Mexican mayor who stood up to cartels gunned down in ‘kamikaze attack’ weeks after haunting statement
Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan in Mexico’s Michoacan province, was shot and killed during a “Day of the Dead” celebration in the town square. Facebook
Security expert David Saucedo described the shocking assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo as a “kamikaze attack.”
Manzo, who led the city of roughly 300,000 people in Michoacán, earned national recognition for his defiance against Mexico’s powerful drug cartels — and he was fully aware of the danger he faced.
“I don’t want to be just another murdered mayor,” Manzo said in a chilling statement last month. “But it is important not to let fear control us.”
His killing on Thursday night sparked outrage across Mexico and drew strong reactions from officials in Washington, D.C.
“On this All Souls’ Day, my thoughts are with the family and friends of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, who was assassinated at a public Day of the Dead celebration last night,” wrote U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, a former ambassador to Mexico, on X. “The United States stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organized crime on both sides of the border. Here’s Carlos holding his young son at the celebration just moments before the attack. May his soul rest in peace, and may his memory inspire prompt and effective action.”
Manzo had risen through the Morena Party — led by President Claudia Sheinbaum — before declaring himself an independent. He was a vocal critic of former Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s “hugs, not bullets” policy toward the cartels, which he argued only emboldened organized crime.
The son of a local community activist, Manzo was elected mayor last year and had repeatedly urged the national government to take a stronger stance against the cartels that have long plagued Michoacán.
Despite being accompanied by national guard troops during the Day of the Dead festivities, Manzo was fatally shot in the crowd. His assassination underscores the persistent danger faced by Mexican officials who challenge the country’s deeply entrenched criminal networks.
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