A prominent politician in western Mexico has been killed by cartel gunmen. The mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, had taken a firm stance against drug cartels, especially during a time when many politicians at both state and federal levels had close connections to organized crime. He encouraged local police to combat these criminal groups.
On Saturday night, while hosting a candlelight event with children, Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez was shot multiple times, and a city council member was also injured in the attack.
Emergency responders quickly transported both politicians to a nearby hospital, but unfortunately, Manzo later died from his wounds.
The Michoacán state government released a statement shortly after confirming Manzo’s death and announcing the capture of the two shooters. A third individual was reported deceased following a confrontation with law enforcement.
This violence erupted at a moment when Manzo was recognized as one of the few politicians in the region willing to confront drug cartels head-on. His stance came into sharp focus after Texas’ Breitbart newspaper published documents revealing that the current governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Vedra, is related to known drug lords.
In recent years, Manzo gained attention for openly criticizing former President Andres Manuel López Obrador’s lenient tactics towards drug cartels, which he termed “hugs, not bullets.” López Obrador’s approach involved reducing security forces’ roles in fighting crime, suggesting that social programs might lower crime rates. However, the strategy’s failure led to alarming allegations that his government was instead facilitating cartel operations for money and political backing.
