Second Suspect in Attack on Striking Tornel Workers Prosecuted

ByGerardo Carmona

This article by Gerardo Carmona originally appeared in the March 30, 2026 issue of La Jornada Estado de México, the Mexico state edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

A judge formally charged Jesús “N”, accused of his alleged involvement in the armed attack against striking workers of the Llantera Tornel company, who were standing guard outside the Tultitlán plant on March 18.

According to the investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Mexico (FGJEM), there were approximately 50 people in the vicinity of the plant that day, including workers maintaining the strike vigil. A group of approximately 40 individuals arrived at the scene in several vehicles. Among them, according to the investigation, were Jesús “N” and Alejandro “N”.

Attackers Demanded Strike be Called Off

Initially, the aggression consisted of insults and stone-throwing, but it later escalated. According to the report, the aggressors demanded that the workers end their strike and leave the area, but when they received no response, several of the attackers pulled out firearms and shot at the strikers, injuring four workers.

Municipal police officers who responded to the scene arrested Jesús “N” and Alejandro “N”, who were then brought before a judge and taken to a state prison. There, the judge ordered criminal proceedings to be initiated against Jesús “N” for attempted aggravated homicide.

As a precautionary measure, he was ordered to be held in pretrial detention, and a two-month period was set for the completion of the supplementary investigation. Alejandro “N”, an alleged accomplice in the same events, had already been formally charged, so both face accusations stemming from the attack against the Tornel workers.

The case has once again brought the conflict at the tire factory into the spotlight, where the strike has ceased to be merely a dispute between the company and the union, becoming instead a matter of security and criminal justice. What began as a workers’ protest escalated into an armed attack against those protecting the movement.

Although the prosecution attributes participation in these events to Jesús “N”, his responsibility will have to be resolved in the following stages of the judicial process.