A well-liked mayor from the Mexican border city of Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, is missing after a group of gunmen kidnapped him while he was traveling with his family in western Mexico. Initially, the gunmen had taken his family as well but released them some time later.
The incident happened this weekend in the state of San Luis Potosi, when Rio Bravo Mayor Miguel Angel Almaraz was traveling by highway with his family. Details of the kidnapping remain unclear, but authorities from San Luis Potosi revealed that after a short while, his family was released. The mayor remains missing.
By Sunday morning, Mexico’s top security official, Omar Garcia Harfuch, said his officer had been found safe, with help from San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. It remains unclear if he was rescued or released by his captors.
In a short statement, San Luis Potosi officials revealed that it was the victim’s family that reported the kidnapping after their release. State authorities in San Luis Potosí and the neighboring state of Zacatecas immediately launched a series of search-and-rescue operations to find Almaraz.
Despite immediate responses from the governments of San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas, Tamaulipas Governor Americo Villarreal took a full day to issue a brief statement confirming the kidnapping and said he was in communication with the other states in an effort to find Almaraz. Villarreal and his state’s delayed public response have drawn criticism, since Almaraz is from a political party opposed to Mexico’s ruling party, Morena, which also controls Tamaulipas.
While details of the rescue efforts and of the kidnapping remain vague, what is known about Almaraz is that he is well liked in the community and his administration has avoided public scrutiny and major scandals, something that has not happened in most other border cities in Tamaulipas as well as the state government.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
