Additional Coverage:
Police Chief Commits Suicide Amid Anti-Corruption Raids in Mexico
A police chief in the rural town of Texcaltitlan, Mexico, took his own life as troops closed in to arrest him during an anti-corruption operation. The raids also targeted several top police commanders and the mayor of Amanalco, a nearby town.
The operation occurred in the State of Mexico, west of Mexico City, as well as in Naucalpan and Ixtapaluca, suburbs on the capital’s outskirts. State prosecutors said the Texcaltitlan police chief killed himself as authorities attempted to arrest him on unspecified charges.
The mayor of Amanalco and the town’s police chief were detained along with another local official. The police chief of Tejupilco was also arrested. The area has long been under the influence of the violent La Familia Michoacana cartel.
In addition to the rural raids, authorities arrested the assistant police chief of Naucalpan and a top police chief in Ixtapaluca. Local media reports suggest the officials are accused of collaborating with organized crime gangs.
The police chief’s suicide follows the arrest of a former prosecutor and local police official for the decapitation of a mayor in southern Mexico. Gangs and cartels have long corrupted local officials, using intimidation and bribery to secure their cooperation.
Speaking out against cartel corruption can be deadly. In recent months, two individuals who denounced cartel activities have been killed in Mexico.