Latest news with #Texistepec
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Terrifying moment Mexican mayoral candidate is shot dead alongside three supporters including her daughter during live broadcast
A Mexican mayoral candidate was tragically shot dead alongside three of her supporters including her daughter during a live broadcast of her campaign rally. Yesenia Lara Gutierrez, representing Mexico 's ruling Morena party, was gunned down in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night as she greeted residents in the streets of Texistepec. The horrifying incident was captured on a Facebook livestream, showing people running and screaming as gunshots rang out off camera. Mexican newspaper Reforma reported that the candidate was greeting 'women with children in their arms' when the gunfire began. Footage posted online depicted the chaos, with at least 20 shots head in the clip that was still available on Gutierrez's Facebook page the following day. Other images shared online appeared to show bodies in the street. Veracruz Governor Rocio Nahle, also of the Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Monday that Gutierrez's daughter was among those killed by gunmen. 'No office or position is worth a person's life,' Nahle said in a press conference Monday, where she promised justice. Gutierrez had posted several images on Facebook, showing her campaigning throughout the region. 'The strength of our youth is the vitality that motivates me to keep walking day by day,' she wrote just hours before the shooting. This marks the second killing of a mayoral candidate in Veracruz during the current election cycle, following the April 29 murder of German Anuar Valencia, also from Morena. Nahle condemned the violence, labeling it an act of terrorism, and vowed to ensure security and democracy during the upcoming June 1 elections. She emphasised that 57 candidates had requested state and federal protection, although it is unclear if Gutierrez had done so. At a wake Monday in Texistepec, family and friends mourned Gutierrez and spoke about the fear the violence stirred around the election. 'We can't continue with the insecurity, we're tired of all of this, this is terrorism,' said supporter Joaquín Fonseca. 'There are five people dead, not one. We're living the worst of the terrorism.' President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the attack on Gutierrez during her morning press conference on Monday, stating that her government is coordinating with Veracruz state officials and offering federal support if necessary. 'We're coordinating, particularly with the Secretary of Security, and with all the support needed during this electoral period from Veracruz and Durango,' she said, referring to the upcoming June 1 elections in the two states. The state's attorney general's office has launched an investigation into the incident, promising that justice will be served. Later on Sunday, two federal agents and another person were reportedly killed in an attack in the coastal city of Boca del Rio, further highlighting the deteriorating security situation in the region. The violent attack underscores the dangerous climate surrounding political campaigns in Mexico, where criminal groups often target local candidates to exert influence over municipal governments. Authorities are working to secure the election process amid increasing violence. The Sunday attacks came just two days after Cecilia Ruvalcaba, a councilmember in Mexico's western state of Jalisco, was gunned down in a hospital. Last month, Jose Luis Pereira, a senior member of the Teocaltiche city government, was shot and killed while dining at a restaurant in Jalisco. In December, a Mexican congressman who was a member of the ruling coalition was shot dead in Veracruz. Two months prior, a mayor was murdered and decapitated in the southern state of Guerrero. The following month, a former prosecutor and local police official was arrested in connection with the grisly killing. In June last year, another mayor was killed in southern Mexico, less than a week after another politician was assassinated in the same region. That same month, a local councilwoman was gunned down as she was leaving her home in Guerrero. Her murder came a few days after the mayor of a town in western Mexico and her bodyguard were killed outside of a gym, just hours after Sheinbaum's presidential win. And in March 2024, a mayor was shot dead while at a restaurant with his 14-year-old son in Morelia, the capital of western Michoacan state. His son survived.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
2nd mayoral candidate killed in Mexico's Veracruz state ahead of June 1 elections
