In a single day, the Puebla State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), led by Idamis Pastor Betancourt, executed six arrest warrants against municipal security directors and secretaries from the Mixteca and Sierra Norte regions. These officials are under investigation for their alleged collaboration with criminal organizations operating in these areas.

The arrests stem from two separate investigations. In the Mixteca region, David Velázquez Sandoval (Security Director of Chietla), Gonzalo Torres Cardoso (Tehuitzingo), and José Santiago Benítez Arista (Chila de la Sal) were detained. According to the National Detention Registry, Velázquez was arrested at 10:44 a.m. near Chietla’s police station, Torres at 11:17 a.m. outside Tehuitzingo’s command, and Benítez at 1:53 p.m. at a residence in San Miguel de la Toma, Chietla. All three were transferred under heavy security to the Justice House in Izúcar de Matamoros.

While the FGE has not publicly detailed the specific charges, sources indicate these officials are suspected of links to a criminal organization active in the Mixteca.

In the Sierra Norte, three more security chiefs were apprehended: Evencio Rosas Luna (Tlapacoya), Ángel Miguel Garrido (Tlaola), and Manuel Martínez González (Jopala). Their case is connected to a clandestine synthetic drug lab dismantled in June in Tlapacoya, where authorities seized 360 kilograms of methamphetamine, over 25,000 liters of chemicals, and lab equipment.

Judicial records reveal these officials allegedly protected the criminal cell tied to the lab, failing to act against their operations and reportedly instructing subordinates to facilitate the group’s movement across the region.

An additional arrest warrant was issued for Andy Castillo Rodríguez, head of Security in San Felipe Tepatlán, but he remains at large.

This coordinated operation highlights ongoing challenges in combating organized crime at the municipal level in Puebla. It also underscores the importance of transparent and accountable local security forces—an issue that resonates deeply with communities seeking safer, more inclusive public spaces.

As Puebla advances projects like the cablebús system, which aims to improve urban mobility and connect marginalized areas, strengthening public institutions and rooting out corruption remain critical to ensuring these developments benefit all residents fairly and securely.