On November 1, Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, was murdered during the Day of the Dead.

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November 24, 2025 | Dispatch | Power and Security

Manzo was shot multiple times in the Uruapan municipality and rushed to Hospital Fray Juan de San Miguel, consequently dying from his injuries shortly after.

As of November 21, 2025, seven of Manzo’s bodyguards have been arrested on charges of aggravated homicide by both federal and state authorities. After Manzo’s wife was sworn in as his successor after his death, she revealed that many of Manzo’s past colleagues had been part of his inner circle.

On the previous Wednesday, November 19, the Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection of Mexico, Omar García Harfuch, announced that the organizer of the attack had been arrested and taken into custody. 

The suspect, identified as Jorge Armando N., was uncovered as a leader in the plot after the discovery of two bodies on a highway on November 10, with evidence on their phones exposing Armando as a factor in the incident. The gunman responsible for the shooting, a Uruapan teenager, was also shot and killed shortly after Manzo’s death, seemingly to tie up loose ends.

Shortly after the investigation ensued, it was concluded, based on cellular evidence, that the organizer of the attack had connections with the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG.

Manzo was a vocal politician in regard to his disagreement with the lack of federal and state action against cartels and criminal organizations in Mexico. He openly expressed his disdain for the cartels’ exploitation of the avocado industry and did not shy away from threatening the groups with legal action.

He was well-versed in the dynamic between politicians and cartels, with political agendas and moral compasses routinely being sacrificed for the sake of self-preservation. Manzo asked in a September 2025 interview with Mexico’s Milenio TV, “How many mayors haven’t they killed because they opposed making these pacts with organized crime?” recognizing the target that he had on his chest as a result of his diligence.

Manzo objected to the current president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum’s approach to cartels and organized crime. He expressed his disapproval for her intelligence-focused proposal instead of direct confrontation and combat.

He had zero confidence in the possibility that criminals and organized groups would willingly turn themselves in to authorities for their crimes, supporting the idea of returning fire against anyone who opens fire on civilian populations.

Crime against political officials, either for their corrupt links or their outspoken attitudes, remains consistent in Michoacán and all throughout Mexico.

In June 2025, both Salvador Bastida García and Martha Laura Mendoza, the mayors of Tacámbaro and Tepalcatepec, respectively, were murdered as a result of cartel-related violence.

Michoacán is an epicenter of crime in Mexico. Cartels and organized crime groups such as Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, La Familia Michoacána, and Cárteles Unidos have a territorial grip on the state, growing every day in size and influence.

Political, civilian, and cartel violence remains a daily plague in Mexico, in a nation that lacks the capacity and consistent efforts to develop a cure.