In the early hours of Friday, May 9, 2025, violence reached the Teocaltiche Community Hospital, in the Altos Norte region of Jalisco, with the execution of Cecilia Ruvalcaba Mercado, 45, who served as the hospital’s head nurse and was also a council member for the Movimiento Ciudadano (MC) party. The attack was carried out around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, by a group of hitmen.
The governor of Jalisco confirmed the news, Jesús Pablo Lemus Navarro, a member of MC, through his account on the social media platform X. “The head nurse at the Teocaltiche community hospital was murdered this morning while on duty. Cecilia Ruvalcaba was an exemplary woman who dedicated her life to caring for others,” said the governor, who took office on December 6, 2024.
In his message, Lemus Navarro extended his condolences to the family, friends, and the entire Teocaltiche community, assuring them that investigations are already underway to find those responsible. “In Teocaltiche, we are working continuously at all levels of government. We know we have unfinished business, but I assure you that we will move forward,” he added. Reports from the Jalisco State Security Secretariat, the institution that has taken control of security in Teocaltiche due to the absence of an operational municipal police force, indicated that around midnight on Friday, May 9, they received reports of gunshots inside the Community Hospital, located on Cirilo Marmolejo Street, near Doctor Jesús Ramírez Street, in the Santa Fe neighborhood.
