Omar García Harfuch

Not to be confused with Omar Harfouch.
Omar García Harfuch
García Harfuch in 2023
Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 October 2024
PresidentClaudia Sheinbaum
Preceded byRosa Icela Rodríguez
Secretary of Citizen Security of Mexico City
In office
4 October 2019 (2019-10-04) – 9 September 2023 (2023-09-09)
Head of GovernmentClaudia Sheinbaum
Martí Batres
Preceded byJesús Orta Martínez
Succeeded byPablo Vázquez Camacho
Personal details
Born (1982-02-25) 25 February 1982
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
PartyMorena (since 2019)
Alma materUniversidad del Valle de México

Omar Hamid García Harfuch[a] (born 25 February 1982) is a Mexican politician, public official, and former police officer. A member of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), he has served as Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection in the cabinet of President Claudia Sheinbaum since 2024. He served as Secretary of Citizen Security of Mexico City under then-mayor Claudia Sheinbaum from 2019 to 2023.

García Harfuch was a candidate for Mayor of Mexico City in the 2024 election. Despite winning his party's nomination for the position, he was replaced by Clara Brugada as Morena's candidate owing to gender-parity rules.[1]

Early life and education

García Harfuch was born in Cuernavaca, Morelos.[2] He completed a BA in law and public security at the Universidad del Valle de México.

His mother is María Harfuch Hidalgo, an actress and singer known by the stage name María Sorté.[2] Her surname, "Harfuch", reflects her father's Lebanese ancestry.[3] His father was Javier García Paniagua, who served as president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)[2] and Labour Secretary in 1981. His father was accused of participating in repression and torture during the Mexican Dirty War and was head of the Federal Security Directorate (DFS) from 1976 to 1978. García Harfuch's grandfather was General Marcelino García Barragán, Secretary of National Defense in 1968, who executed the order for that year's Tlatelolco massacre.[4]

Policing career

His career in public service began in 2008 when he joined the Federal Police. In 2012 he was promoted to state coordinator of the Federal Police in Guerrero and, in 2015, to the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Attorney-General's office (FGR).[4]

On 4 October 2019, he was appointed Chief of Police in the Mexico City government's Secretariat of Citizen Security by Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.[5] According to The Economist, Harfuch's tenure as Chief of Police was a success, with a 40% reduction in the city's homicide rate.[2] Sheinbaum and Harfuch increased pay and training for police, as well as purged corrupt police.[2]

Attempted assassination

While Chief of Police, he was wounded in his vehicle during an attempted assassination on 26 June 2020 while traveling down the Paseo de la Reforma; two members of his security detail and a passer-by were killed.[6][7]

Political career

In September 2023, he announced his plans to seek his party's nomination for the position of head of government of Mexico City.[4] His primary opponent for the nomination was Clara Brugada, mayor of the borough of Iztapalapa. Polling conducted in October 2023 found him to be the most popular candidate among voters, taking 33% to Brugada's 21%.[8] Despite winning the internal selection process, his candidacy was set aside in favor of Brugada's because of gender-parity rules.[1]

García Harfuch sought election to be one of Mexico City's two senators in the 2024 Senate election, occupying the first place on the Sigamos Haciendo Historia coalition's two-name formula alongside Ernestina Godoy.[9] The coalition won the election with 54.3% of the vote, assuring Senate seats for the formula's two members.[10][11] On 5 July 2024, however, president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum announced that García Harfuch was to serve in her cabinet as secretary of security and civilian protection as of 1 October.[12] His Senate seat was assumed by his alternate, Francisco Chíguil Figueroa.[13][14]

References

  1. ^ In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is García and the second or maternal family name is Harfuch.
  1. ^ a b "Brugada pierde encuesta con García Harfuch pero es candidata a CDMX". El Financiero. 11 November 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Omar García Harfuch, Mexico's "Batman" with big political ambitions". The Economist. 2025. ISSN 0013-0613.
  3. ^ "Mexico's 'Batman': The president's favorite crime fighter, the cartels' nemesis". Los Angeles Times. 29 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Vargas, Octavio (20 September 2023). "¿Quién es Omar García Harfuch y cuál es la trayectoria en la vida pública rumbo a las elecciones del 2024?". Infobae. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Orta renuncia a la Secretaría de Seguridad de la CDMX; llega García Harfuch". Expansión. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  6. ^ Buchanan, Susy (26 June 2020). "Mexico City police chief wounded in armed attack; 3 people killed". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  7. ^ Contreras, Joan (26 June 2020). "Armamento de fuerzas especiales fue utilizado en atentado contra García Harfuch". Diario de México. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  8. ^ Zissis, Carin (2023-11-07). "Mexico City's Mayor Race Will Echo Beyond the Capital". Americas Quarterly. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  9. ^ "Elecciones 2024: Candidatas y candidatos". Instituto Nacional Electoral. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Senadurías: Ciudad de México". Cómputos Distritales 2024. Instituto Nacional Electoral. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  11. ^ Tapia Sandoval, Anayeli (2024-06-04). "Resultados electorales: ¿Qué pasó con las candidaturas de Omar García Harfuch y Sandra Cuevas?". infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  12. ^ "Rosa Icela Rodríguez irá a Segob; García Harfuch a Seguridad; Delgado a SEP y Montiel en Bienestar". Proceso. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  13. ^ Vargas, Octavio (4 July 2024). "Quién suplirá a Omar García Harfuch en el Senado tras nombramiento como Secretario de Seguridad por Sheinbaum". Infobae. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Perfil: Sen. Francisco Chíguil Figueroa, LXVI Legislatura". Sistema de Información Legislativa (SIL). SEGOB. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
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