Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, the outspoken mayor of Uruapan, Mexico, was shot dead Saturday, November 1, 2025, in front of dozens of people gathered for Day of the Dead celebrations in the city’s historic plaza. The 40-year-old leader, who had publicly warned just weeks earlier that he didn’t want to become “just another murdered mayor,” was gunned down during a candlelit ceremony at Immaculate Church near the city square.
The attack unfolded as residents and tourists enjoyed the festive evening, some in costume with painted faces, surrounded by hundreds of lit candles, marigold flowers and skull decorations. Seven shots rang out, sending the crowd running for cover. A city councilman, a municipal police officer and a third city employee were wounded in the assault.
Federal Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed that an unidentified man shot Manzo seven times before being killed at the scene by the mayor’s security detail. Two additional suspects were arrested. Authorities linked the weapon used in the assassination to two previous armed clashes between rival criminal groups operating in the region.
The assassination occurred despite significant security measures. Manzo had been under protection since December 2024, just three months after taking office. His security detail was reinforced in May with additional municipal police and 14 National Guard members stationed in the area.
Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla Trejo explained Monday how the killers breached security protocols. The National Guard provided perimeter security while municipal police officers Manzo personally trusted handled his immediate protection. Attendees at the quasi-religious event were not searched or screened. Trevilla noted that Manzo frequently ventured into public spaces, making him vulnerable to attack.
The mayor had become a polarizing figure in Mexican politics, earning the nickname “the Mexican Bukele” in reference to El Salvador’s president and his tough-on-crime policies. Manzo took office after winning the midterm elections with an independent movement, having previously served as a legislator with the Morena Party before declaring independence.
Just over a month before his death, Manzo made a controversial appeal to residents of Michoacan state, calling on citizens to potentially take up arms against drug traffickers if the federal government failed to act. He told Grupo Formula that detained criminals were being released and returning to illegal activities, expressing frustration with what he viewed as systemic failures in law enforcement.
In a haunting September interview with journalist Joaquin López-Dóriga, Manzo acknowledged the dangers he faced. “I don’t want to be just another mayor on the list of those executed, those whose lives have been taken from them,” he said. “But it is important not to let fear control us.”
The mayor had publicly criticized both former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s “hugs not bullets” approach to cartels and accused Michoacan’s pro-government governor, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, and state police of corruption. He repeatedly appealed to current President Claudia Sheinbaum on social media for help confronting organized crime in the region.
On Sunday, hundreds of Uruapan residents dressed in black and carrying photographs of their slain mayor took to the streets for his funeral procession. At the head of the march, someone led Manzo’s black horse bearing one of the mayor’s signature cowboy hats on the saddle. Mariachi musicians in black followed, playing traditional songs as dozens of police and military officers guarded the narrow streets of the agricultural town of 300,000 residents.
Mourners chanted “Justice, justice. Out with Morena,” directing anger at the ruling party. The assassination sparked protests at the state capital of Morelia, where demonstrators vandalized government buildings.
President Sheinbaum condemned the killing on Sunday, canceling public events out of respect for Manzo’s family. She pledged to use all state resources to bring those responsible to justice while downplaying criticism of her administration’s approach to cartel violence. Sheinbaum defended her strategy Monday, arguing that militarization and direct confrontation with traffickers had failed in the past, leading to increased violence in Michoacan.
García Harfuch indicated Monday that federal authorities found no evidence linking Manzo’s municipal police officers to organized crime. State Attorney General Carlos Torres Piña leads the ongoing investigation, with federal authorities ready to assist if requested. García Harfuch noted that while the attack was clearly targeted, investigators have not yet determined who ordered the killing. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Viagras and other criminal organizations remain active in Uruapan.
Manzo becomes the seventh mayor killed in Michoacán since 2022. The state remains one of Mexico’s most violent, serving as a battleground for various cartels and criminal groups fighting for control of territory, drug distribution routes and other illicit activities. In June, Salvador Bastidas, the mayor of Tacámbaro municipality, was killed along with his bodyguard outside his home. In October 2024, journalist Mauricio Cruz Solís was shot in Uruapan shortly after interviewing Manzo.
