Mexico violence: Security raised in Puerto Vallarta after ambush
Additional police officers were dispatched to Puerto Vallarta
Security in the popular Mexican seaside resort of Puerto Vallarta was strengthened after a former Jalisco state governor was killed on Friday.
Aristóteles Sandoval, 46, was shot in the back while using the bathroom in a city restaurant. One of his bodyguards was also shot and injured.
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Mr Sandoval, who ruled Jalisco from 2013 to 2018, died in the hospital.
The murder is one of the most famous attacks on a Mexican politician in recent years.
The coffin of Aristóteles Sandoval was brought to the State Congress building for a ceremony
Mr. Sandoval was having dinner with three other people at Distrito 5 restaurant in central Puerto Vallarta when the attack took place.
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Investigators believe this was carefully planned as the shooter waited for Mr Sandoval to go to the bathroom, leaving his two bodyguards behind.
He was shot in the back but not killed immediately. When his bodyguards tried to take him from the restaurant to a hospital, armed men opened fire on them outside.
Dozens of recordings can be heard in a video uploaded to Twitter by a local TV station. The bodyguards managed to drive Mr. Sandoval to the hospital, but he died of his wounds.
Members of Jalisco State Congress rose to standing ovations as Mr. Sandoval's coffin arrived
Crime scene disturbed
Jalisco Attorney General Gerardo Solís said when police arrived at the restaurant they found that the crime scene had been altered.
"By the time the police arrived, the restaurant staff had removed all of the evidence inside. They had practically cleaned the crime scene. This will hamper the investigation as the crime scene has been literally disrupted," said Solís.
The owner of the restaurant and his staff are questioned by the police.
Mr Sandoval's tenure was overshadowed by violent attacks by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Just days after becoming governor, Mr Sandoval's tourism minister was ambushed and killed by armed men believed to have links with the CJNG.
In May 2015, an army helicopter that spotted a convoy of cars believed to be protecting CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes was shot down by a rocket-propelled shell that killed several soldiers on board.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful in Mexico and notorious for its extreme violence.
It controls much of the cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking in central parts of Mexico, but also deals with fuel theft, extorsion, and the arms trade.
Aside from the attacks on his power base in Jalisco state, she is also believed to be behind the attempt to kill Mexico City's security chief Omar García Harfuch in June.
More information on Mexican cartels:
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