Mexico’s State Prosecutor’s Office (FGE)
attributed the recent shooting at the La Playa nightclub in Salamanca, Guanajuato to the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel .
At least 15 people were killed and another five wounded in the shooting that took place in the early hours of Saturday. According to preliminary inquiries, several of the victims were part of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) .
The head of the FGE, Carlos Zamarripa Aguirre , informed that there could be a direct link between the nightclub shooting and a police operative conducted by both state and federal forces that started on March 4 in the community of Santa Rosa de Lima, in Villagrán .
“Our intelligence team has made a report on the matter and we are hoping to carry out more law enforcement operations in Santa Rosa de Lima, where the cartel was operating,” he stated.
The prosecutor explained that, based on preliminary inquiries such as statements and ballistics reports, “we can assume that the Santa Rosa de Lima group was behind the attack.”
Some of the perpetrators and victims have been identified and the Prosecutor’s Office is working to arrest the people responsible.
Several victims had criminal records for crimes against health and firearms possession while others were known members of the CJNG criminal group .
One week after the police operative, which was conducted in cooperation with the Mexican Navy, the National Gendarmerie, state public security forces, and the prosecutor’s office , Zamarripa Aguirre has claimed that the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel has weakened.
The operative called “ Golpe de Timón ” (Change of Direction) led to the identification of 62 vehicles that had been reported as stolen . Government authorities have secured multiple firearms, drugs, and other instruments of crime in different locations.
The prosecutor added that Mariela “N,” –a.k.a. “La Chola”– who was identified as a key member of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel, was taken before a judge to ensure her detention so that she could not be released a few days after arrest, as was the case with Angélica “N,” the criminal group’s alleged financial operator, who was released by federal prosecutors.
The governor of Guanajuato, Diego Sinhué , assured that state authorities would continue to strengthen security in cooperation with the Navy. “We will continue with our Santa Rosa operations,” he stated.
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