A neighborhood mayor in central Mexico was shot lifeless in a city corridor, authorities reported Wednesday, after the politician had survived a earlier assassination try.
The city of Temoac is situated within the state of Morelos, a area near Mexico Metropolis the place a number of drug cartels are lively.
Mayor Valentin Lavin, who was allied to President Claudia Sheinbaum’s leftist social gathering, had already survived an armed assault in January, in line with native media stories.
Forensic consultants and law enforcement officials situated his lifeless physique inside native authorities amenities, the state prosecutor’s workplace mentioned.
An operation to arrest these answerable for the crime was underway, it added in a press release.
Mayor Valentin Lavin / Credit score: Valentin Lavin Romero through Fb
Virtually 100 mayors have been murdered in Mexico since 2006, when drug-related violence surged, official figures present. Because the present authorities took workplace in October 2024, 14 mayors have been murdered in Mexico, three in 2026, Uno TV reported this week.
The nation was significantly shocked by the deadly capturing of Mayor Carlos Manzo within the state of Michoacan final November, throughout Day of the Lifeless celebrations.
Legal gangs usually conduct assaults in opposition to native officers in Mexico, particularly in areas the place cartels battle for territory.
Final week, attackers shot lifeless the husband of a Mexican councilwoman, with the gunfire additionally injuring the politician and her daughter because the household was reportedly on their manner to a college commencement, authorities mentioned.
Sheinbaum mentioned July 14 that homicides in Mexico have fallen by almost half since September 2024, touting the discount on account of her safety insurance policies since taking workplace.
Mexico has confronted years of escalating violence for the reason that authorities launched an offensive in opposition to drug cartels in 2006. Almost 500,000 folks have been killed and round 130,000 have disappeared since then, authorities information reveals.