MEXICO CITY
\nThe cold-blooded murder of a crusading Mexican mayor, who hunted drug traffickers from a helicopter, has put pressure on President Claudia Sheinbaum to step up her fight against the country\u2019s notorious cartels. Outraged by the killing of Carlos Manzo, the 40-year-old mayor of the city of Uruapan in Michoacan state, dozens of protesters set fire to public buildings over two days of demonstrations across the region.
\nManzo, who shot to fame chasing gang members from the air in a cowboy hat, was gunned down at a public event Saturday marking Mexico\u2019s Day of the Dead. In just over a year as mayor in the country\u2019s avocado-growing heartland, he became known as the \u201cMexican Bukele\u201d after El Salvador\u2019s popular gang-busting president Nayib Bukele. His death stoked anger towards regional authorities, accused of failing to support him in the fight against the region\u2019s myriad cartels.
\n\u201cHe had the voice we were all waiting for,\u201d student Sofia Caseres told media during a protest over Manzo\u2019s murder. Manzo\u2019s widow, Grecia Quiroz, was sworn into office Wednesday to complete the term he was elected to, and vowed to take up his crusade against growing drug-related violence.
\n\u201cListen carefully and let it be heard loud and clear: Carlos Manzo\u2019s legacy will continue, even if his voice has been silenced,\u201d Quiroz told the Michoacan congress in a speech after being sworn in.State governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla, of Sheinbaum\u2019s Morena party, was booed by mourners at the mayor\u2019s funeral Sunday.
\nManzo\u2019s killing comes as US President Donald Trump pressures Mexico to crack down on the ultra-violent gangs who control much of the world\u2019s drug trade. Sheinbaum reacted to the murder by announcing a joint drive by federal forces and local prosecutors to combat murders and extortion in Michoacan. Manzo was shot in the head, despite heavy security.
\nHe was highly critical of Sheinbaum\u2019s mentor, ex-president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO, who advocated an approach of \u201chugs, not bullets\u201d to areas plagued by drug trafficking. \u201cThese are the hugs we give to criminals,\u201d Manzo wrote on Facebook in May, alongside a video of a helicopter chase of suspected thieves.
\nSheinbaum has distanced herself from AMLO\u2019s approach since taking office a year ago. Under her watch, Mexico has extradited 55 senior cartel leaders and other fugitives to the United States, made record hauls of fentanyl, the opioid blamed for thousands of US overdose deaths, and stepped up intelligence gathering.
\nShe points to a drop in homicides, which averaged 59.5 cases per day in September compared with 86.9 in the same month in 2024, as proof her strategy is yielding results. Security expert David Saucedo said the drop in murders could, however, be due to the emergence of \u201chegemonic\u201d cartels that pacify areas under their control, rather than more effective policing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MEXICO CITY The cold-blooded murder of a crusading Mexican mayor, who hunted drug traffickers from a helicopter, has put pressure on President Claudia Sheinbaum to step up her fight against the country\u2019s notorious cartels. Outraged by the killing of Carlos Manzo, the 40-year-old mayor of the city of Uruapan in Michoacan state, dozens of protesters […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-513249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n