Mayor of Esperanza arrested in Puebla operation, along with his brother and former security chief

The mayor of Esperanza, Puebla, was among nine people arrested in an operation targeting an alleged criminal structure involved in cargo-truck robbery, extortion and kidnapping along the Puebla-Veracruz highway.

Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch reported the arrest of Isaac Rodríguez Ochoa. Those detained also included Manuel “N”, the mayor's brother, and Abigail “N”, the former director of municipal public security. Authorities executed 23 search warrants in the municipality.

The operation produced a substantial haul of equipment, according to García Harfuch: 35 firearms, including two Barrett rifles, 52 magazines and 11 vehicles. Four vehicles were armored, while another had improvised armor and a turret. Investigators also seized tactical clothing, a drone and a signal jammer.

Rodríguez Ochoa belongs to Morena, the ruling party in Puebla, and is an active member of the Federal Roads and Bridges Workers' Union. García Harfuch said the arrests would weaken the organizations' operational capacity and alleged protection networks, and could reduce highway and cargo-passenger theft as well as extortion.

The secretary credited the Puebla government, led by Alejandro Armenta Mier, with supporting the operation. He also referred to the recent arrest of Said de Jesús Godos Luna, the Movimiento Ciudadano mayor of Tepeyahualco, over possible responsibility for express kidnapping and violent vehicle theft.

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These arrests represent a decisive blow to the operational capacity and possible protection networks of these criminal organizations, and will have a direct impact on reducing highway robbery, cargo and passenger transport theft, and extortion.