Mexican authorities arrest two suspects involved in the murder of a federal judge and his wife in Colima

Mexican authorities have arrested two people in connection with the murder of federal judge Uriel Villegas and his wife in mid-June, prosecutors announced on June 28.

The murder of the federal judge and the attack launched against Mexico City police chief Omar García Harfuch have been attributed to the bloody Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG).

Jaime Tafolla Ortega,

aka “El Alacrán,” was located and arrested in the Cuauhtémoc, Colima , thanks to intelligence work by Mexico’s marines and prosecutors, the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. He is an alleged member of the CJNG.

“El Alacrán” is also wanted for femicide and enforced disappearance . The alleged gunman has also been liked to the murder of lawmaker Francis Anel Bueno , whose body was found in a mass grave in Colima.

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It was judge Uriel Villegas Ortiz who issued an arrest warrant against “El Alacrán” and Ayard Buenrostro, aka “ El Canelo,” in connection with the murder of Francis Anel Bueno.

In a raid at Jaime Tafolla's home, authorities found several weapons and drugs. This led judge Villegas to impose preventive imprisonment against Tafolla’s family. The federal judge was murdered two days later.

As a federal judge, Uriel Villegas was entitled to an armored car and several bodyguards yet he relinquished them in 2019.

Federal sources confirmed the judge renounced the security measures between February and March 2019, one year after he transferred Rubén Oseguera González “El Menchito” to a prison in Jalisco.

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