TEXISTEPEC, Mexico (AP) — Gunmen killed a mayoral candidate from Mexico's governing party in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and four others who accompanied her, the second such local candidate killing in the state ahead of the June 1 election, authorities confirmed Monday. There were reports later Monday that two federal agents were killed in another part of the state. The attack on candidate Yesenia Lara Gutiérrez of the Morena party occurred Sunday when she was leading a caravan of supporters through Texistepec. Three more people were wounded. Veracruz Gov. Rocío Nahle, also of the Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Monday that Lara Gutiérrez's daughter was among those killed. Texistepec is a town of 20,000 southwest of the important petroleum industry port of Coatzacoalcos. 'No (elected) position is worth dying for,' Nahle said in a press conference Monday, where she promised justice. 'All of the state's power will be present in coming days so that the elections are free and democratic,' she said. At a wake Monday in Texistepec, family and friends mourned Lara Gutiérrez and spoke about the fear the violence stirred around the election. 'We can't continue with the insecurity, we're tired of all of this, this is terrorism,' said supporter Joaquín Fonseca. 'There are five people dead, not one. We're living the worst of the terrorism.' Family friend Cruz Morales said the violence is so bad that 'we're afraid to go into the fields, to go see our family in the evening, because we don't know what's going to happen to us on the way.' Lara Gutiérrez was the second mayoral candidate killed in Veracruz during the campaign. On April 29, the first official day of campaigning, gunmen killed Germán Anuar Valencia, also from the governing party at his campaign headquarters in Coxquihui in the northern part of Veracruz. Nahle said that 57 local candidates had requested security offered by the state and federal government. It was not immediately clear if Lara Gutiérrez had. Municipal elections are scheduled in Veracruz's 212 municipalities for June 1. Local candidates are historically the most vulnerable to election violence as organized criminal groups seek to gain control of local governments. Later Monday, local press reported that two federal agents and a third person were killed in an attack in the coastal city of Boca del Rio, Veracruz. An Associated Press photojournalist saw federal agents and soldiers maintaining a perimeter around the scene of the shooting. Neither state nor federal authorities immediately responded to requests to confirm the toll. ___ Alemán reported from Xalapa, Mexico.
CNN
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Mexican mayoral candidate gunned down during live broadcast of campaign rally
What began as a festive campaign march quickly turned into a scene of terror in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night when a mayoral candidate was gunned down alongside three other people. A Facebook live stream captured the horror of that day. It showed Yesenia Lara Gutiérrez greeting residents as she paraded through the streets of Texistepec, surrounded by a caravan of supporters. The crowd was seen smiling and chanting before gunfire suddenly rang out off camera, drowning out their cheers. About 20 gunshots were heard in the video, which was still available on Lara's Facebook page the following day. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the attack during her morning press conference on Monday and said she had no information yet about the motive. She added that her government is in coordination with Veracruz state officials and offered federal support if necessary, including contact with the state attorney general's office. 'We're coordinating, particularly with the Secretary of Security, and with all the support needed during this electoral period from Veracruz and Durango,' she said, referring to the upcoming June 1 elections in the two states. The mayoral candidate, a member of Sheinbaum's ruling Morena party, was among four people killed in the shooting, according to the state attorney general's office. Another three people were wounded. Authorities are still investigating the matter and are promising justice. 'No position or office is worth a person's life,' Veracruz Governor Rocío Nahle said on X. 'We will find those responsible for this cowardly murder of the Morena candidate and supporters in Texistepec.' CNN has reached out to Morena, the prosecutor's office and the Texistepec city council for more information. Attacks on political candidates are common during election cycles in Mexico. Last year, the country saw a record number of victims from political-criminal violence, with Data Cívica, a human rights organization, reporting 661 attacks on people and facilities. Many of the victims either held or were running for municipal-level positions. In May 2024, a mayoral candidate was killed during a campaign stop in the southern state of Guerrero, in a shooting that was captured on video. Days later, the mayor of Cotija in Michoacán state was shot dead as she was walking from a gym back to her house with her bodyguard. In October, the mayor of Guerrero's capital Chilpancingo was killed less than a week after taking office.
