The images of Milagros Montserrat Meza bleeding in broad daylight on a street in León, Guanajuato, have become the latest macabre example of Mexico's insecurity. The 40-year-old woman was on her way to work on Thursday. At 6.30 in the morning, a man stabs her several times without explanation. As she screams, he runs away. When half an hour later the team of paramedics arrived, Milagros was already dead. The Secretary of Security of León and the governor of Guanajuato, Diego Sinhue, have asked the population for citizen collaboration to find the aggressor. They have also ruled out that the motive of the crime was robbery, since it was a "director attack".
The brutal attack on Milagros has shocked the country, which registers 10 murders of women every day. The aggression is recorded by the security cameras of the Lago de Zumpango street and the images show how a man, dressed in a fluorine yellow shirt and jeans, is following Milagros. At one point he subdues her and she is heard asking: "What do I give you? I have nothing, I swear I have nothing, I swear!" Despite the plea, the assailant stabs the woman five times, in the torso. After he flees, Milagros tries to walk while hugging her wounds. In the recording, the cries of pain are heard.
The Ministry of Security of León has indicated, in its Twitter account, that "it is ruled out that the fact is derived from a patrimonial crime, since it was a direct attack, for apparent personal quarrels." In addition, the public agency has written: "We are all outraged. There are no words that define the feeling. The search does not stop and will continue until he is captured. If you know where it is or have data that makes us stop it faster, it's time to speak up." The Attorney General's Office of Guanajuato is also collaborating in the search for the aggressor, who has been identified as Miguel 'N', and whose home has already been searched.
🔴 We condemn the Femicide of Milagros, registered this morning in the city of León.
From the moment the facts were known, the #FiscalíaGuanajuato works for the location and capture of the aggressor. #TuParticipaciónEsImportante #SiLoReconocesDenúncialo pic.twitter.com/Pf9tfHhGMv
— Attorney General's Office of the State of Guanajuato (@FGEGUANAJUATO) August 11, 2023
More than 24 hours have passed since the murder of Milagros and the whereabouts of the subject, who some local media have indicated as the victim's ex-partner, have not yet been found. The governor of Guanajuato, Diego Sinhue, has asked the Prosecutor's Office to arrest the person responsible and the public to provide information about his location: "The cowardly attack where Milagros lost her life in the city of León will not go unpunished. My solidarity and support to his family."
The case has reached the controversial president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, who has established a regime of exception in the country, with the aim of controlling violence, in which human rights and the justice system itself are violated daily. Bukele has written about Milagros' murder: "But the 'human rights' NGOs won't say anything, they don't care about the death of honest people. They would only come to the defense of the murderer, if the state does its job and takes him off the streets. There they will go out to ask for good treatment and "reintegration" for that disgusting rat. "
Asked about this in his morning conference, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has indicated that he does not want to "polemicize" with Bukele since they are "different realities and also different conceptions": "I think that the causes must be addressed, it is not just about applying coercive measures, lasting peace is achieved with justice and that is what we are putting into practice. " So far in 2023, more than 15,000 murders have been registered in Mexico, last year there were 32,000, according to government figures.
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