Mexican authorities detained a municipal police chief last month for his alleged connection to the killing of three women and six U.S.-Mexican children in northern Mexico, local media and an official said Friday.
On 4 November in Sonora State, suspected drug cartel hitmen shot dead the nine women and children from Mormon families, sparking outrage in Mexico and the United States.
Several Mexican media outlets reported law enforcement officers arrested Fidel Alejandro Villegas, Janos Municipality’s police chief, based in Chihuahua’s neighboring state, on suspicion of involvement in the case.
A federal official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Villegas ‘ arrest, which follows earlier in the investigation the detention of other suspects.
Mexican officials believe that after being caught in a dispute between local drug cartels fighting for control of the area, the women and children were killed.
The Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, requested U.S. assistance in the case under pressure from the Trump administration, asking the FBI to assist in the investigation.