Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, denied on Monday an alleged attack against him on September 15 at his Polanco office. Journalist Raymundo Riva Palacio reported shots fired at the property, but the official attributed the rumor to discarded security alerts. The incident remains secretive and unconfirmed officially.
On September 15, according to columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio, several shots hit the house in Polanco that Omar García Harfuch uses as an office, some directed straight at the terrace where he is usually located. The attack was kept in enormous secrecy, confirmed by sources close to the official, with versions such as an incident during a dinner on the terrace that injured a guest with shrapnel. However, García Harfuch denied any attack during a press conference on October 27 after appearing before the Chamber of Deputies.
“I have not received attacks. What happens is that there are too many alerts that are discarded permanently and that is what we are always doing,” he stated. He explained that the property on Constituyentes, which includes a bedroom, recorded no alerts. Riva Palacio detailed hypotheses: the shots may have come from an elevated position or from the street upward. García Harfuch was not present at the time.
This alleged incident revives fears for the secretary's safety, a recurring target of criminal groups. In 2020, a Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación commando attacked him on June 26 on Paseo de la Reforma, killing two escorts and Gabriela Gómez Cervantes, a 26-year-old civilian. They used a 3.5-ton truck, fragmentation grenades, and Barrett .50 rifles; José Armando ‘N’, alias ‘Vaca’, was arrested. In 2023, a detected plot led him to seek refuge in Spain for a month.
García Harfuch justified not resigning after the 2020 attack due to gratitude to his escorts and responsibility: “It would have been irresponsible” to resign, emphasizing to continue “with 10 times more strength.” There is no public investigation file or official government statement, which considers the case highly sensitive given the secretary's closeness to President Claudia Sheinbaum and his role in cartel arrests.