Tulum, Q.R. — A suspect identified as Alejandro “N” has been arrested for his involvement of the murder of Tulum Secretary of Citizen Security José Roberto Rodríguez Bautista. Alejandro “N”, alias El Rayo, was arrested in Veracruz March 27 after fleeing to Tampico, Tamaulipas from Tulum.
He was located and taken into custody in a coordinated effort between the Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) and the Veracruz State Attorney General’s Office (FGE). He was returned to the state of Quintana Roo over the weekend and charged with negligent homicide. He has been ordered to remain in preventative detention by a Cancun judge.
On Monday, State Prosecutor Raciel López Salazar provided details of the logistics. He says according to their investigations, the plot to kill Rodríguez Bautista was planned five months before being carried out and was not related to his work in the municipality of Tulum.
According to López Salazar, Rodríguez Bautista was targeted while serving as Director of the Investigative Police in Colima and for his participation in a search operation on the border with Jalisco.
The March targeted attack in Tulum, López Salazar explained, was carried out on orders from higher up drug dealers.
“He (Alejandro “N”) participated in the murder at the direction of a criminal leader from Tamaulipas,” the Quintana Roo Prosecutor said. Eight others are currently being sought around Mexico City and possibly Veracruz for their involvement in the planned killing.
López Salazar says hitmen monitored Rodríguez Bautista both in person and online before making their move. The Tulum Secretary of Security was followed for at least five months during which time his movements, routes and security personnel were monitored, authorities said.
Their investigation revealed that the hitmen closely monitored the official’s activities through social media, unsuccessfully attempting to assassinate him on at least six previous occasions.
“The man arrested today is a dangerous individual allegedly linked to more than 100 executions carried out in the north of the country,” López Salazar said at the Monday morning press conference.
Since his Thursday arrest, Alejandro “N” has been charged with negligent homicide after being found guilty of participating in the logistics, planning and execution of the March 21 murder that left Rodríguez Bautista dead.
The murder was coordinated with eight other hitmen from Mexico City and Veracruz, one of whom, the shooter that killed Rodríguez Bautista, also died on the day of the events. Authorities say a 5.56 caliber M4 rifle and a .40 caliber pistol were used in the March 21 murder.
“It was confirmed that one of the hitmen killed at the scene was of Guatemalan origin nicknamed “El Chaparro,” “El Kaibil,” or “El Guatemalteco,” known for his bloodthirsty nature. He was the one who executed the municipal official on the day of the attack,” the FGE confirmed. Although he succeeded in carrying out the murder, he was shot dead by one of the secretary’s bodyguards.
State authorities say they are continuing with their search for the other eight believed involved in the Tulum SSC head murder.
“”We are deploying our entire operational and intelligence strategy through the Interinstitutional Group for Peacebuilding, both at the state and national levels, with the goal of locating and arresting the other perpetrators. In Quintana Roo, anyone who commits a crime of this nature will face the consequences, being prosecuted and sentenced to a maximum of 50 years in prison,” the Prosecutor said.
