Pedro Ariel Mendívil García, former director of the Mexicali Municipal Police and former regional prosecutor, was arrested this Tuesday during an operation led by the State Attorney General's Office (FGE), with the support of federal forces, for his alleged participation in the crimes of forced disappearance, vehicle theft and criminal association.
The arrest was made through an arrest warrant issued at his home. Elements from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), Mexican Army and state agents participated in the operation.
Simultaneously, other arrest warrants were also executed against former commanders and municipal police officers related to the same investigation.
According to the information released by the authorities, the investigation derives from events that occurred in 2023, when public servants allegedly participated in the forced disappearance of a person, in addition to the theft of a vehicle.
The investigation also contemplates the crime of organized crime or criminal association, according to the accusations presented.
Hours before his arrest, Mendívil broadcast a video on social networks in which he claimed to be a victim of political persecution.
In the message, he held the Attorney General of Baja California, María Elena Andrade Ramírez, responsible for any situation that may occur and maintained that the accusations against her are related to recent political accusations derived from the dissemination of audios about Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda. The former official stated that he would appear before the authorities because, he said, “innocent people do not flee.”
Pedro Mendívil held the Municipal Public Security Directorate of Mexicali during the administration of Mayor Norma Bustamante and previously served as regional prosecutor in the capital of Baja California.
During his administration he was in charge of various security operations and was one of the police commanders with the greatest public presence in the municipality.
