Violence Against Officials Continues in Mexico as Guerrero Deputy Secretary is Killed in Broad Daylight Attack

As has been the case in recent years, 2025 has been marked by widespread violence against public officials in Mexico. According to official data, more than 100 public servants were killed in the first six months of 2025. On Tuesday, another official was killed in Guerrero in what authorities described as a broad daylight attack.

State authorities in Guerrero confirmed the death of Hossein Nabor Guillén, the deputy secretary in the state's Welfare Ministry. The attack occurred in the municipality of Tixtla, about 10 miles east of the state capital, Chilpancingo.

Local media reported Guillén was shot near the municipality's health center, close to the Welfare Ministry offices and to a 24-hour municipal police security checkpoint.

According to reports from El País, Tixtla is dominated by Los Ardillos, a criminal group in Guerrero involved in drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. Active for more than two decades, the group has expanded its activities from its original heroin production to illegal mining and has tried to exert control over local politics, often clashing with Indigenous communities in the region.

El País also reported that Guillén had alleged ties to Los Ardillos. In 2024, he was accused of facilitating the group's presence in Tixtla after a video circulated on social media showing him embracing Celso Ortega Jiménez, the alleged leader of the criminal organization.

According to local sources, Guillén served as mayor of Tixtla from 2016 to 2018. In 2024, he ran for a seat in the state legislature but, after losing, he joined the state Welfare Ministry.

Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado publicly expressed her condolences but did not comment on the circumstances of the attack. In a post on X, she said his death "leaves a great void" in the hearts of his family and colleagues.

"Hossein was a man committed to the people's causes — generous, compassionate and always willing to serve others," Salgado wrote. "His memory will live on among those of us who had the privilege to walk alongside him."

Who are Los Ardillos?

According to InSight Crime, Los Ardillos was founded by former police officer Celso Ortega Rosas, known as "La Ardilla." He gained notoriety for growing poppy in the mountainous areas near Chilapa, Guerrero. After his death in 2011, three of his sons took over the group and continued a violent conflict with Los Rojos, an offshoot of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel and another dominant criminal organization in Guerrero.

Los Ardillos have been linked to numerous murders in the state. One of the most recent incidents took place in April, when authorities found the bodies of 11 men killed in an armed attack between Los Ardillos and Los Tlacos, another criminal group based in Guerrero.