Gunmen shoot municipal mayor of southern Mexican state dead

Euronews

5 hours ago

Gunmen have shot dead the mayor of the Mexican municipality of San Mateo Piñas in the southern state of Oaxaca.
The killing of Lilia Gema García Soto on Sunday morning is the latest deadly attack on elected officials in Mexico and García Soto is the second mayor to be killed in the state this year.
Witnesses told local media that armed men arrived on motorcycles and burst into the city hall, shooting at the mayor and a local official, Eli García Ramírez, who was meeting with her.
The governor of Oaxaca, Salomón Jara Cruz, condemned the killing.
"There can be no impunity for this incident. We will collaborate with the State Attorney General's Office to clarify the facts and deliver justice. My condolences to her family," he said in a statement posted on social media.
Two municipal police officers were also injured in the attack, according to media reports.
The state authorities said they were deploying operations in the San Mateo Piñas municipality and the surrounding areas following the incident.
"The cabinet has launched an operation to arrest those responsible for the attack," the Oaxaca government said in a statement.
Euronews contacted the Oaxaca State Attorney General's Office for comment.
The ambush is the second killing of a mayor in the state this year. In May, Mario Hernández García, the mayor of the Oaxaca municipality of Santiago Amoltepec, was killed alongside two other people who were with him at the time of the attack.
García Soto's killing also follows deadly violence against public officials in Mexico's capital. Last month, Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada's personal secretary, Ximena Guzmán, and advisor, José Muñoz, were killed as they commuted in the city centre.
It was the worst attack in recent years against public officials in the capital, who face a lower risk of political violence compared with their counterparts in other parts of the country.
Last year's election cycle saw more than 30 candidates for municipal or state positions killed in Mexico.
The country has one of the world's highest murder rates, chiefly owing to violence driven by drug cartels, according to a 2023 UN report on homicide.
Since the start of the Israel-Iran conflict on Friday, Israel has killed several high-ranking members of the Iranian leadership.
While 16 were confirmed dead, more than 20 senior officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other top commanders were among those targeted in Israel's attacks.
Who are the top military officials killed so far? Euronews brings you the list.
Chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces since 2016, Bagheri was killed in an Israeli missile strike on Thursday night, at the very onset of Israel's attack on Iran.
He was one of the highest-ranking officers in the Iranian military, ranking second only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He coordinated Iran's armed forces—both the regular army and paramilitary units—and played a central role in shaping the regime's military doctrine.
Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, Salami was also close to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. Salami was one of the hardest on Iran's rivals, notably Israel and the United States.
A combatant in the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and an early member of the Revolutionary Guards, Salami served as the organisation's deputy for nine years before becoming its commander in 2019.
Rashid was deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the head of the IRGC's Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, responsible for coordinating joint military operations.
A veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, too, he welcomed the fact that Iran had regional allies opposed to Israel and the US, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthis in Yemen.
Hajizadeh was the commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force. He led Iran's missile program and was responsible for the April 2024 missile attack on Israel.
Head of intelligence for the Revolutionary Guards, Kazemi was killed in an Israeli strike on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu first announced his death that evening during an interview on US TV channel Fox News. Tehran confirmed the news a few hours later.
Some other brigadier generals and senior officers were killed, including Mohsen Bagheri, Davood Shekhian, Mohammad Bagher Taherpour, Mansour Safarpour, Masoud Tayeb, Khosro Hassani, Mohammad Jafari and Javad Jarsara.
In addition, sources have told domestic media in Israel that as many as 14 top nuclear scientists were also killed in Israel's targeted attacks since Friday.
The former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation was among the prominent scientists whose death has been confirmed. He also previously served as a member of the Iranian parliament.
In 2010, he survived an assassination attempt that Iran attributed to Israel—an accusation Israel neither confirmed nor denied.