The mayor of Uruapan, a town of 300,000 in Mexico’s Michoacan state, was shot dead in the middle of a public Day of the Dead celebration. Carlos Manzo, 40, was hit by two gunmen while standing in the town’s central square, an event that stunned local supporters who were watching the festivities.
Manzo had built a reputation as a tough opponent of the country’s violent drug cartels. He called for “brute force” against them and warned that citizens could not live in fear. Last month he said he did not want to become “another murdered mayor” and urged people to act against cartel violence.
The killing triggered outrage in Mexico City and Washington, D.C. President Claudia Sheinbaum condemned the murder and offered condolences. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted his thoughts on Twitter, calling the attack a “kamikaze assault” and pledging stronger U.S.–Mexico cooperation on organized crime.
Manzo was known for his long tenure as mayor, originally elected with the Morena party before running as an independent. He publicly challenged former President Andrés M Lopez Obrador’s “hugs, not bullets” approach to cartels and urged Sheinbaum to adopt harder tactics.
National Guard troops were present at the event, but they could not prevent the shooting. The assassin’s motive appears linked to the ongoing cartel conflict that plagues Michoacan and other parts of Mexico.
The murder of Carlos Manzo underscores the intense violence that continues to target public officials who speak out against drug trafficking. It also highlights growing pressure on Mexican authorities and the U.S. to intensify joint efforts to dismantle organized crime networks on both sides of the border.
Source: New York Post
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