Arrests made for murder of Tucson Marine veteran killed in Sonora, Mexico

The attorney general of the Mexican state of Sonora confirmed Monday that arrests have been made in the killing of Nicholas Douglas Quets, a 31-year-old Marine veteran and Tucson resident. Quets was shot on October 18 while driving through Mexico to Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.

Attorney General Gustavo Salas informed reporters in Sonora about various executed search warrants and pending court orders in connection with Quets’ death.

“The matter from the point of view of the criminal investigation has been clarified. To this end, four catches were made,” Salas said.

Mexican authorities found two individuals with firearms, drugs and cash in Altar, Sonora, and took them into custody, according to Salas. One person was previously arrested in September for having more than 6 million pesos in his possession. He was released after a federal judge decided not to prosecute.

Authorities also found radios and telephones while executing their search warrants.

“The perimeter security that took place with the support of the Mexican Army identified a vehicle with the same characteristics as those we have in the videos that participated in the murder of the American citizen,” Salas said. “The vehicle was stopped and the group (in the vehicle) resisted arrest with firepower.”

The group was chased to a safe house where they continued to shoot at authorities, the attorney general said. The two subjects were “neutralized” and identified as part of the group that attacked Quets.

Trump and Vance comment on Quets’ death during the campaign

Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance shared the news of Quets’ killing with a crowd of supporters at the Pima County Fairgrounds during an Oct. 22 campaign stop in Tucson.

Vance blamed the Mexican cartels for Quets’ death.

“What the drug cartels are doing doesn’t just affect us north of the border. It affects everything north and south of the border,” Vance said. “It affects a young Marine who wants to visit a friend and spend some time on a beach.”

Vance, a Marine veteran, added, “I think we have hundreds of thousands of very good Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen who are quite angry with the Mexican cartels. I think we’ll send them to do battle. also with the Mexican drug cartels.”

Two days later, former President Donald Trump also announced the killing of an American on the Sonoran Highway. During his remarks at a campaign rally in Tempe, he asked Quets’ wife and family to stand as the crowd cheered for them.

“A few days ago, a young Marine Corps veteran, Nicholas Quets, a native of Arizona, was driving through Mexico for a beach weekend… when he was brutally shot on the highway and killed by members of a Mexican cartel, and it was brutal. . For no reason,” the former president said, according to The Arizona Daily Star.

Trump offered his condolences to the family on stage and described Quets as “a nice guy.” He went on to say that if elected president, he would take on organized crime groups in Mexico and “achieve a complete and total victory over these sadistic monsters.”

ADOT works with Sonora: Arizona and Mexico will share real-time traffic updates for travel

Sonora Governor Comments on Regional Security Measures

Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo Montaño was asked about the murder of an American citizen during a press conference last week at the Arizona-Mexico Commission. He told reporters that binational efforts are underway to bring greater security to the region.

“We have several initiatives to ensure safe corridors,” the governor said. “We are launching a pilot plan with the Sonoyta-Puerto Peñasco safe corridor.”

Governor Durazo Montaño said the government of Sonora is committed to working with U.S. officials to make the border area on both sides of the international border safer.

“We must not forget that the insecurity problems that arise are a product of the criminal activities of organizations characterized by their transnational level,” he said.

The governor also noted that “overall crime statistics” for the state are on a “downward trend” and acknowledged that spikes in violence “particularly harm public opinion” about safety improvements.

According to data from the Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado de Sonora, a total of 16,653 crimes were reported between January and June this year. Last year, 17,391 crimes were reported in the same six-month period – a drop of around 4% in 2024 compared to 2023.

This trend is also reflected in the number of murders committed in 2023 and 2024, with a decrease of almost 4%.

Do you have news tips or story ideas about the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona? Reach the reporter [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @raphaeldelag.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sonoran AG confirms arrests related to slain Arizonan