05/02/11 – The governor of Nuevo León, Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz, has announced that the police chief of the city of Apodaca and ten others have been officially missing since last week. The police chief has been identified as Milton Alvarado Rojas, but the identities of the other officials are still unknown. Authorities are still unsure whether these ten personnel are bodyguards or actual police officers. Medina de la Cruz also announced that Nuevo León’s State Attorney General’s Office is already investigating the case and has received leads to their whereabouts. Apodaca’s Secretariat of Public Security is expected to host a press conference to discuss the actual details of this incident.
To date, not a single version of the details of this event has been confirmed by authorities. However, several unofficial accounts of the incident have been reported by various Mexican news sources. According to Milenio, one of the versions is that 3 out of the 11 police officers were first kidnapped in Ciudad Juarez on Thursday April 29 by an organized crime group after finishing their shift. The group then contacted police chief Alvarado Rojas to negotiate the release of the men held captive. Alvarado and 7 bodyguards immediately went in person to address the situation, which is when he officially went missing. El Universal has provided a slightly different account in which they stated that on Saturday April 30, one of the victims who was kidnapped the previous Thursday was able to make contact with Alvarado Rojas so that he could come rescue them. In both of these accounts, Alvarado had not been heard of since he left to go negotiate the release of these men.
Sources:
Cedillo, Juan. “Desaparece jefe de la policía de Apodaca, NL.” El Universal. May 02, 2011.
García, Luis. “Rodrigo confirma desaparición de mando policiaco.” Milenio. May 02, 2011.
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