Investigators believe former bodyguards of Raul Padilla, the “political godfather” of the Universidad de Guadalajara (UdeG), are responsible for the murder of a high school principal at a busy Zapopan intersection last week.
Fernando Gonzalez, the director of the UdeG’s Preparatoria No.7, was fatally shot in his vehicle on Avenida Pablo Neruda, a block before arriving at Avenida Patria. The victim was traveling with a female companion, who managed to escape unharmed. She told police that on leaving the Gonzalez’s home, they were pursued by two men in a white pick-up, one of whom was later caught and identified as Ivan Gomez, 28, the driver of the vehicle.
After questioning Gomez, State Attorney General Tomas Coronado has concluded that two of Raul Padilla’s former bodyguards were behind Gonzalez’s assassination.
Coronado did not release the names of the suspects but it’s believed both had worked as state police officers and were assigned to protect Padilla, the former UdeG rector generally considered “the power behind the throne” at the state-financed public university.
Coronado said the crime was linked to the near fatal shooting of Andres Gonzalez Negrete, Padilla’s chauffeur, last October on Avenida Inglaterra. He believes Padilla’s bodyguards carried out that attempted assassination for “personal reasons.”
“Fernando Gonzalez was collaborating with authorities to shed light on the case and to bring the guilty parties to justice. Padilla’s ex-bodyguards found out and ordered his killing,” Coronado said at a press conference.
The attorney general dismissed speculation that the death of the Prepa 7 principal was somehow linked to that of former rector Carlos Briseño, who committed suicide last month, a year after a showdown with Padilla prompted his tense removal from office.
According to UdeG lawyer Javier Pena, since the incident with Padilla’s chauffeur and the barrage of hate mail received after the death of Briseño, personal bodyguards were assigned to the university’s top officials at the state’s expense. The Prepa 7 principal, however, did not have protection, Pena said.
In a 13-year career at the university, Fernando Gonzalez undertook several administrative roles and performed political as well as security duties for Padilla. He was widely regarded as one of Padilla’s closest allies and was said to have played an active part in the ousting of Briseño.
The last task that Fernando Gonzalez undertook for the UdeG was to supervise 200 employees who provided security and transportation during the massive International Book Fair (FIL), over which Padilla presides.
The UdeG seems unimpressed by Coronado’s findings and Pena called for federal authorities to take control of the investigation. “We have zero confidence in the State Attorney General’s office,” Pena said.
Disagreement over the UdeG’s 2010 budget brought relations between the state government and the UdeG to a new low in the past few weeks. Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez is also said to be upset at the UdeG’s criticism of one his pet projects – the Macrobus BRT transit line.
Gomez, the captured driver, told police he was unaware of the motives for the killing.
“They asked me if I wanted to make a little money for Christmas and I said yes. I only knew that they were angry at someone and wanted to kill him because he was causing problems.”
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