Mexico is facing a dramatic twist in one of its most notorious political murders. Authorities have detained Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega in connection with the 1994 assassination of presidential hopeful Luis Donaldo Colosio, a crime that has haunted the nation for over three decades.
Sánchez Ortega was apprehended in Tijuana and is now being held in a maximum-security facility in central Mexico as the legal process begins. Details on the exact charges remain undisclosed, but sources confirm the arrest is tied to the decades-old investigation into Colosio’s killing.
The murder of Colosio, then a leading candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), occurred during a rally in Tijuana, where he was shot twice in front of the public. Mario Aburto, who initially confessed to the crime but later claimed coercion, has been serving a 45-year sentence since 1994.
Investigations over the years have raised suspicions of a broader conspiracy, including the involvement of Colosio’s security detail. Evidence reviewed in 2024 suggested that an intelligence agent assigned to protect him may have fired the second shot, leaving ballistic traces on clothing and fleeing the scene shortly after the attack. The handling of the case has long been criticized, with claims that authorities may have concealed key details and facilitated cover-ups.
The arrest of Sánchez Ortega signals a renewed effort by Mexican federal prosecutors to examine long-standing claims of obstruction and hidden conspiracies surrounding the assassination. This development comes amid increasing scrutiny over past investigations and calls for full accountability in one of the country’s most controversial political crimes.
The nation now watches closely as this cold case takes a dramatic turn, raising hopes that decades of uncertainty could finally give way to clarity and justice.
