Mexican mayoral candidate gunned down during live broadcast of campaign rally

By Michael Rios and Ivonne Valdés, CNN, May 13: What began as a festive campaign march quickly turned into a scene of terror in the Mexican state of Veracruz on Sunday night when a mayoral candidate was gunned down alongside three other people.

A Facebook live stream captured the horror of that day. It showed Yesenia Lara Gutiérrez greeting residents as she paraded through the streets of Texistepec, surrounded by a caravan of supporters.

The crowd was seen smiling and chanting before gunfire suddenly rang out off camera, drowning out their cheers. About 20 gunshots were heard in the video, which was still available on Lara’s Facebook page the following day.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the attack during her morning press conference on Monday and said she had no information yet about the motive. She added that her government is in coordination with Veracruz state officials and offered federal support if necessary, including contact with the state attorney general’s office.

“We’re coordinating, particularly with the Secretary of Security, and with all the support needed during this electoral period from Veracruz and Durango,” she said, referring to the upcoming June 1 elections in the two states.

he mayoral candidate, a member of Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party, was among four people killed in the shooting, according to the state attorney general’s office. Another three people were wounded.

Authorities are still investigating the matter and are promising justice.

“No position or office is worth a person’s life,” Veracruz Governor Rocío Nahle said on X. “We will find those responsible for this cowardly murder of the Morena candidate and supporters in Texistepec.”

CNN has reached out to Morena, the prosecutor’s office and the Texistepec city council for more information.

Attacks on political candidates are common during election cycles in Mexico.

Last year, the country saw a record number of victims from political-criminal violence, with Data Cívica, a human rights organization, reporting 661 attacks on people and facilities. Many of the victims either held or were running for municipal-level positions.

In May 2024, a mayoral candidate was killed during a campaign stop in the southern state of Guerrero, in a shooting that was captured on video.

Days later, the mayor of Cotija in Michoacán state was shot dead as she was walking from a gym back to her house with her bodyguard.

In October, the mayor of Guerrero’s capital Chilpancingo was killed less than a week after taking office.