On June 5, the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office (FGE) arrested three officers from the Ixtlahuacan de Membrillos municipal police force in connection with the death of Giovanni Lopez, a 30-year-old construction worker, who died in mysterious circumstances a few hours after being taken into custody on the evening of May 4.
While the investigation into the death of Lopez had crawled along for exactly a month, the arrests came swiftly, just one day after a violent demonstration demanding justice in the case shattered the peace of the Guadalajara city center.
On Tuesday of this week, a judge ordered the three detainees to pre-trial detention without bail (prisión preventiva) for a period of no longer than 12 months, during which time authorities can continue their investigation into exactly what actually occurred during Lopez’s time in police custody. The FGE did not provide any details regarding the three officers’ possible culpability in Lopez’s death. (Under the penal code, individuals accused of certain serious crimes can be imprisoned immediately and legally for up to two years without receiving a sentence.)
Meanwhile, on Monday and Thursday of this week, authorities interviewed Ixtlahuacan Mayor Eduardo Cervantes, who is accused by Lopez’s family of attempting to influence the case.
The detained Ixtlahuacan officers include the high-ranking Comisario de Seguridad, plus intermediate and basic level officials.
This week, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro dispatched state police officers to Ixtlahuacan to assume responsibility of all public security in the municipality. The 32 municipal officers have all been suspended and will undergo assessment and retraining at the police academy in Guadalajara.