TIJUANA A 22-year-old man was found dead Tuesday in Mexicali five days after he was detained by state police agents, authorities announced.
The victim, identified as Óscar Enrique Lucero Jaramillo, had been reported missing by his family after agents entered his home supposedly to search for weapons.
His body was found dumped Tuesday in the neighborhood Islas Agrarias, in the city's east side, by Mexicali municipal police. The cause of death is under investigation.
Baja California Public Safety Secretary Daniel de la Rosa said that the four agents involved in the case and their Mexicali-area commander have been suspended.
And he said that there will be a "top to bottom review" of the entire State Preventive Police force (known as the PEP), including all the deputy directors and their boss, Oziel Arturo García.
De la Rosa said one of the agents allegedly involved in the killing was detained but the other three are missing. They were identified as Carlos Miranda Tapia, Julio Alfonso Coronado Orozco, Ismael González García and Víctor Alfonso Cuevas Caro.
The death comes a few months after the state announced the formation of a single police force in Baja California that would unify officers from the five municipalities and the state itself. The idea was to train them under the same strict standards and eliminate corruption. The new force would serve as a national model of a new police organization proposed by President Calderón.
At the time De la Rosa explained that the new organization would be made up of the 421 state police agents in addition to college students who would be recruited.
Omar.millan@sandiegored.com
