Mexico Continues Search for Missing Army Colonel Believed to Be Abducted by Drug Cartel Members in Jalisco State
Authorities in Mexico have denied that missing Army colonel Jose Isidro Grimaldo Muñoz was found dead in the state of Jalisco.
According to Infobae, the Security Cabinet in Jalisco reported that there was still no proof that the missing colonel was already dead, so the search operations continued.
"There is no finding to confirm it," said Ricardo Sánchez Beruben, coordinator of the State Security Cabinet.
Some local media outlets recently reported that the missing colonel's body was found in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and had traces of torture. According to the reports, a cell phone and a firearm were found next to the body.
However, Emilio Cosgaya Rodriguez, one of former President Felipe Calderon's trusted commanders during the "war on drugs," also believed that the body found did not belong to the missing colonel.
Cosgaya Rodriguez tweeted that he saw the images of the body found, and "it does not look like" Grimaldo Muñoz. He noted that he knows the missing colonel "well."
Missing Colonel Jose Isidro Grimaldo Muñoz Abducted in Mexico's Jalisco State
According to information released by Mexico's Ministry of Defense (SEDENA), Grimaldo Muñoz has been missing since December 10. He was reportedly kidnapped while on his way from Jalisco to Zacatecas.
The missing colonel reportedly left Jalisco aboard a dark-colored Mazda car, and contact with him was lost in the municipality of Talpa.
After losing communication with him, SEDENA activated the search protocols to find him. Over 2,000 Mexican Army, Air Force, and National Guard officers have already been deployed to search for the missing colonel, but so far, there have been no reports of his whereabouts.
Authorities believed that Grimaldo Muñoz might have been kidnapped by drug cartel members operating in Jalisco. The state is home to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel or Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), one of Mexico's most dangerous drug cartels responsible for various murders and kidnappings in the area.
Grimaldo Muñoz is currently the commander of the 16th Motorized Cavalry Regiment in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. However, before he had that post, he was involved in some controversy.
He was previously the commander of the Urban Dragons of the said regiment but was removed from his post last May after being accused of the extrajudicial execution of a young man.
The Army personnel under his command allegedly murdered a 22-year-old man named Alexis, who was shot to death on a motorcycle in Tamaulipas. Military personnel reportedly tampered with the evidence to cover up their involvement in his death.
General in Mexico Assassinated by Jalisco Cartel
Last month, a high-ranking military officer in Mexico was killed. The Army attributed the murder of General José Silvestre Urzúa Padilla to the Jalisco cartel, El Universal reported.
The general had been sent to Zacatecas last year in an effort to contain the wave of violence that was plaguing the state. However, he was fatally shot during an armed confrontation in the town of Jaltomate on November 24.
READ MORE: Mexico: Jalisco New Generation Cartel May Have Murdered 2 Lucha Libre Wrestlers
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Mexico's Biggest Problem... Jalisco New Generation Cartel - From Swamp Storiez