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Gunmen fatally shot the mayor of a city in Mexico during a public gathering on Saturday, according to authorities, in a region beset by violence and organised crime.
Carlos Manzo, who served as the mayor of Uruapan in the western state of Michoacan, was killed in an attack in the city’s centre, according to the national public security agency.
“Two people involved in the incident were arrested, and one of the assailants had lost his life,” it added.
The state of Michoacan has long experienced violence from powerful drug cartels operating in the agricultural area, which are seeking to extort local farmers.
Manzo was shot while attending an event that commemorated the Day of the Dead.
Footage shared online captured the scene of people fleeing the packed event after gunfire erupted.
Manzo assumed the role of mayor in September 2024 and frequently participated in security patrols around the city while wearing a bulletproof vest.
In a video he posted on social media during one such patrol in June, he called on the government to take more action against violent crime.
His assassination occurred just days after the killing of Bernardo Bravo, a representative for farmers in Michoacan, who had often spoken out against extortion by criminal organisations.
Mexico has been battling drug-related violence for nearly twenty years and has seen a rise in the assassination of local politicians in recent years. Last month, armed attackers killed the mayor of Pisaflores in central Mexico.
In June, armed men entered a mayor’s office in southern Mexico, killing her and a staff member. The next day, another mayor and her husband were murdered in the western part of the country.
