Rodolfo Torre Cantú (February 14, 1964 – June 28, 2010) was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and politician. He held a number of public offices, such as Federal deputy, Secretary of Health of

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

and

Director-general A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

of the DIF (

National System for Integral Family Development The National System for Integral Family Development ( es, Sistema Nacional para el Desarrollo Integral de la Familia, links=no; SNDIF or just DIF) is a Mexican public institution of social assistance that focuses on strengthening and developing th ...

) in

Ciudad Victoria Ciudad Victoria () is the seat of the Municipality of Victoria, and the capital of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located in the northeast of Mexico at the foot of the Sierra Madre Oriental. It borders the municipality of Güémez to ...

. While running for governor of Tamaulipas as the candidate of the PRI, he was assassinated, apparently by agents of a

drug cartel A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the ...

. Torre was murdered alongside a Tamaulipas lawmaker, Enrique Blackmore, on 2010 near Ciudad Victoria, which is approximately three hours south of

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 1 December 2006 to 30 November 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 a ...

promised a full investigation, saying, "the fight against drug cartels must continue". He further stated, "This was an act not only against a candidate of a political party but against democratic institutions, and it requires a united and firm response from all those who work for democracy." Torre's assassination is the "highest-profile case of political violence" in Mexico since the murder of

Luis Donaldo Colosio Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta (; 10 February 1950 – 23 March 1994) was a Mexican politician, economist, and Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) presidential candidate, who was assassinated at a campaign rally in Tijuana during the Mexic ...

. In early 2012,

Tomás Yarrington Tomás Jesús Yarrington Ruvalcaba (, born 7 March 1957) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party . He held office as the Mayor of Matamoros from 1993 to 1995, and the Governor of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 200 ...

, the former governor of Tamaulipas from 1999–2004, was accused of being involved in the slaying of Rodolfo Torre Cantú; the ambush that killed Torre Cantú was allegedly carried out by

Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez (born 1 August 1971), is a Mexican former drug lord and top leader of the criminal drug trafficking organization known as the Gulf Cartel. He was among Mexico's most-wanted drug lords. He joined the ranks of t ...

, the supreme leader of the Gulf Cartel.

Personal life

Rodolfo Torre Cantú was born in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, the fourth of five children of Ana María Cantú and Dr. Egidio Torre López, a distinguished public servant and PRI activist. He was married to Laura Graciela de la Garza Montoto, with whom he had three children: Laura, Rodolfo, and Paulina.

Education

Torre studied exclusively in institutions in his native Tamaulipas. He attended primary, secondary, and preparatory schools in Ciudad Victoria and in 1987 graduated from the school of medicine at the

Autonomous University of Tamaulipas , mottoeng = Truth, Beauty, Probity , established = , type = Public university , rector = ING. José Andrés Suárez Fernández , faculty = , staff = , students = , undergrad ...

in Matamoros, gaining the title of surgeon, and served as a professor at the same institution.

PRI activism

Torre was an activist of the

Institutional Revolutionary Party The Institutional Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Institucional, ; abbr. PRI) is a political party in Mexico that was founded in 1929 and held uninterrupted power in the country for 71 years, from 1929 to 2000, first as the Nati ...

(PRI) beginning in 1980, when he joined the National Movement of Revolutionary Youth. Within the party he participated in electoral campaigns at every level – from presidential elections to mayoral and local elections.

Political career

Torre began his public service career in 1989 as medical coordinator of Banrural in Ciudad Victoria, subsequently becoming regional coordinator for medical services in San Luis Potosí, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. In 1999 he became director general of the municipal DIF system (integral family development) in Ciudad Victoria. In 2004 he was elected a local deputy for the fourteenth district. From 2005 to 2009 he served as secretary of health of the state of Tamaulipas, and oversaw the construction of new, modern health centers. He participated in numerous health campaigns directed at both children and adults, notably a nutritional program aimed at families of limited means. In 2009 Torre was elected to the 61st legislature of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

for the fifth district headquartered in Ciudad Victoria, a district that encompasses the municipalities of Hidalgo, Güemez, Mainero, Padilla, San Carlos, San Nicolás y Villagrán. He received the second highest number of votes in the election. He served as coordinator of PRI deputies from Tamaulipas and was a member of the health commission. He proposed a reform to Article 9 of the General Law on Education with the aim of improving national educational models, pointing to Tamaulipas as a national model for the teaching of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

in all primary schools.

Candidacy for governor of Tamaulipas

On March 14 Torre was named PRI candidate for the governorship of Tamaulipas. On April 10 he was named candidate of ''Todos Tamaulipas'', an electoral alliance comprising the PRI, the

Ecologist Green Party of Mexico The Ecological Green Party of Mexico ( es, Partido Verde Ecologista de México, , PVEM or PVE) is a green-conservative political party in Mexico. In the 2012 legislative elections, the party took 34 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (out of 500 ...

(PVEM), and the

New Alliance Party The New Alliance Party (NAP) was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the Coalition of G ...

(PANAL).

Assassination

On the morning of June 28, 2010, while traveling to General Pedro J. Méndez International Airport to board a flight to the city of

Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas Valle Hermoso is a city in Valle Hermoso Municipality in the northeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city serves as the municipal seat of the municipality, which is bordered by the municipalities of Matamoros and Río Bravo ...

, for a campaign event, Torre was murdered along with six of those in his entourage. The deputy for Matamoros,

Baltazar Hinojosa Ochoa Baltazar Manuel Hinojosa Ochoa (born September 13, 1963) is a Mexican-American politician from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and former Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food. He holds a bachelor' ...

, and the former governor of the state of Coahuila,

Enrique Martínez y Martínez Enrique Martinez y Martinez (born 10 November 1948 in Saltillo) is a Mexican politician affiliated with the Revolutionary Institutional Party. He has served as Mexico's Ambassador to Cuba since 2016. He previously served as Governor of Coahuil ...

, were booked to travel with Torre Cantú to the airport during the day of his assassination. Nonetheless, Hinojosa and Martínez did not attend, and it is unknown why.

References

External links

* —

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through

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(Video)
Blog del Narco: ''Photos of the massacre of candidate Rodolfo Torre Cantu''
30 June 2010. Accessed 4 Feb 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Torre Cantu, Rodolfo 1964 births 2010 deaths People from Ciudad Victoria Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) for Tamaulipas Mexican surgeons Assassinated Mexican politicians Politicians killed in the Mexican Drug War 21st-century Mexican politicians Institutional Revolutionary Party politicians Deaths by firearm in Mexico Autonomous University of Tamaulipas alumni Autonomous University of Tamaulipas faculty Deputies of the LXI Legislature of Mexico