The US-Mexican Border. Photo courtesy of Greg Bulla via Unsplash.
Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez’s death comes amid a wave of political murders in Central and South America this year.
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By Juan Davalos
TAMPA, Fla. – Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, the elected mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, was fatally shot on Nov. 1, 2025, during a Day of the Dead vigil.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that the assassination was captured on video, which was shared on social media platforms. Within a couple of hours, about 10,000 people marched in Uruapan, Morelia, and other towns in Michoacán, demanding justice and security.
Manzo Rodríguez was the municipal president, or mayor, of the city of Uruapan, in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. Having previously served as a federal deputy, he won the mayoralty in 2024 as an independent, breaking with the dominant national party system.
According to the Washington Post, Manzo Rodríguez made his political name by openly criticizing and confronting organized crime. He declared a “zero-tolerance” policy towards rampant extortion and cartel control of his municipality.
Within 24 hours, demonstrations turned destructive. In the nearby city of Apatzingán, a municipal building was breached and set on fire by demonstrators carrying banners reading “Fuera Fanny,” referring to the local mayor, and “Out with Morena!” the ruling party.
In public remarks, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum sought to reassure the population by calling the murder “vile” and stating that “his cowardly murder hurts… all of Michoacán and the country.”
During her speech, she rejected returning to a fully militarized approach.
“Some are calling for militarization and war, as happened with the war on drugs,” said Sheinbaum. “That didn’t work.”
According to Politico, the protesters desire to hold organized crime and what they see as a complacent government accountable. One sign at the funeral procession read: “They killed Carlos Manzo, but they couldn’t kill what he awakened,” which were the words of Grecia Quiroz, Carlos’s widow, who was sworn in as interim mayor.
Local authorities indicate that the killing was not an individual act; it was likely ordered or orchestrated by a criminal organization.
Michoacán investigators suspect the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as a probable instigator, after the cartel suffered a major reversal earlier in August when Uruapan police, under Manzo Rodríguez’s leadership, arrested the local “plaza” boss known as René Belmonte, or “El Rino.”
“More than two people participated in these events, and the homicide is related to organized crime groups,” said Prosecutor Carlos Torres Piña.
The murder, according to Torres Piña, was widely interpreted as a targeted execution, intended to send a chilling message: oppose the cartels, and pay the ultimate price.
Manzo Rodríguez’s death comes amid a wave of political murders in Central and South America this year that analysts at Reuters say are symptomatic of cartels’ growing control over territory and local institutions.
According to a SAIS Review, Michoacan is a major hub for the export of key agricultural products like avocados and limes. It is also part of key transit routes for fentanyl, methamphetamine, and precursor chemicals heading toward the U.S. SAIS noted that the U.S. and Mexico must treat this region as part of a “transnational threat environment.”
A report by the University of Navarra office of Global Affairs & Strategic Studies states that Mexico’s avocado industry alone moves $3 billion annually. Criminal organizations collect fees from farmers, control transportation and supply routes in Michoacán’s avocado sector, creating supply chain shocks that directly affect the U.S. economy.
“Among other things, they have extorted avocado growers … by demanding compulsory payments via cartel affiliates” stated the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The department also said U.S. agricultural officials “have even received threats … leading to pauses of avocado exports from Mexico to the United States.”
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Operational Data Portal, “Mexico is also experiencing an increase in internal displacement, generated by a rise in violence perpetrated by criminal and drug-trafficking groups, land disputes, and climate change.”
Another report from Reuters stated that more than 500 residents of Chiapas, Mexico, fled to Guatemala this week because of violence between criminal groups, and about 15,780 people have been documented as having been forcibly displaced from the state of Chiapas alone from 2023 to June 2025.
As civilians flee cartel-controlled zones, pressure builds on U.S. asylum systems and border control frameworks under the second term of President Donald Trump.
In February 2025, the U.S. designated six Mexican cartels, including CJNG and the Sinaloa Cartel, as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs). U.S. drone operations and surveillance flights over Mexico have expanded, signalling readiness for possible strikes.
In response to Manzo Rodríguez’s assassination, U.S. officials expressed solidarity and pointed to potential deeper intelligence cooperation. However, President Sheinbaum of Mexico publicly rejected any U.S. troop deployment into Mexico.
“We do not agree with any process of interference or interventionism,” said Sheinbaum.
“We are continually pushing Mexico to do more to tackle drug trafficking and the drug cartels within their country, and we are working with them in any way that we can,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in response to Sheinbaum’s statement.
“The U.S. stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organised crime on both sides of the border,” said Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
In the meantime, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service paused inspections of avocados and mangoes from Michoacán due to security concerns, causing price spikes.