During President Claudia Sheinbaum's morning press conference, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch acknowledged that authorities failed to prevent two recent violent attacks in Guanajuato, including a massacre at a soccer field in Salamanca and an incident at a public park that injured eight minors. However, he stated that such events have decreased compared to the previous administration and highlighted arrests and seizures against organized crime.
In the morning press conference on February 20, 2026, Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch addressed the wave of attacks in Guanajuato, calling them unacceptable. He acknowledged the failure to prevent the massacre at a soccer field in Salamanca on January 25 and the attack at a public park that injured eight minors. “These crimes are unacceptable, in the two recent ones there are already detainees. For each of these actions by organized crime, we will work so that they do not go unpunished; although in these cases the events could not be avoided, what we can avoid is that they do not go unpunished,” Harfuch commented.
He stated that mass attacks are not a new phenomenon in Guanajuato, where they have been most frequent, but have decreased significantly compared to the previous administration. In one year, authorities arrested 4,400 people, seized 5 tons of drugs, 6,400 firearms, and dismantled a laboratory. Among captured leaders are José Francisco “N,” alias “Alfa 1,” who ordered attacks on a bar and authorities; Sandra “N,” “La Patrona,” a link in drug trafficking; and Moisés “N,” “El Moy,” the material author of the Salamanca attack, arrested with four collaborators.
Marcela Figueroa, executive secretary of the National Public Security System, reported a 65% reduction in the daily average of intentional homicides in Guanajuato, from 12.71 to 4.45 between February 2025 and January 2026, attributed to greater federal presence. However, crimes like violent robbery of pedestrians increased by 18.5% and violent home robbery by 30.8%.
In context, on February 19 a triple homicide occurred at a car wash in Apaseo el Alto, where Heriberto Mendoza, cousin of PAN Mayor Guadalupe Monserrat Mendoza Cano, died along with two other men. The Guanajuato General Prosecutor's Office is investigating the case, similar to previous incidents in the state.
