Terrifying video footage captured the moment a mayoral candidate was killed and three people injured at his final campaign event in the Mexican Pacific coast state of Guerrero.
José Cabrera, who was running for mayor of the municipality of Coyuca de Benítez, was shot at least twice by a gunman on Wednesday afternoon.
The 37-year-old can be seen exchanging jokes with his fans as he walked towards the stage set up on a basketball court when the suspect pointed the gun at the back of his head and opened fire.
The shooting sent screaming supporters fleeing for safety before at least 15 bullets were fired.
The gunman, whose name has not been released by authorities, was shot to death. At least one person was arrested.
Cabrera is the 36th politician murdered since September 2023, the start of the campaign season.
Mayoral candidate José Cabrera was seen on video greeting supporters at his final campaign rally seconds before he was killed Wednesday in the western Mexican city of Coyuca de Benítez.
The gunman’s gun appeared on video as mayoral candidate Jose Cabrera greeted supporters before pulling the triggers and firing two shots. The suspect, whose name has not been released by authorities, was shot and killed.
Just five hours before his murder, Cabrera, who was running with a unity formula supported by the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the National Action Party (PAN) and the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), had turned to Facebook to thank his followers. of Sunday’s general elections.
‘I have no doubt that Our people have already decided and are convinced of the direction our Municipality will take these next three years,’ he wrote.
‘Grateful to God and that his will is what will endure in this election, he knows the hearts of all of us and knows the intention we have to serve our people.
‘I invite you to participate and make your voice count in that ballot box where you can responsibly elect your ruler. “See you soon and together we will celebrate our victory.”
The PRI lamented Cabrera’s murder and criticized Morena, the ruling party, for failing to provide protection to candidates for public office.
‘We demand that the authorities investigate this devious crime and find those responsible,’ the PRI said in a statement.
‘It is a shame that the Morena government has not made even the slightest effort to guarantee the safety of the candidates and that this campaign ended violently.’
José Cabrera became the 36th candidate for public office murdered in Mexico’s current electoral cycle. The 37-year-old candidate for mayor of the western town of Coyuca de Benítez was shot dead at his final campaign event on Wednesday afternoon.
Rosalinda López, who is running for mayor of the southern Mexican city of Matías Romero, lamented the shooting of a gang member at her final campaign event on Wednesday.
PAN candidate Xóchitl Gálvez, who is trailing Morena candidate Claudia Sheinbaum to become the country’s first female president, recalled meeting Cabrera during Hurricane Otis recovery efforts.
‘There are no words to express the indignation I feel over the murder of Alfredo Cabrera, candidate for municipal president of Coyuca, Guerrero,’ Gálvez wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. ‘My deepest condolences to his family, his friends and the entire town of Coyuca de Benítez. Rest in peace.’
Jesús Zambrano, national director of the PRD, linked Cabrera’s murder to the stronghold of criminal organizations in the state and accused the federal government and the National Electoral Board of failing to provide security to politicians.
‘More than 50% of the territory of Guerrero is threatened by organized crime, the situation in the state is alarming,’ Zambrano wrote in X. ‘We demand the immediate intervention of the authorities to put an end to this climate of violence that is being faced in the state and throughout the country.’
Wednesday’s violence spread to the southern state of Oaxaca, where gunmen shot a member of a gang that was hired to perform at the final campaign event of Rosalinda López, who is running for mayor of the municipality of Matías Romero.
Coyuca de Benítez Mexican mayoral candidate José Cabrera posed with supporters moments before he was shot and killed at his final campaign event Wednesday afternoon.
Ricardo Arizmendi, candidate for mayor of the city of Cuautla, in central Mexico, was murdered on Tuesday
Authorities found the decapitated head of Aníbal Zúñiga, candidate for councilor of the Guerrero city of Coyuca de Benítez, on May 16 in Acapulco.
‘What hurts and bothers me the most is that they threaten the lives of others,’ he said. If there is so much hatred and fear towards me, let it be against me.’
At least 20,000 candidates are vying for public office in what has become one of the deadliest campaign seasons in history.
Ricardo Arizmendi, a substitute candidate for mayor of Cuautla in the central state of Morelos, was shot Tuesday in a market by two men on a motorcycle. A woman was also injured in the attack.
Gilberto Palomar, who is running for mayor of Encarnación de Díaz in the western state of Jalisco, and two of his employees were injured in a shooting at his home while they were finishing their campaign, according to state security coordinator Ricardo Sánchez.
Rubén Cruz, who is running for mayor of Hueypoxtla in the State of Mexico, narrowly escaped an attack after gunmen opened fire on him, his friends and family as they walked home hours after concluding his campaign.
The severed heads of Aníbal Zúñiga, candidate for councilor of the Guerrero city of Coyuca de Benítez, and his wife, Rubí Bravo, were abandoned in the tourist city of Acapulco on May 16.