An American couple was executed Wednesday while vacationing in the western Mexican state of Michoacán.
Rafael Cardona, 53, and his wife Gloria Cardona, 50, were traveling in a pickup truck when they came under fire and were shot dead in the municipality of Angamacurito.
Cardona was the brother-in-law of Angamacurito Mayor Humberto Pacheco.
Cardona’s sister and the mayor’s wife, Lucy Cardona, is director of the city’s National System for Integral Family Development, the agency that focuses on family well-being.
Gloria, a naturalized US citizen, was pronounced dead at the scene and Rafael, who was born in the US, was rushed to a hospital in the municipality of Puruándiro, where he died.
A spokesperson for Michoacán’s attorney general told DailyMail.com on Friday that the couple arrived in Mexico on November 30 to celebrate the holidays with their loved ones.
They said Rafael and Gloria were just a few blocks from the home they own when they were shot.
It is not known why the couple was attacked.
US-born Rafael Cardona was shot Wednesday as he drove near his home in the western Mexican city of Angamacurito. He was rushed to a local hospital and died. His wife, Gloria Cardona, was also shot and died at the scene. Rafael was the brother-in-law of Mayor Humberto Pacheco of Angamacurito
A spokesperson for the Michoacán attorney general’s office told DailyMail.com that American couple Rafael Cardona, 53, and his wife Gloria Cardona, 50, were traveling in a pickup truck when they came under fire in the municipality of Angamacurito . Gloria died at the scene and Cardona was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died
The Michoacán Attorney General’s Office is leading the investigation and had not announced any arrests as of Friday.
The US State Department said it was aware of the couple’s murder.
“We are aware of reports of the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Michoacán, Mexico. We are working to gather more information and stand ready to provide consular assistance if necessary,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.
A travel advisory on the State Department website warned Americans of the dangers of visiting Michoacán and issued a travel advisory due to crime and kidnapping.
Crime statistics released by the Michoacán Attorney General’s Office show that at least 1,170 murders were recorded between January and November this year in a state where the Familia Michoacana, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel have a presence.
By comparison, 1,334 were reported in the same period in 2023.
More than 450,000 people have been killed in Mexico since December 2006, when then-President Felipe Calderón declared war on the drug cartels.
Despite the widespread violence, President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly said she will not fight violence with violence, maintaining the strategy of her predecessor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who was often criticized for his “hug, no bullets” policy .
Angamacurito Mayor Hermes Pacheco (left) and his wife Lucy Cardona Aguilera (right) have not publicly commented on the murder of her brother and sister-in-law, two US citizens who were shot dead on Wednesday evening
Data released at a press conference this week showed an 18.1 percent decline in the average number of daily homicides reported between 2019 and 2024.
The report also highlighted the arrests of 5,333 people for committing high-impact crimes between October 1 and December 1 this year. In addition, 2,471 weapons and 57.9 tons of various types of drugs were seized.
“The security strategy we have will deliver results little by little, not overnight,” Sheinbaum told reporters.
‘But we are aligned, we have a strategy, we evaluate every day, there is supervision and everyone does the work that suits them. So results will come.
“There are already results, because today we presented many results and there will continue to be results,” she added.