Mexican authorities arrested an official allegedly linked to the killing of a mayor who was vocal about drug violence, prosecutors reported on Thursday. Assassins killed Carlos Manzo in the city of Uruapan last November during Day of the Dead celebrations, in a case that ignited fury across Mexico last year. Uruapan's welfare secretary Rosa Alejandra Vargas was arrested "for her probable responsibility in the crime of concealment," Michoacan state prosecutors said in a statement.
Vargas is related to several people already arrested in the case and had failed to appear when summoned by investigators, state prosecutor Israel Vega said. Manzo, 40, had gained popularity as a crusader against organized crime in the troubled state, and his death triggered huge anti-government protests. Investigations indicate the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) had ordered the attack on Manzo.
Authorities have so far arrested 34 people over the killing. Manzo was among at least 13 mayors killed across Mexico in the two years since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office, according to an tally based on official reports. That compares with 23 sitting mayors killed during the previous administration's six years in office, according to civil society groups.
The killings present a challenge for Sheinbaum as the Trump administration presses her government to crack down on cartels and root out corruption in local governments. Political violence has long been part of Mexico's cartel conflict, but it rarely touches the highest ranks of government. Cartels instead target local leaders, either corrupting them or killing those who stand in their way.
Such killings often silence voices that threaten or interfere with cartel profits, said Miguel Meza, a researcher at the investigative organization Narcopoliticos. Last year, Bernardo Bravo, a leader of lime growers in Michoacan, was killed after repeatedly denouncing the extortion demands of organized crime on producers. In Uruapan, 250 miles west of Mexico City, Manzo's killing has sowed fear and uncertainty within his grassroots opposition Sombrero Movement, where he's gone from leader to martyr.
The aftermath has fueled a bitter political fight dividing Mexico's central Michoacan state over who was behind his death. At the same time, the city has been marked with a recent burst of violence as some criticize Quiroz for failing to carry on her partner's fight against crime. "They didn't just kill the mayor, they killed the person who was leading this fight against cartels, a symbolic leader," Meza said.
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