A mayor in Mexico’s western state of Michoacán was fatally shot in a plaza in front of dozens of people gathered for Día de Muertos festivities, authorities reported.
Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, the mayor of Uruapan municipality, was attacked Saturday night in the town’s historic center. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died, according to state prosecutor Carlos Torres Piña. A city council member and a bodyguard were also injured in the attack.
The assailant, an unidentified man, fired seven shots at the mayor, federal security secretary Omar García Harfuch told journalists. The weapon used was linked to two armed clashes between rival criminal groups in the region, he added.
Michoacán is one of Mexico’s most violent states, plagued by battles between cartels and criminal organizations fighting for control over territory, drug routes, and other illicit activities.
On Sunday, hundreds of Uruapan residents dressed in black marched through the town holding photos of Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez during the funeral procession. They chanted “Justice, justice. Out with Morena,” referring to the ruling party of President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez
In recent months, Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez had publicly appealed to Sheinbaum via social media for help confronting the cartels and criminal groups. He accused Michoacán’s pro-government governor, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, and state police of corruption.
Leading the procession, a man guided Manzo Rodríguez’s black horse, which had one of the mayor’s signature hats placed on the saddle. Musicians dressed in black followed, playing mariachi songs.
The attack on Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, a former Morena legislator, was recorded and shared on social media. The video shows people enjoying the festivities before gunshots erupt and everyone flees. Another video shows a person lying on the ground while emergency officials perform CPR.
Since taking office in December 2024, Manzo Rodríguez had been under protection. Last May, his security was increased with municipal police and 14 national guard officers, according to García Harfuch, who did not specify the reason.
Nicknamed “the Mexican Bukele” for his tough security policies reminiscent of El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele, Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez won the mayoral election that year with an independent movement. (Source)
His assassination follows the June killing of Salvador Bastidas, mayor of Tacámbaro, Michoacán, who was murdered along with his bodyguard at his home. In October 2024, journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís was also shot in Uruapan shortly after interviewing Manzo Rodríguez.
