Lawyer for high-profile defendants shot dead outside of Mexico City courthouse

A lawyer who was changeable extracurricular the Ciudad Judicial tribunal analyzable successful Mexico City connected Monday died successful a infirmary aboriginal Tuesday, authorities said.

David Cohen Sacal, a lawyer with the steadfast Cohen Medina Chávez, was changeable successful the caput and thigh astatine point-blank scope extracurricular the José María Morelos y Pavón gathering of the tribunal complex, located successful the Doctores vicinity of Mexico City.

The Mexico City Security Ministry said successful a connection that an investigative constabulary serviceman was successful the country erstwhile the transgression occurred and “repelled the attack,” wounding the alleged perpetrator, who was arrested and taken to the hospital.

The alleged aggressor, who was changeable successful the arm, was aboriginal identified arsenic 18-year-old Héctor Hernández Escartín. He reportedly arrived astatine the transgression country connected a motorbike, which was seized by constabulary on with a firearm. The motive for the onslaught was not instantly clear.

The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) said that Cohen died aboriginal connected Tuesday morning.

“According to aesculapian reports, the 48-year-old unfortunate mislaid his beingness owed to injuries caused by gunshot,” the FGJ said, noting that the lawyer was receiving aesculapian attraction successful a backstage infirmary successful Mexico City erstwhile helium passed away.

The FGJ said connected Monday that Cohen had died, but aboriginal connected Monday nighttime reported that wasn’t the lawsuit and that the lawyer was successful “very superior condition.”

The paper Milenio stressed connected Tuesday that the 2nd notification of the lawyer’s decease was “official.”

The unfortunate was accompanied by 2 equipped bodyguards astatine the clip of the attack, but they were yet incapable to support Cohen.

Who was David Cohen?

David Cohen Sacal specialized successful civilian law, commercialized instrumentality and administrative instrumentality litigation, according to a illustration connected the Cohen Medina Chávez website. Between 2000 and 2008, helium taught a civilian instrumentality taxable astatine the Ibero-American University.

According to the paper Reforma, Cohen acted successful “controversial cases similar the agelong and convulsive struggle for power of” the Cruz Azul cement institution and its shot team. He represented erstwhile Cruz Azul president Guillermo “Billy” Álvarez Cuevas, among different salient businesspeople. Álvarez was arrested successful January connected organized transgression charges.

David Cohen represented telenovela histrion Sebastián Rulli (R) successful a 2011 defamation suit and successful his divorcement from Cecilia Galliano. (Francisco Rodríguez/Cuartoscuro)

Reforma besides said that Cohen acted successful a lawsuit defending victims of fraud perpetrated by a casino company. The paper noted that the lawyer besides represented artists and politicians.

In 2020, the national government’s Financial Intelligence Unit accused Cohen of receiving wealth illegally diverted from Cruz Azul.

Last Thursday, the lawyer posted a connection connected societal media that was captious of the changes the erstwhile and existent national governments made to the judiciary. The biggest alteration has been the predetermination of Supreme Court justices, judges and magistrates successful Mexico’s archetypal judicial elections, held successful June arsenic a effect of a judicial betterment that took effect conscionable earlier erstwhile president Andrés Manuel López Obrador near bureau past year.

Cohen wrote connected X: “It took Mexico truthful galore years and truthful overmuch effort to found a ineligible strategy and national courts that were much oregon little autarkic and protected citizens, lone for a clump of ruffians to destruct it successful conscionable 7 years.”

Politicians respond to the attack

Senator Alejandro Moreno, nationalist president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), said connected societal media that the onslaught against Cohen was not an “isolated” incident.

“It’s the reflection of a state engulfed successful violence, adrift and without immoderate authorization consenting to instrumentality responsibility,” helium wrote connected X.

Green Party Senator Manuel Velasco, a erstwhile politician of Chiapas, acknowledged the decease of Cohen successful a societal media post.

“With large sadness, we farewell our beloved person David Cohen,” helium wrote connected X.

With reports from El Universal, Reforma, Infobae, El Financiero, Milenio and El País