Ex-governor of Mexican state gunned down
An ex-governor of the Mexican state of Jalisco was shot dead early on Friday, in the bathroom of a restaurant in the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.
State officials said former governor Aristoteles Sandoval was shot in the back at around 1.40 a.m local time by an unidentified assailant, while his security detail was outside the restaurant.
The attorney general said investigators believed 8-10 suspects were involved in the attack but did not indicate who was responsible.
But a federal official said authorities suspected the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG, to be involved.
Sandoval's 2013-18 term as governor was marred by the rise of the CJNG, a drug gang that went from relative obscurity to become one of the most powerful in the country.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador offered his condolences and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Mexico has suffered record homicide levels under Lopez Obrador, in part owing to the CJNG's turf wars.
