Mexico City mayor says police have arrested 13 in connection with killings of her staffers
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Mexico City mayor says police have arrested 13 in connection with May killings of 2 staffers
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada’s personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead on May 20. Three of those arrested allegedly were directly involved in the killings and the others had roles in the logistics. Authorities said the gunman had fled on a motorcycle that was hidden nearby and then changed vehicles twice as he and others fled into neighboring Mexico State. Police Chief Pablo Vázquez Camacho said there were various lines of investigation, but authorities would not speak of a possible motive while the investigation remained open.
Three of those arrested allegedly were directly involved in the killings and the others had roles in the logistics.
“In memory of our colleagues and out of respect for their families and friends, this government will not rest until the truth is known and justice is served,” the mayor said in a statement posted on social media.
Brugada’s personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead in Guzmán’s car on a Mexico City street in broad daylight on May 20. Guzmán, as she did regularly, was picking up Muñoz at a subway station.
A framed image of Ximena Guzmán, the personal secretary to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada who was murdered a day earlier, adorns an altar during a wake at a funeral home in Mexico City, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. Marco Ugarte / AP
Authorities said the gunman had fled on a motorcycle that was hidden nearby and then changed vehicles twice as he and others fled into neighboring Mexico State.
“These results represent the first advances of an ongoing investigation,” Brugada said.
Bertha María Alcalde Luján, Mexico City’s chief prosecutor, said later during a news conference that five vehicles, including the motorcycle the shooter fled on, were part of the operation. Two of the other vehicles were identified as having surveilled the victims in the weeks before their killings.
Alcalde Luján even said investigators believe the hit had originally been planned for May 14, but Guzmán didn’t pick up Muñoz that day, so they believe it was called off.
Police officers stand guard near the crime scene of the killing of Jose Munoz and Ximena Guzman in Mexico city on May 20, 2025. VALENTINA ALPIDE/AFP via Getty Images
Mexico’s federal security chief, Omar García Harfuch, said investigators confirmed that those involved in the shootings initially fled to a neighborhood in the borough of Iztacalco, not far from the capital’s international airport. There they changed vehicles and escaped the city to neighboring Mexico state.
Early Wednesday, law enforcement carried out 11 raids, arresting the 13 suspects.
Mexico City Police Chief Pablo Vázquez Camacho said there were various lines of investigation, but authorities would not speak of a possible motive while the investigation remained open.
Mexico City mayor says police arrest 13 in connection with killings of her staffers
Brugada’s personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead in broad daylight on May 20. Brugada promised more details at a news conference later Wednesday.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said Wednesday that 13 people allegedly involved in killing two members of her staff in May have been arrested.
Brugada promised more details at a news conference scheduled for later Wednesday, but said three of those arrested allegedly were directly involved in the killings and the others allegedly had roles in the logistics.
Brugada’s personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead in Guzmán’s car on a Mexico City street in broad daylight on May 20.
Authorities Arrest 13 People Accused Of Being Involved In Murder Of Two Aides Of Mexico City Mayor
Two aides of Mexico City mayor were killed in an attack on May 20. The attack was carried out by a group of 20 armed men. Police have arrested 13 people in connection with the incident. The victims were identified as Ximena Guzmán and her husband, Juan Carlos Guzma. The motive for the attack is not yet known, but police are investigating.
Mayor Brugada herself confirmed the development, saying three detainees were directly involved in the crimes, while others took part in the “logistics of the event.”
Ximena Guzmán, personal secretary to Brugada, and José Muñoz, an adviser, were killed by gunmen on a motorcycle while in the Moderna neighborhood of the capital back in May.
The mayor claimed the attack was intentional, saying there would be “no impunity” for perpetrators.
Surveillance footage published by El Pais back then showed a helmeted attacker firing at close range at both victims near their vehicle on Calzada de Tlalpan. The gunmen then fled the scene on a motorcycle.
Another video shared on social media by journalist Carlos Jiménez appears to show the alleged attacker near the scene of the murders six days earlier, on May 14.
In the footage, the man is wearing the same clothing seen in the May 20 attack and appears to be scouting the location. According to Jiménez, the man may have aborted an earlier attempt when only one of the victims was present.
The killings of Guzmán and Muñoz marked the first attack against public officials in Mexico City since 2020, when armed civilians ambushed the country’s current Security Minister, Omar García Harfuch.
On June 26, 2020, Harfuch and two of his security guards were attacked by about 20 armed individuals along Paseo de la Reforma, one of the city’s main roads, as he was en-route to his office.
Harfuch survived the ambush, but three people were killed in the assault, which involved more than 400 rounds fired at his vehicle.
Mexico City mayor says police have arrested 13 in connection with killings of her staffers
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada’s personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead on May 20. Three of those arrested allegedly were directly involved in the killings and the others had roles in the logistics. Investigators believe the hit had originally been planned for May 14, but Guz mán didn’t pick upMuñoz that day, so they believe it was called off. Authorities would not speak of a possible motive while the investigation remained open. The victims were killed in broad daylight in Mexico City’s Iztacalco neighborhood, not far from the capital’s international airport. There they changed vehicles and escaped the city to neighboring Mexico state, authorities said.
Three of those arrested allegedly were directly involved in the killings and the others had roles in the logistics.
Brugada’s personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and an adviser, José Muñoz, were shot dead in Guzmán’s car on a Mexico City street in broad daylight on May 20. Guzmán, as she did regularly, was picking up Muñoz at a subway station.
“These results represent the first advances of an ongoing investigation,” Brugada said.
Bertha María Alcalde Luján, Mexico City’s chief prosecutor, said later during a news conference that five vehicles, including the motorcycle the shooter fled on, were part of the operation. Two of the other vehicles were identified as having surveilled the victims in the weeks before their killings.
Alcalde Luján even said investigators believe the hit had originally been planned for May 14, but Guzmán didn’t pick up Muñoz that day, so they believe it was called off.
Mexico’s federal security chief, Omar García Harfuch, said investigators confirmed that those involved in the shootings initially fled to a neighborhood in the borough of Iztacalco, not far from the capital’s international airport. There they changed vehicles and escaped the city to neighboring Mexico state.
Early Wednesday, law enforcement carried out 11 raids, arresting the 13 suspects.
Mexico City Police Chief Pablo Vázquez Camacho said there were various lines of investigation, but authorities would not speak of a possible motive while the investigation remained open.
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Mexico City Attorney General Bertha Alcalde Lujan, left, Mexico City Security Secretary Pablo Vázquez Camacho, right, and the country’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch give a press conference on the arrest of those involved in the murder of two of Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada’s aides, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
FILE – A framed image of Ximena Guzmán, the personal secretary to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada who was murdered a day earlier, adorns an altar during a wake at a funeral home in Mexico City, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)
FILE – Police cordon off the area where Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada’s private secretary, Ximena Guzman, and adviser, Jose Munoz, were killed in Mexico City, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
FILE – Crime scene investigators work at the site where the personal secretary and an advisor to Mexico City’s mayor were killed by gunmen on a motorcycle, in Mexico City, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tristan Velazquez, File)
FILE – A body lies covered as police work at the site where the personal secretary and an advisor to Mexico City’s mayor were killed by gunmen on a motorcycle, in Mexico City, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Tristan Velazquez, File)