Zacatecas prosecutor confirms arrest over Ojocaliente police station attack; FGR takes over investigations

A 29-year-old man from Aguascalientes was arrested with explosive devices after allegedly trying to flee a security operation in Zacatecas, authorities said. His vehicle reportedly resembled one suspected of involvement in the attack on the municipal police station in Ojocaliente, where 11 people were injured.

Zacatecas Prosecutor Cristian Camacho Osnaya told El Universal that state police, the National Guard and the Mexican Army captured Juan Pedro “N” in San Pedro Piedra Gorda, in the municipality of Cuauhtémoc. Security forces said they spotted the driver of a Nissan vehicle, who tried to escape after noticing their presence and threw tire-puncturing devices onto the road.

The man then left the vehicle and ran toward farmland, where officers caught and detained him. The state prosecutor’s office is processing the evidence and building a case to determine his degree of involvement. Authorities plan to transfer the detainee and the relevant case materials to the Federal Attorney General’s Office in the coming hours.

The federal Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office has already formally taken over the investigation into the Villa García attack, which occurred Saturday near the Aguascalientes border. That incident involved the explosion of a motorcycle targeting security forces, and an 18-year-old man, William “N,” has already been charged and placed under federal criminal proceedings. Federal authorities are also beginning the process of assuming the Ojocaliente investigation, initially opened by the state prosecutor’s office on attempted aggravated homicide and injury charges.

Camacho Osnaya said the attacks were a reaction by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to security operations and the movement of forces along the Zacatecas-Aguascalientes border. He said the attacks specifically targeted security personnel rather than civilians. Most of those injured in Ojocaliente have been discharged, while one victim remains in serious condition.