.” Regarding the injured agent, the department indicated, “she has full institutional support.” The armed attack occurred in the Paso Amapa village, in Omealca, a municipality embedded in the Veracruz mountains, near the border with Oaxaca State, in southern Mexico.
García Harfuch mentioned that, after the attack, the SSPC received immediate support from the Secretariat of Defense, the Navy, the National Guard, and the Security authorities of Veracruz and Oaxaca. “During these actions, two trucks related to the attack were located, inside which evidence linked to a criminal cell dedicated to kidnapping and extortion in the area was found,” detailed the SSPC.
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Apart from the tragedy of the dead police officers, the investigation work in Omealca continued, and the Security Cabinet — coordinated by García Harfuch — located and freed two kidnapping victims, according to the official himself. The Army, Navy, the Attorney General’s Office, the SSPC, and the Veracruz Public Security Secretariat collaborated in this operation. “Thanks to the coordination between [authorities], both individuals were freed and are safe and sound,” he indicated.
According to a 2025 report by the DEA, the United States anti-narcotics agency, four cartels have criminal operations in Veracruz: the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Sinaloa Cartel, the Northeast Cartel — a split from Los Zetas — and the Gulf Cartel. The SSPC indicated that the investigation work in Omealca aimed to “identify and dismantle criminal cells dedicated to kidnapping and extortion,” although it was not specified which cartel the operation targeted.
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