Organized crime believed involved in killing of popular Mexican mayor by teenage gunman

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The teenage attacker who shot and killed a popular mayor in western Mexico was a known methamphetamine addict, but organized crime was also involved in the assassination, state authorities said Thursday.

Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo was shot Saturday night in the town’s historic center in front of dozens of people gathered for Day of the Dead festivities. Manzo was hit seven times and died later at a hospital.

On Thursday, Michoacan state prosecutor Carlos Torres Piña named the gunman as 17-year-old Víctor Manuel Ubaldo Vidales, who was shot and killed by the mayor’s security detail.

Torres Piña, who told a news conference that the shooter’s body had been identified by his relatives, said more than two people were involved and that the attack was tied to organized crime. He did not provide details.

Investigators have said the gun used to kill Manzo has been linked to two earlier armed clashes between rival organized crime groups operating in Michoacan.

The announcement came one day after Manzo’s wife assumed his position as mayor.

Seven mayors have been killed in Michoacan during the past three years. Mayors are especially vulnerable to organized crime groups in Mexico that seek to control territory to move drugs and extort residents and businesses.

In recent months, Manzo had publicly appealed to Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on social media for help to confront the cartels and criminal groups.

Last month, Michoacan was shaken by the killing of a popular and outspoken leader of lime growers, who also suffered extortion from the cartels.

During the last few years, the Mexican federal government has sent hundreds of troops to Michoacan but it hasn’t been enough to control the cells of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Familia Michoacana and local criminal organizations that operate in the state. The state’s persistent violence has resisted interventions from successive administrations.

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