• OFFICERS: The bodies of seven state police officers were found dead Tuesday inside a minivan in the Pacific coast state of Colima (pop. 711,000). According to state authorities, unknown individuals had kidnapped the agents near the state border with Jalisco last Thursday.
• UNKNOWN: Known for being Mexico’s state with the highest homicide rates, authorities in Colima had explained that the officers were part of a 10-people security detail deployed for two investors assessing opportunities one hour far from the port of Manzanillo. Three other officers had been freed.
• INVESTIGATION: “Prosecutorial authorities must clarify the facts, provide comprehensive information and point those responsible for their due processing”, said José Ignacio Peralta, Governor of Colima state, adding that he had also ordered an internal investigation over the incident.
• NUMBERS: A total of 226 police officers have been murdered in Mexico between January and May of this year including four in Colima, according to Causa en Común, a civil society NGO. Previously and amid Mexico’s most violent year on record, a total of 446 police agents were killed in 2019.
