Carlos Manzo, an outspoken critic of organized crime, was shot and killed during a public festival in Uruapan.
Mexicans in the western state of Michoacán have called for justice after the local mayor, an outspoken critic of organized crime, was shot and killed while attending a Day of the Dead festival in Uruapan.
On Sunday, hundreds of Uruapan residents dressed in black took to the city’s streets to accompany Carlos Manzo’s funeral procession and bid farewell to the slain mayor.
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They chanted “Justice! Justice! Out with Morena!” in reference to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s ruling party.
Uruapan Mayor Manzo was shot dead Saturday night in the town’s historic center. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died. He was 40 years old.
A city councilor and his bodyguard were also injured in the attack.
Federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfucci told reporters on Sunday that the attacker was killed at the scene.
Harfucci said the attack was carried out by an unidentified man who shot the mayor seven times. It added that the weapon was linked to two armed conflicts between rival criminal groups operating in the area.
“The possibility of an investigation to unravel this dastardly act that cost the mayor’s life is not ruled out,” Halfucci said.
‘despicable’ assassination
Mexico’s president promised that justice would be done.
Mr. Sheinbaum convened an emergency meeting of his security cabinet on Sunday morning, after which he condemned Mr. Manzo’s “despicable” assassination in a statement on X.
“We reaffirm our determination to deploy all national efforts to achieve peace and security with total impunity and full justice,” she wrote.
Mr. Manzo had been the mayor of Uruapan since September 2024.
Manzo, who has often been seen wearing a bulletproof vest since taking office, has expressed concerns for his own safety and called on the federal government to do more to fight organized crime.
“I don’t want to be just a mayor on a list of people who have been executed, people whose lives have been taken,” Manzo said in an interview with Mexican journalist Joaquín López-Driga in September.
Uruapan is called the avocado capital of Mexico because it is located in the heart of Michoacán’s avocado-growing region. The industry is growing rapidly due to surging demand in the United States, and avocado production has become a target for organized crime groups.
Several politicians and journalists have been killed in recent months and years, including other mayors.
“How many mayors have we killed because they opposed agreements with organized crime?” Manzo asked in another September interview with Mexico’s Milenio TV. He urged Sheinbaum to strengthen security measures and said Uruapan’s avocado industry is critical to Mexico’s upcoming review of trade agreements with the United States and Canada.
According to Security Minister Harfucci, Manzo had been under protection since December 2024, three months after taking office. Halfuch said his security was beefed up last May with city police and 14 National Guard troops.
“The invaders took advantage of the vulnerability of public events,” Harfucci said, referring to Manzo’s murder. “Make sure there is no impunity.”
US authorities also condemned the killing.
“The United States stands ready to deepen our security cooperation with Mexico to root out organized crime on both sides of the border,” Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote on X, sharing a photo of Manzo and her young son moments before the mayor’s murder.
The mayor’s murder follows the death of Salvador Bastidas, the mayor of Tacambaro, also in the state of Michoacán. Bastidas was killed along with his bodyguard as they arrived at his home in the city’s Centro district in June.
In October 2024, journalist Mauricio Cruz Solis was also shot in Uruapan shortly after interviewing Manzo.
