Councilman Humberto Gómez Arévalo is reported missing since Thursday, January 15. Arévalo served as independent councilman and party leader in the City of Puerto Vallarta.
Arévalo is known as “Beto G” and has frequently made headlines for taking on the city mayor publicly and in council meetings over accusations of corruption in the mayor’s office and the spending of public funds.
Arévalo was a leader in the political party Citizens Movement, a left-wing democratic national political party that is also the party of the city mayor. After numerous disagreements with the mayor, Arévalo left the party and became in independent.
Arévalo arrived Thursday at Las Palmas where he retired his driver and requested the white Jeep Cherokee be left for Arévalo to return home later, but he never returned.
The following morning Arévalo was reported missing by his family after they discovered his car in the same location where the driver had parked it the night before. The car windows were down but nothing appeared to be missing, including the political identification badge still attached to the car’s rear view mirror.
Some witnesses report that they saw Arévalo lead away by armed men, a story that authorities have denied.
Reports have also surfaced that Arévalo had been asking other city leaders and friends for a loan, something out of character for him, and the possibility of being extorted is being investigated.
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Authorities have stated there is no evidence this is a case of kidnapping. Currently the last official statement on the case was that the investigation is ongoing and there are no details to report.
Social media has exploded with the news and even some accusations that the party leader was kidnapped for his opposition of the city mayor.
If you have any information in this case, you are urged to contact investigators.