Sinaloa State Police Chief Killed in Drive-By Shooting

“MX” for Borderland Beat

Joel Ernesto Soto, the Head of the Sinaloa State Police, was murdered while driving through the highway that connects Los Mochis with Culiacán. The attack occurred near La Angostura and Salvador Alvarado Municipalities.

Investigators say an armed commando paired up with his vehicle and shot him over 200 times. Soto lost control of his vehicle and drove off the highway. The sicarios then pulled him next to him finish him off.

The police chief was found dead on the driver’s seat of his white Nissan Sentra. He was traveling from Los Mochis, his legal residence, to Culiacán. He was in Los Mochis over the weekend visiting family members.

Cristóbal Castañeda Caramillo, the Sinaloa Public Security Chief, confirmed the attack on Twitter earlier today.

“In a cowardly attack, this morning, unfortunately, the director of the State Police, Joel Ernesto Soto, lost his life. The incident occurred on the Los Mochis-Culiacan highway. Our condolences to the family and society of Sinaloa who have lost a great man.”

The Sinaloa Attorney General’s Office (FGR) has taken on the case. No one has been arrested thus far.

Background

Soto joined the Mexican Army on 2 December 1981. He graduated from the Heroic Military Academy, Mexico’s top military institution, and took basic and advanced classes in military intelligence.

During his military career he carried out tasks in different states such as Sinaloa, Sonora, Mexico, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guerrero, and Baja California Sur. In these places, he has served in several Battalions, as well as in the Motorized Cavalry and Armored Reconnaissance Regiments.

On 6 May 2021, Soto was the victim of an attack in Mazatlán, when alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel attacked a state police convoy in which he was traveling in. Soto was not injured.

GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW

Sources: Milenio; Diario de Mexico; Infobae; Noroeste; Riodoce; Esfera Informativa; La Jornada; Cronica de Hoy (Images); Wire (Images); Centro Noticias O (Graphic Images)