Veracruz: Suspected hit men and police officers clashed in Acultzingo, there are 4 dead

A confrontation between Veracruz state police and suspected hit men left four civilians killed, who would be part of the criminal gang led by a subject identified as El Bukanas, according to statements by the entity's governor, Cuitláhuac García.

During the early hours of this Tuesday, April 5, elements of the State Police of Veracruz were carrying out preventive work on the federal highway Orizaba-Tehuacán, at the height of the town known as El Mezquite, where they noticed the presence of a beige vehicle with “suspicious” people inside.

The subjects traveling in the Ford Explorer van with Mexico State license plates refused to stop despite the fact that uniformed men repeatedly marked their car, so they started a high-speed chase on the highway.

After minutes of pursuit, the uniformed and suspected hit men exchanged gunfire while civilians tried to leave the road at the height of the town of El Potrero. The confrontation resulted in the death of four men, while one more, identified as Gonzalo “N”, was wounded by bullets and was transferred to a hospital in the municipality of Río Blanco as a detainee.

The authorities secured three handguns and one long gun, in addition to the vehicle in which the subjects were transported; the confiscated was placed at the disposal of the Regional Prosecutor of Justice of the 15th district of Veracruz to integrate the investigation folder for the case.

Elements of the National Guard and the Ministerial Police implemented a security device in place to secure the area and initiate the necessary steps to clarify the facts.

The first reports of the facts indicated that the subjects belonged to a group of self-defence groups originating in the area, while later the rumor spread that the victims were part of a criminal organization dedicated to huachicol.

Later, the governor of the state, Cuitláhuac García, testified about what happened to the local media, saying that the subjects killed could be part of a cell belonging to a criminal group.

“They are not self-defenses, simply in the face of a call to 911 about armed persons they came and the elements were attacked. What was done immediately was to report the fact and the Prosecutor's Office will conduct the investigation. There was no loss of elements, only those who attacked.

In the same way, he regretted the loss of human life and said that the Veracruz Prosecutor's Office is already investigating the incident; in addition to ensuring that he is suspected of belonging to the criminal gang led by Roberto de los Santos de Jesús, known as El Bukanas.

The criminal leader is reported to be one of the main huachicoleros in the state, as local authorities offer a reward of five million pesos for information leading to his capture.

De los Santos was a member of the State Police and is presumed to have used his influence as an officer to steal fuel on the borders of Veracruz and Puebla. In 2014, he was linked to Los Zetas, as state authorities found a ranch where hit men were training in a town in Acultzingo.

It recently transpired that El Bukanas formed an alliance with CJNG hit men to join forces and continue their criminal activities in the states of Veracruz and Puebla, which he commands in the company of his brother Saul de los Santos de Jesús, El Fossil.

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