Sally Gallardo Núñez, the municipal trustee of Cintalapa, Chiapas, has been detained by the State Attorney General's Office (FGE) on suspicion of abuse of authority and crimes against the operation of the State Public Security System, which has allegedly harmed the municipal treasury. Her arrest brings the total number of current and former public officials under investigation in the municipality to seven, including the mayor Ernesto Cruz Díaz, former treasurer Reynol Valencia Cruz, former trustee Anayeli Reyes Clemente, and three municipal police officers. These individuals are being investigated for corruption, abuse of authority, and possible links to organized crime.
Although not officially confirmed, security sources indicate that some of the former public officials being investigated may have provided protection to a criminal group known as the Chiapas and Guatemala Cartel, which is linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) that emerged from fractures within the Sinaloa Cartel. Reports suggest that the region around Cintalapa, bordering Oaxaca, is under the influence of Juan Manuel Valdovinos Mendoza, alias "El Señor de los Caballos," who is identified as a plaza chief for the CJNG. A failed operation aimed at capturing him last October resulted in retaliatory actions by the crime group, including blocking and burning vehicles.
According to the investigations, on January 7, it was confirmed that Gallardo Núñez authorized payments from public funds to municipal police officers who lacked the required certification of confidence, necessary for performing security duties. By failing to halt these payments or report the irregularities, she allegedly caused direct harm to the municipal finances and the State Public Security System. As part of the investigation, a joint operation was carried out involving the FGE, the Federal Attorney General's Office (FGR), the Mexican Army, and the Secretary of Public Security, which included executing a search warrant at a residence in the Monte Real housing complex in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.