Two Israelis who were gunned down in Mexican restaurant 'may have defrauded infamous drug cartel'
Two Israeli men who were gunned down at a restaurant in Mexico City may have been targeted because they attempted to defraud the country's most powerful criminal cartel, Mexican federal investigators have said.
Alon Azulay and Benjamin Yeshurun Sutchi were killed the afternoon of July 24 at a restaurant inside the trendy Plaza Artz mall.
Authorities say the Israeli men had created various businesses in the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, Guanajuato, Querétaro and the Mexican capital to launder money for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, newspaper El Universal reports.
Investigators from the Attorney General's Office recovered cellphones belonging to the victims at the scene, and say messages reveal Sutchi and Azulay were being accused of scamming the cartel by crime bosses.
The prosecutor's office found that the men were opposed to the idea of meeting with cartel leaders, but agreed to meet in the restaurant because it was a public place.
Investigators in Mexico revealed that Alon Azulay (left) and Benjamin Yeshurun Sutchi (right) set up businesses in the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, Guanajuato, Querétaro and in Mexico City, allegedly to launder money for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel
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ShareOfficials say both of the men had a criminal history in Israel, and were being investigated by US authorities for money-laundering - but on Friday insisted that Mexico was unaware of their alleged crimes.
Surveillance video from the restaurant shows the frightening moment the shooters opened fire on the two men before fleeing.
Esperanza Gutierrez, a 33-year-old mother-of-one, and a male accomplice stood up from a nearby table at the restaurant and fired their weapons at the men from a close range.
Sutchi, 44, died at the scene, and Azulay was later declared dead at a local hospital.
Gutierrez, who was arrested moments after the attack, and her accomplice, who is still at-large, belong to the Tláhuac Cartel, a close ally of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel which was allegedly contracted to carry out the hit.
Gutierrez originally claimed she'd attacked one of the two men because she had been in a relationship with him and he had been unfaithful. But she later reportedly confessed to her role.
She reportedly told investigators that she was paid $1,300 to kill the men, but that she wasn't aware of the motive behind the hit job.
Esperanza Gutierrez was arrested by Mexico City police July 24 after she and a male accomplice allegedly assassinated two Israeli men at a luxury mall in the Mexican capital
Gutierrez (circled) told investigators she received instructions on how to execute the assassination of the two Israeli men at a restaurant in Plaza Artz
CCTV camera at the mall restaurant shows the moment the male shooter (left) and Esperanza Gutierrez are escaping from the crime scene after they executed two Israeli men with ties to Mexico's most powerful cartel
Authorities reportedly identified a high-ranking member of the cartel in the shopping center when the attack took place, and believe he organized the hit.
Gutierrez said that she received instructions of the attack via a cellphone conversation, instructing her of the precise moment when she had to leave her table and shoot the men, and also where she had to escape through to avoid capture.
Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said that investigators found fingerprints in an abandoned vehicle and weapons that allowed them to identify four suspects that escaped the scene, including two gunmen who engaged auxiliary cops in a gun fight, killing one.
"These are a settling of scores between organized criminal gangs with various interests," said Alfonso Durazo, the secretary of security and civilian protection.
Esperanza Gutierrez (left) tries to flee following a mall shooting in Mexico on July 24, but she was later arrested (right)
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