Mexican mayor who fought against criminal gangs while wearing bulletproof vest was shot dead

The ‘war on drugs’ has been underway for 20 years as the drug problem has emerged as Mexico’s biggest risk, but brutal revenge killings targeting public authorities continue, and many of the victims are mayors of local cities. Among these, an incumbent mayor of a Mexican city was shot and killed by a criminal gang while attending a traditional holiday, the Day of the Dead. In an interview before his murder, Mayor Lee mentioned the hardships of past mayors of local Mexican cities who fell victim to criminal organizations and said, “I don’t want to die,” but in the end, he was unable to dodge the bullet.

Police killed one suspect and arrested two at the scene.

The police believe it was the work of a criminal organization with a grudge against Mayor Manso, who has publicly called for the eradication of criminal organizations. Uruapan is the center of avocado cultivation, Mexico’s key export crop, and is called the ‘Avocado Capital of Mexico.’ It is known that criminal organizations engage in extortion and violence against farmers over interests in the avocado industry. This area also has cultivation areas for drug raw materials, making it a key transit point for drug smuggling.

In October last year, Mayor Alejandro Arcos of Chilpanxingo, a city in Guerrero, was found beheaded six days after taking office. Last June, Marta Mendoza, mayor of Tepalcatepec, Michoacan, was shot dead along with her husband, and in the same month, Mayor Lilia Gema García and her staff were shot dead in San Mateo Piñas, Oaxaca.

https://n.news.naver.com/mnews/article/277/0005674197