On July 18, 2025, Irma Hernandez Cruz, a 62-year-old retired teacher and cab driver in Alamo Temapache, Veracruz, Mexico was intercepted by an armed commando in front of cab stand number 554, while driving on Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz street, in the middle of the downtown area.
Hours later, a video was released showing her kneeling and tied up, surrounded by at least ten armed men. In the recording, Irma warns her fellow cab drivers: “You don’t play with the Veracruz mafia. Pay your quota as it should be, or you will end up like me”. .
Teacher Irma Hernández Cruz found lifeless
After six days of intense search by federal and state authorities, Irma’s body was found in a rural property in the community of Buenos Aires, between the municipalities of Alamo Temapache and Cerro Azul.
The State Attorney General’s Office confirmed that he died of an acute myocardial infarction, which occurred during his captivity and under conditions of extreme violence.
On July 25, 2025, the Veracruz Prosecutor’s Office, in coordination with the Ministry of National Defense, the Navy and the Ministry of Public Security, arrested two suspects involved in the crime: Victor Manuel “N” alias “El Cholo” or “Moyo” and Jose Eduardo “N” alias “El Gaston” or “Aguila”.
Both are presumed to be members of the criminal group known as La Mafia Veracruzana or “La Sombra” cell. During the operation, weapons, vehicles, cartridges and telephones linked to criminal activities were seized.
Systematic violence against cab drivers in Veracruz
Irma Hernández was not the only victim of “cobro de piso” in the region; the case of Jorge Néstor P.V., a cab driver leader who disappeared on June 10, reinforces the context of impunity and coercion faced by transport workers in several Veracruz municipalities.
Irma’s kidnapping and murder took place in a context of organized violence where public threats through videos and intimidating messages seek to maintain territorial control.
Relevance to the Hispanic community
The case reflects how older, hard-working, economically empowered immigrant women can become targets of criminal extortion.
He stresses the importance of denouncing any attempt to “cobro de piso” and demanding protection, especially in communities where Latino truckers circulate.
It serves as a warning to those who rely on informal transport: solidarity and mutual vigilance can save lives.
El escalofriante video de la maestra mexicana evidencia la falla en el sistema de seguridad en México en lo que respecta al combate contra el crimen organizado
What to expect legally?
The Veracruz Prosecutor’s Office informed that the investigation remains open and that there will be no impunity.
Both Governor Rocio Nahle and President Claudia Sheinbaum reaffirmed that the murder will not go unpunished, and announced additional operations in the northern part of the state to dismantle extortion and organized crime networks.
Irma Hernández Cruz, a retired teacher and cab driver from Álamo Temapache, was kidnapped on July 18 and forced to record an intimidating message.
His body was found six days later on a nearby ranch; he died of a heart attack as a result of the violence he had suffered.
Two suspected criminals were arrested, linked to criminal extortion networks.
The case is shocking and warns about the real risk faced by transport workers subjected to “cobro de piso”.
For the Hispanic community in the U.S., it is a call to stand in solidarity and demand justice in the face of violent abuses linked to organized crime.
Here is the last video of teacher Irma Hernández Cruz during her lifetime.
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