Gunmen kill Mexican mayor who urged government to tackle violent crime

Gunmen shot dead the mayor of a Mexican city during a public event on Saturday, authorities said, in an area plagued by violence and organized crime.

Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan in the western state of Michoacan, was killed in an attack in the city center, the national public security agency said in a statement.

“Two people involved in the incident were arrested, and one of the assailants had lost his life,” it added.

Michoacan state has for years suffered violence from powerful drug cartels operating in the agricultural region, seeking to extort farmers.

Manzo was shot during an event marking the Day of the Dead.

Videos shared online showed people fleeing the crowded event after gunshots were heard.

Manzo became mayor in September 2024 and occasionally joined security patrols on the streets wearing a bulletproof vest.

In a video on his social media of one such patrol in June, he urged the federal government to do more to tackle violent crime.

His killing came days after Michoacan farmer representative Bernardo Bravo, who often spoke out against extortion by crime gangs, was also shot dead.

Mexico, plagued by drug-related violence for nearly two decades, has seen numerous local politicians assassinated in recent years.

Last month, armed assailants gunned down the mayor of Pisaflores in central Mexico.

In June, armed men stormed a mayor’s office in southern Mexico, killing her and a staff member. The following day, another mayor was murdered in the country’s west along with her husband.

Earlier, in May, the personal secretary and an adviser to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada were shot and killed by gunmen riding past on a motorcycle, in a central part of the capital, authorities said at the time. Brugada holds the most powerful political position in Mexico after President Claudia Sheinbaum, Brugada’s predecessor as mayor, who stepped down from that role to run for president.