mexico city
Reuters
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday promised justice for the brazen murder of local mayor Carlos Manzo. Mr Manzo was an outspoken critic of organized crime and had called on the government to do more to protect him and others.
Manzo, 40, was shot Saturday while attending a Day of the Dead candlelight festival in the city center of Uruapan in the violent western state of Michoacán.
Mexico’s Ministry of Security announced on Saturday that two suspects had been arrested and a third person had died.
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 all impunity and full justice,” Sheinbaum said.
A march was called for in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan state, on Sunday to demand justice for Manzo’s death and an end to violence and corruption.
Manzo, one of the few independent politicians elected to public office in Mexico, 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 not killed because we opposed agreements with organized crime?” Manzo asked in a 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.
Manzo also said that more determination was needed from Security Minister Omar Khalfucsi.
“Minister Omar Khalhouf, please help us,” Manzo said in an interview.
At a press conference on Sunday, Harfucci said Manzo has been in federal custody since December 2024, and that protection was increased in May. Security included 14 National Guard troops tasked with perimeter security, and local police provided immediate security.
“The invaders took advantage of the vulnerability of public events,” Harfucci said, referring to Manzo’s murder. “Make sure there is no impunity.”
U.S. officials 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.
