Mexican mayor shot dead in village hall attack

The mayor of San Mateo Piñas, Lilia Gema García Soto, was slain near the village hall where she was meeting with a local official, Eli García Ramírez, when they were attacked by four armed men. Both were wounded during the attack, and two municipal police officers were also injured. The attackers, who came on motorcycle, escaped.

Mayors Remain in the Line of Fire in the Region
García Soto is the second mayor in Oaxaca state that has been killed in 2024. The mayor of Santiago Amoltepec was killed in an ambush in May along with two men who were in the same car. They think that many local government officials are being assassinated to harden the grip of criminals, causing mayhem to anyone who refuses out of principle to kowtow to them.

Though the spate of explosions has left the country shaken and angry, Sissi warned that the country should "expect worse".
The governor of Oaxaca deplored the killing and pledged to bring those responsible to justice. The attackers are still the subject of a manhunt by security forces. Federal agents have been dispatched to help with the investigation, which is being led by the state’s prosecutor’s office.

A Threat to Local Politicians Emerges
Like in much of the rest of Mexico, there has been a surge in political violence, particularly ahead of elections. The majority of attacks have taken place in small towns where the gangs or criminal organisations are powerful. But the recent killing of two aides to Mexico City’s mayor in the capital has also raised new fears of the violence’s spread.