Anti-Cartel Mayor Assassinated in Brazen Attack
Carlos Manzo, the 40-year-old mayor of Uruapan, Mexico, was brutally gunned down on 1st November while people were celebrating the Day of the Dead in a busy central square. The mayor, who had been seeking extra government support to tackle drug-related crime, was shot six times by his assassin.
Teenage Assassin and Accomplices Met Violent Ends
Immediately following the attack, 17-year-old Miguel Angel Ubaldo Vidales was identified as the killer and was subsequently killed by police after being detained. Authorities confirmed Ubaldo Vidales had links to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Now, a disturbing new development has emerged. Governor Alfedo Ramirez Bedolla has confirmed that two accomplices to the killer have been found assassinated on the road from Uruapan to Paracho, near the town of Capacuaro. One of the deceased was just 16 years old.
"What the prosecutor’s office can confirm is that two other people were involved in the assassination along with the killer and these two are those who have been found dead in Capácuaro," Ramirez Bedolla told local press in Michoacán. He expressed deep concern about teenagers being recruited by cartels in the region.
Ongoing Investigations and a Political Succession
The investigation faces multiple complex angles. Authorities are probing the circumstances of the mayor's murder despite his security detail of eight private bodyguards and 14 police officers. They are also investigating why the detained teenage assassin, Ubaldo Vidales, was shot dead by police after a reported struggle.
Meanwhile, in a powerful act of defiance, Manzo's widow, Grecia Quiroz, was sworn in to succeed her husband as mayor before the State Congress. She pledged to continue his legacy, stating, "They killed Carlos Manzo, but they couldn’t kill what he awakened."
The city of Uruapan, known for its avocado industry, has seen crime worsen recently, with farmers facing extortion from criminal gangs. The murder of the mayor and the subsequent deaths of those involved have sent shockwaves through the community and present a significant challenge for detectives.
