A multidisciplinary team is currently taking actions at the site in Cotija where the body of Santos Contreras was found with multiple bullet impacts around 8:00 AM. Aurelio Santos, who was mayor of Cotija from 2018 to 2021 representing Morena, sought to return to office in the last elections.
In a context of violence in the region, this case adds to that of Yolanda Sánchez, former municipal president of Cotija, who was shot dead on June 3. Additionally, on March 7, Arnulfo García Figueroa, a PAN councilor in Cotija, was kidnapped and is currently missing.
Authorities in Cotija have identified the presence of cells from different cartels such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Los Viagras, Los Reyes Cartel (United Cartels), and Los Pájaros Sierra, the latter being a split from the Jalisco criminal organization.
After the elections on June 2, the municipal president Juan Pablo Aguilar Barragán (PAN) requested a 60-day leave, and it has not yet been determined who will take over the mayor's office. Amid this context, the director of Public Security of the municipality of Angamacutiro, Lizbeth Estela Romero Tafolla, was also killed, prompting a new investigation by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Michoacán.
According to preliminary reports, armed individuals rang the doorbell at the official's house, and when she opened the door, they shot her. The events occurred in downtown Angamacutiro last Monday morning.
The Attorney General's Office reported that Aurelio Santos Contreras, former mayor of Cotija for the PRD and former candidate for municipal president, died as a result of gunfire near the College of Bachilleres in Cotija. An official statement announced the start of an investigation into this homicide that occurred in Cotija.
