Uruapan Mayor Seeks Help After Violence Surge

Mexico’s central state of Michoacan remains a flashpoint for cartel violence. Mayor Grecia Quiroz of Uruapan has asked President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government for additional security support as a wave of attacks hits her city.

On Tuesday, state authorities dispatched 200 law enforcement officers to Uruapan to reinforce local policing. This move follows a spike in violence recorded this month. State officials documented 17 killings, eight gunshot injuries, four attacks on properties, and multiple robberies in October. Just over the weekend, a masked man on a motorcycle shot two women at a taco stand, killing one. Police also found two men in an avocado field with severe burns and signs of torture.

Quiroz succeeded Carlos Alberto Manzo, who was gunned down in the city’s main plaza during Day of the Dead celebrations nearly a year ago. Manzo was a vocal opponent of local cartels and the ruling Morena party. An Associated Press tally based on official reports indicates that at least 13 mayors have been killed across Mexico in the two years since Sheinbaum took office. Civil society groups counted 23 sitting mayors killed during the previous administration’s six-year term.

Federal and state authorities blame the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for Manzo’s death. The CJNG is one of more than 20 criminal groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. Quiroz, however, has accused state officials from Sheinbaum’s party of being behind the assassination. She noted that her political movement was long at odds with those officials.

The investigation has expanded to Manzo’s inner circle. Prosecutors have detained 34 people in connection with the killing. Among them are seven bodyguards who were with Manzo at the time of the attack, members of his government accused of leaking his movements, and his godson, who is accused of helping plan the assassination. On Thursday, prosecutors detained the city’s current secretary of welfare for obstruction of justice. They stated she is related to two alleged CJNG members arrested in the case.

Quiroz has faced criticism for withholding Manzo’s cellphone from prosecutors. Juan Manzo, the late mayor’s brother and a member of the state government, accused her of covering for those responsible. "I can’t directly accuse her," Juan Manzo said. "But the reality is that she has covered for many of those responsible for the murder of her children’s father. She has not been transparent during the investigation." Quiroz denied the claims, telling members of her movement that slandering them has never stopped them.

The political rift has fueled local resentment. David Vázquez, a store owner, said extortions by local mafias have increased since the assassination. His family temporarily closed their business. Quiroz travels in a convoy of three armored cars and two military trucks, escorted by 60 federally appointed bodyguards. As she prepares the city for this year's Day of the Dead, she said the memory of Manzo’s preparations haunts her. "He poured his body and soul into this," she said.