13 Arrested in Mexico City Assassinations

ByMexico Solidarity

This article originally appeared in the August 20, 2025 edition of Sin Embargo.

Mexico City. Authorities in Mexico City announced today the arrest of 13 people who planned and executed the attack against two officials from the closest circle of the Head of Government, Clara Brugada. Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz were killed by multiple gunshots on Calzada de Tlalpan, in the south of Mexico City (CDMX) . The double homicide shocked President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and the entire local and federal government structure, because the victims were widely known by all.

“I inform the public that during the early hours of today, in coordination with the Government of Mexico , a major operation was carried out related to the murders of our colleagues Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz. In this operation, 13 people were arrested, including three people who directly participated in the murder and others related to the logistical preparation of the event,” Clara Brugada Molina reported this Wednesday.

In a brief statement, he said these are the first developments in an ongoing investigation. He also announced that a press conference will be held at 5:00 p.m., led by Bertha María Alcalde Luján, Mexico City Prosecutor; Pablo Vázquez Camacho, Mexico City Secretary of Citizen Security; and Omar García Harfuch, federal Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, “to provide detailed information on these results.”

“I ask all institutions involved in this case to continue the investigation to fully clarify the facts. In memory of Ximena and José, and out of respect for their families, friends, and colleagues, this government will not rest until the truth is known and realized. I reiterate to the public our commitment to continue working tirelessly for security and justice in Mexico City,” the Mayor added.

Head of Government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada

From the Old City Hall, she highlighted “the inter-institutional coordination between the city government and the Government of Mexico that made these results possible, in this operation and from the beginning of the investigation, in which the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City, the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City, as well as the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection of the federal government, and the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic, with the support of the Secretariat of Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy, participated.”

“I am especially grateful to the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, whose support has been key to strengthening this joint work. The collaboration between the different levels of government demonstrates that we are making stronger and more effective progress in the fight against impunity,” Brugada concluded.

On May 20, Ximena and José were murdered on Avenida Tlalpan. The crime took place while the security report was being presented at the National Palace during President Sheinbaum’s daily press conference. That Tuesday morning, Clara Brugada and President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo confirmed the double homicide.

The head of the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJ-CdMx), Bertha Alcalde Luján, had warned that “these types of investigations are complex, require time and caution in what is reported,” so, although they had “made progress” and were working scientifically and technically to ensure this crime did not go unpunished, time was needed to gather more evidence against those involved.

“[We want] to ensure that we are not going to fabricate guilty parties, that we are not going to rush into arrests without first having the necessary evidence to prove this crime in court,” the Prosecutor emphasized last June, on the eve of the one-month anniversary of the double homicide that occurred outside the Xola Metro station on Calzada de Tlalpan.

A senior Mexico City government official told SinEmbargo that one of the investigative teams’ main hypotheses was that the murders of Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz were politically motivated acts of revenge or intended to destabilize the authorities of the capital and the Republic.

Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz

Ximena and José were young officials who were part of a generation of political operators who knew how to navigate between the technical and the political.

Ximena Guzmán Cuevas was 42 years old. A sociologist by training, a civil servant with a solid institutional career, an athlete, and an advocate for urban gardens, she had held the position of private secretary to Mayor Clara Brugada Molina since September 2023. She was also a private secretary at the Iztapalapa City Hall, where her work focused on direct customer service.

For his part, José Muñoz Vega was a legislative technician with a background in Political Science and Public Administration. Muñoz had worked with Clara Brugada since her first term in Iztapalapa, as a coordinator of advisors, which strengthened his ties to the social projects promoted by the most populous municipality in the country. His profile was valued for his technical knowledge, political analysis, and meticulous work in legislative processes.

“I feel very sad for the loss of Ximena and Pepe, with whom for many years we shared hopes and struggles to transform, first Iztapalapa, and now Mexico City,” said the Mayor of Mexico City on the day of the crime in a brief and emotional message.

One day after the double homicide, Prosecutor Bertha María Alcalde Luján issued what had been the only report on the case so far. On Wednesday afternoon, she clarified that the attackers were professional hitmen who left no trace: They used gloves and stolen cars. She explained that the killers had previously surveilled Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz, and pointed out that the gunman had a backup team of at least three other people who assisted with the logistics and driving of the vehicles used during the attack.

In this regard, it was determined that the attack against Ximena and José was highly planned and carried out by individuals with prior experience, as it required the use of human, material, and logistical resources, leading authorities to outline the hypothesis of a coordinated operation. C5 video surveillance allowed the attackers to track down and recover a black motorcycle used in the escape, along with abandoned clothing. A vehicle was later identified in Iztacalco, and a third car was identified in the State of Mexico (Edomex), where the attackers fled.

As the days passed, on May 25, it was reported that the Internal Affairs Department of the Mexico City Citizen Security Secretariat (SSC-CdMx) had initiated an investigation into two police officers who tampered with the crime scene. The Mexico City Police reported that all evidence had been handed over to the Prosecutor’s Office for the initiation of an internal investigation, and that changes had been made to the police personnel involved.

It was on June 10 that federal and Mexico City government authorities decided to remain silent and not offer any progress reports on the investigation into the double murder.

“This decision was made jointly with the Attorney General’s Office and the Mexico City Police. We are working daily in coordination, and we will leave this matter until there are arrests and the case is resolved,” said Omar García Harfuch, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, who, while serving as Chief of Police in the capital, survived an attack by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), resulting in a dozen arrests in the first hours of the attack.