A massacre has shaken . An armed commando broke into the Los Cantaritos bar, in the historic center of the capital of the Mexican State, and opened fire on the diners during the night of Saturday. The preliminary toll of the attack is 10 people killed, seven men and three women, and at least another seven injured. The authorities announced the arrest of one of the alleged perpetrators and the seizure of the truck with which they arrived and left the scene.
Local security forces became aware of the attack after receiving a call to emergency services after nine at night. The municipal police indicated that at least four hitmen were involved in the attack. The subjects arrived with long weapons at the bar, located on Circunvalación Street, one of the busiest streets in the city, and shot at the customers.
Security camera images show how diners sought refuge under the tables and tried to escape the gunshots. The commando fled the crime scene, set fire to the truck and abandoned it in the municipality of El Marqués, about 10 kilometers outside of Querétaro. The authorities identified the license plates of the vehicle and were able to locate and recover it. Another video, which lasts just under two minutes, captured the moment of the hitmen’s arrival and escape without resistance.
“Querétaro’s entire security system is mobilized to find the criminals,” said the governor, after midnight. The state leader issued instructions to treat injured people, care for the victims’ families and provide psychological support to witnesses. Kuri has asked the population to follow official reports to avoid panic.
Querétaro is not among the most violent states in Mexico, but it borders to the west with Guanajuato, the entity with the most intentional homicides in the country so far this year, with more than 1,863 investigation files for this crime until the end of September. He and he have been fighting an open battle for control of the territory for about five years, which has spread fear among the population. At the end of October they exploded.
“I reiterate to Querétaro society that there will be punishment for those responsible for this brutal act, we will continue to protect our borders and maintain the security of our State,” Kuri stated. Authorities from the three levels of government have traveled to the scene and continued expert work to gather evidence and find the perpetrators of the attack. An investigation has been opened, which already collects information about the detained person and the recovered vehicle.
At least four criminal groups have a presence in Querétaro, according to security analyst David Saucedo and maps from the Ministry of National Defense. These are the Jalisco Cartel, the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, the heirs of the Michoacana Family and a local mafia that is dedicated to huachicolas fuel trafficking is known locally. Some hypotheses of the specialist are the so-called floor charge (the fees that criminal organizations impose on businesses to function), stopping the sale of drugs by rival gangs in those points or “warming up the plaza”: when a cartel sows chaos to undermine the dominion of another over a territory.
“The violence in Guanajuato is transmitted like a virus to Querétaro, with the same groups involved and the same way of working”says Saucedo. Although Querétaro is not a hot spot for violence, it is a key territory in Mexico’s criminal geopolitics. Saucedo says that it is the rearguard of Santa Rosa de Lima, where it is supplied with supplies, recovers from attacks and concentrates several men. The Jalisco Cartel has a greater presence in Guanajuato and the State of Mexico, both adjacent to Querétaro, and seeks to control the State to unite those territories. Saucedo adds that there is no sign that it is a direct attack because the images show panning, indiscriminate bursts from side to side in the bar, to hit as many civilians as possible. No organized crime group has been identified by law enforcement. The Prosecutor’s Office has also not raised the motive and who the intellectual authors behind the attack are.
