The Prosecutor's Office's hypothesis about the massacre in Salvatierra: a commando opened fire after being chased away by the inn's assistants

A group of people arrived unannounced at the Christmas inn and when the partygoers asked them to leave, they returned with a commando of armed men and opened fire on the victims. That is the main hypothesis of the Guanajuato Prosecutor's Office about the massacre last weekend in Salvatierra, in which 11 young people were killed and another 14 were injured. "All of them have wounds caused by projectiles fired by firearms," regional prosecutor Navigio Agustín Gallardo said Tuesday. Ministerial authorities also announced that 195 bullets were fired from seven weapons of different calibers and have said that they already have in their sights a "group of people operating in the area," on the border between the states of Guanajuato and Michoacán, as probable suspects.

Learn more

The massacre of 11 young people at a Christmas party in Salvatierra: "They arrived, entered and shot non-stop"

The so-called "infiltration" of the party has emerged as the main line of investigation of the authorities, who had already pointed to that motive since Monday night to explain the attack, in which nine men and two women died. The hypothesis emerges from 35 interviews conducted since the early hours of last Sunday, on the night of the events. "A group of people arrived at the place of coexistence, so several of the attendees who were at the event asked them to leave," said prosecutor Gallardo. The people left, but returned moments later to the former hacienda of San José del Carmen, where the gathering was being held. "They returned accompanied by another group of people carrying firearms and it was at that moment that they began to shoot at those present," he added.

The testimonies that have come to light indicate that the group of armed men fired indiscriminately when the party was about to end. The photograph taken by the attendees has become the symbol of outrage in Mexico and in Guanajuato, where 2,400 investigation files have been opened for intentional homicide so far this year. It is the second state with the most murders, only behind Baja California. The commando set fire to seven vehicles before fleeing, according to the reconstruction of the State Prosecutor's Office. Authorities did not detail which criminal group was involved in the killing. However, the recovery of the weapons and the spent projectiles is key because it has been identified that they were used to commit other crimes in the region, which allows the closure on the perpetrators of the attack to be tightened. "Once they are arrested, they will be brought to justice," Gallardo said.

Guanajuato Prosecutor Carlos Zamarripa (right) with Regional Prosecutor Navigio Agustín Gallardo on the day he was appointed in May of this year. FGE Guanajuato

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called the attack "a heinous crime" and this week launched harsh criticism against state prosecutor Carlos Zamarripa, who has been in office for almost 14 years and whom he points to as one of the main perpetrators of the wave of violence that has hit the region. The echoes of the massacre have been marked by the political pounding and the exchange of reproaches between López Obrador's government and several leaders of the National Action Party (PAN), the main opposition party, which has governed Guanajuato for 32 years. The opposition blames the federal executive's security strategy, colloquially known as "hugs, not bullets," for the killing. The ruling party blames the tragedy on the failure of the PAN governments in the state, which has become one of the main red spots in the country in recent years. Guanajuato will elect a new governor in June of next year, when there will also be presidential elections and to renew the Senate and the lower house, among more than 20,000 local and federal positions in contention.

Apart from the electoral controversy, López Obrador's statements were the subject of harsh criticism when he linked the murder of the young people to the increase in drug consumption in Guanajuato. The mayor of Salvatierra, PAN member Germán Cervantes, said he knew several of the victims and denied they were "criminals." The investigations of the Prosecutor's Office, at the center of the media pressure and the federal government to clarify the facts, also do not show signs that the altercation was related to the demand for drugs in the state, which has been mired for years in the war of the cartels for territory. State authorities already have a motive and a group of suspects, although they have not yet reported any arrests.

Subscribe hereto the EL PAÍS Mexico newsletter and receive all the key information on current affairs in this country