Gunmen have assassinated Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan in western Mexico’s Michoacán state, during a public Day of the Dead event, authorities confirmed on Saturday, November 1.
The attack took place in Uruapan’s city center, an area long troubled by violence linked to organized crime. Mexico’s national public security agency said in a statement that “two people involved in the incident were arrested, and one of the assailants had lost his life.”
Witnesses captured videos showing panic as crowds fled the scene after gunfire erupted during the event.
Manzo, who took office in September 2024, was known for his visible approach to security. He frequently joined local patrols wearing a bulletproof vest and had publicly urged the federal government to take stronger action against violent crime. In a video posted to his social media in June, he called for greater federal intervention to protect Michoacán residents from cartel activity.
Michoacán, a state rich in agricultural resources, has for years been gripped by conflict between powerful drug cartels seeking to extort farmers and dominate trade routes.
The mayor’s killing follows a wave of targeted violence against local leaders in Mexico. Just days earlier, farmer representative Bernardo Bravo, who had often spoken against gang extortion was shot dead in the same state.
Last month, the mayor of Pisaflores in central Mexico was gunned down by armed assailants. In June, attackers stormed a mayor’s office in southern Mexico, killing the mayor and a staff member, while another mayor and her husband were murdered the following day in the country’s west.
Mexico has endured nearly two decades of drug-related violence, with thousands of deaths linked to cartel activity. The assassination of Manzo adds to the growing list of political figures killed amid escalating insecurity and impunity across the nation.
