Death toll rises to two Pemex workers in attack at Minatitlán refinery

A second Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) worker shot at the Lázaro Cárdenas refinery in Minatitlán, Veracruz, died on Sunday, October 11, in the hospital where he was being treated, bringing the toll from the attack on the night of Saturday, October 10 at the north entrance of the facility to two dead.

Pemex reported that two of its workers were injured at the north gate of the refinery and that it is cooperating with the competent authorities, and it specified that it will release new information as it verifies it, according to Aristegui Noticias. El Universal reported that those attacked were security personnel at the facility: Eduardo Espinoza, 30, died at the scene, while his colleague was taken to the Pemex Regional Hospital. The Lázaro Cárdenas refinery is one of the strategic facilities through which Pemex carries out hydrocarbon transformation and processing activities, according to Aristegui Noticias, and it is located in the Minatitlán-Coatzacoalcos industrial corridor, in southern Veracruz.

Milenio reported that the second worker who died, Óscar Ochoa, was a guard with Section 10 of the Oil Workers' Union and died before 20:00 on Sunday, almost 24 hours after receiving three bullet wounds. More than ten spent shell casings were found at the scene. The Veracruz State Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General del Estado de Veracruz) reported that it is investigating the events and searching for those responsible, with no arrests reported so far, according to El Universal. After the gunfire, Pemex activated its security and emergency protocols and deployed an operation with personnel from the Navy Secretariat, the Army, the National Guard and the State Police, according to Milenio and Aristegui Noticias. Section 10 of the oil workers' union condemned the events and called for the case to be clarified.

State prosecutors continue with proceedings at the north entrance of the refinery, where surveillance was reinforced with Navy Secretariat personnel during the night of Sunday. According to El Universal, refinery operations continued unchanged, while the Veracruz Prosecutor's Office keeps its investigation into the motive and those responsible open.

This note was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.