“I stopped breathing because they were suffocating me.”
“They subdued me with water, and four or five men came over and grabbed me by each of my limbs and by my hair. Then they said all sorts of things to me: ‘You fucking bitch, you whore, you don’t know what’s going to happen to you.'”
Those are the words of two women who allege they were tortured by Jalisco state police officers during an Oct. 11 protest in Guadalajara to demand clean tap water.
Adriana Gabriela Arreola Dueñas, a lawyer and leader of a collective called “Access to Health, Justice and Education,” and Daniela Álvarez Zepeda, a medical doctor, are among around 10 people who have filed complaints with the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) alleging that they were tortured and unjustly detained by police in Guadalajara on Oct. 11.
The two women recounted their traumatic experiences at a press conference on Monday. Their allegations, and those made by other protesters, are under investigation by the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office (FGE). The FGR has not publicly said whether it has commenced its own investigation.
In addition to the FGE, the National Human Rights Commission is investigating the events in Guadalajara on Oct. 11. It said in a statement that it was investigating “possible violations of human rights during a protest for access to potable water in Guadalajara,” where water contamination is a long-running problem.
Dozens hurt in major protest against contaminated water in Guadalajara
Police used tear gas and water cannons against protesters gathered outside Casa Jalisco, the official residence of Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus, a representative of the Citizens Movement party. Officers are also alleged to have physically and verbally abused demonstrators. Dozens of people were hurt and at least 39 people were arrested during the protest.
Arreola alleges she was suffocated, partially stripped and kicked in the head
Arreola filed a complaint with the FGR on Oct. 14. She alleges that both she and her 19-year-old daughter were victims of police brutality on Oct. 11.
On Monday, Arreola said that three female police officers grabbed her while she was protesting at Casa Jalisco. She said the officers attacked her, verbally abused her and told her to shut her “snout.”
Arreola said that officers pulled down her pants within the grounds of Casa Jalisco, leaving her semi-naked. She said that one officer kicked her back while she lay on the ground partially clothed. Arreola also said that officers used her own scarf to tie her hands together behind her back. She said police yanked her by her hands to force her to stand up, injuring her shoulders in the process.
Arreola also said that officers sat and jumped on her back, leaving her breathless.
“I stopped breathing because they were suffocating me,” she said.
Arreola also said that a person dressed in civilian clothing — possibly a plainclothes police officer — kicked her in the head.
Álvarez: ‘All we wanted was clean water’
Álvarez, the doctor, said Monday that she was “grabbed” by police officers after she was hit with a water cannon outside Casa Jalisco on Oct. 11. Like Arreola, she said she was subjected to verbal abuse.
Álvarez, who filed a complaint with the FGR on Oct. 15, said she suffered a neck strain and bruises during her violent arrest. She also said that officers took her phone and broke her bag.
Álvarez said that she and other protesters weren’t trying to make any political point when they took to the streets to protest on Oct. 11.
“All we wanted was clean water,” she said.
Detention inside the Casa Jalisco compound
Both Álvarez and Arreola said they were held in a small room inside the Casa Jalisco compound after they were detained. All told, around 40 people — some with bloody injuries — were allegedly held in the room for hours.
During the protesters’ detention, police officers allegedly threatened to “disappear them.” One officer allegedly said they would be taken to a place “where no one will find them.”
Álvarez said that one young woman began to “convulse” inside the “five by five meter” room.
“As a doctor, I tried to go over to her, at least to put her in a safe position. [But] they wouldn’t let me approach,” she said.
Álvarez said that paramedics arrived to assist her, but the woman started convulsing again.
“Police said she was faking, they laughed at her,” she said.
José Francisco Salazar González, a lawyer and academic at the University of Guadalajara, described the small room inside the Casa Jalisco precinct as a “torture center” where there was a “suspension” of detainees’ human rights.
Governor Lemus was apparently not at his official residence when the acts of police brutality and torture were allegedly committed.
Transfer to an FGE lockup
Arreola and Álvarez said that they and other detained protesters were eventually transferred to a Jalisco Attorney General’s Office facility where they were placed in cells. They said they were held in cold conditions and had no access to their phones.
It was not until Tuesday, Oct. 13, that Lemus announced that all the people detained during the protest on Oct. 11 had been released.
He conceded that authorities made “serious mistakes” during the protest. He said those mistakes “must be investigated and punished.”
Arreola, Álvarez and others are calling for Lemus and Jalisco Security Minister Juan Pablo Hernández González to be investigated.
‘It wasn’t me’: Hernández denies he gave an order to use force against protesters
Asked last Thursday who gave police the order to use force against protesters at Casa Jalisco, Hernández responded, “Yo no fui” (It wasn’t me).
” … We have several statements from police officers and commanders; three of the latter are involved, they’ll probably receive a sanction,” the security minister said.
Roberto Alarcón Estrada, the Jalisco government’s strategic security coordinator, told reporters that the names of police commanders who issued orders to use force against protesters couldn’t be disclosed. He said that the disclosure of their names could place them at risk of retaliation by protesters detained on Oct. 11 and/or their family members.
For his part, Jalisco Attorney General Salvador González de los Santos said that the FGE didn’t send any personnel to assist the police operation during the Oct. 11 protest in Guadalajara. The news magazine Proceso reported that his statement was “relevant” given that there have been allegations that officers dressed in civilian clothing were present during the police “intervention” at Casa Jalisco.
On repeated occasions, President Claudia Sheinbaum has denounced the alleged torture committed by police in Guadalajara on Oct. 11.
“How is it possible that in 2026, there is still torture of young people by police?” she remarked at her morning press conference on Oct. 14.
“… We, who came from the fight against [government] repression, cannot allow there to be police forces in Mexico that repress and torture,” Sheinbaum said.
With reports from Proceso and La Jornada