MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican federal congressman Gabriel Gomez, the most high-profile politician murdered in recent years, was likely executed by a drug cartel, a state prosecutor said yesterday.
Gomez was kidnapped with an aide in Mexico’s second-largest city of Guadalajara on Monday. Their charred remains were found in a burned-out pickup truck the following day. The identities of Gomez and his assistant Heriberto Nunez were confirmed yesterday.
Authorities have so far given no motive for the murder. Gomez is the most senior politician to be killed since Rodolfo Torre, a gubernatorial candidate for the violence-wracked northeastern border state of Tamaulipas, was assassinated in 2010.
Arturo Nahle, attorney general of the state of Zacatecas where Gomez’s body was found, told local radio that the Jalisco New Generation cartel was probably behind the killing due to the nature of the abduction. The cartel is a relatively new gang that security experts say has made large inroads in territory controlled by more established groups.
