Overview
- Federal records show Sánchez Ortega was detained on Nov. 8 at 4:37 p.m. in Tijuana’s colonia Los Reyes and placed at the disposal of a federal judge.
- The former intelligence operative is in Fiscalía General de la República custody as authorities move the decades-old case back into court.
- The FGR has asserted since 2024 that new biological, ballistic and testimonial analyses indicate a second shooter and has identified Sánchez Ortega as that suspect.
- Sánchez Ortega was briefly held in 1994 with blood on his jacket and a positive gunshot-residue test but was released after investigators attributed the fatal shot to Mario Aburto.
- Officials have not publicly detailed the legal grounds for the new arrest, drawing mixed reactions that range from calls for justice to accusations of political distraction.