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Oaxaca Prosecutors Detain Santa María Chilchotla Mayor on Extortion, Attempted Homicide Charges

The case points to a probe of a suspected criminal cell with possible ties along the Oaxaca–Veracruz border.

Overview

  • The Oaxaca attorney general's office said it detained Mayor Regino Gallardo González and filed the case in court as case 39/2026.
  • He faces probes for aggravated extortion and attempted homicide tied to an armed home invasion in Santa María Chilchotla in September 2024.
  • Prosecutors say the assailants came to collect “pago de piso,” a protection payment criminals demand, and threatened the people inside.
  • Investigators are mapping the reach of the suspected cell and any links to networks that operate near the Oaxaca–Veracruz state line.
  • Gallardo won under the usos y costumbres system in October 2025 and took office on January 1, 2026, and no municipal or state officials had publicly commented on the arrest.