Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and other officials said those responsible for the judge's murder would be found and punished. Credit: Shutterstock.com

A federal judge in Mexico who handled cases against high-ranking members of criminal gangs has been shot dead along with his wife at their home in the western state of Colima, sparking outrage across the country's legal community.

Though Mexico is plagued by growing drug-related violence and organized crime, the killing of federal judges is unusual. The state of Colima, on the Pacific coast, has become one of Mexico's deadliest because of its strategic location as a crossroads for the international drug trade.

Supreme Court Chief Arturo Zaldívar interrupted a virtual court session on Tuesday to announce the double-murder of Judge Uriel Villegas and Verónica Barajas. The videotaped session shows concern spread across the faces of participants as Zaldívar laments the "terrible news" and asks for greater protection of judges.

Judges such as Villegas approve detentions of suspects in cases of organized crime and drug trafficking. Mexican media outlets report that Villegas had transferred to Colima in February from the neighboring state of Jalisco, where he had refused petitions to release from jail numerous high-ranking members of organized crime.

Armed men reportedly stormed the couple's home, but spared their two young daughters and a domestic employee.

Mexican Interior Minister Olga Sánchez, a former Supreme Court judge, said Wednesday that she knew Villegas personally. "He was doing his job, and he was doing it well," she said at a press conference. "He died for doing his job."

At the same event, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised to find and punish those responsible. "We will continue to confront delinquents," he said.

Colima is one of five Mexican states the U.S. State Department urges travelers not to visit. In June, the body of a missing Mexican congresswoman was found in a shallow grave more than a month after she was abducted by armed men in Colima while raising awareness about the coronavirus pandemic.

Mexico's Federal Judiciary Board issued a statement saying that its members, including circuit court judges, refuse to be intimated as they seek justice for Villegas, Barajas and others. "We won't stop, much less with intimidating acts," the board said.

Last year, the board evaluated 303 requests for security by judges and magistrates. As of December, nearly 100 judges and magistrates in the country were under the protection of armed bodyguards, armored cars and bulletproof vests.