Sheinbaum rules out changes in security strategy after the assassination of mayor in western Mexico

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday ruled out changes to security policies after the assassination of a mayor in the violent state of Michoacan again raised questions about her administration's actions to confront criminal groups that control vast parts of the country.

In response to the shock generated by the lethal attack against Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, Sheinbaum defended her policies, saying she has reduced homicides and accused her adversaries of acting like vultures and scavengers following the mayor’s assassination.

“Some are calling for militarization and war, as happened with the war on drugs. That didn’t work,” Sheinbaum said, affirming her focus on reinforcing the presence of security forces in Michoacan and other states, strengthening intelligence and investigative work and addressing the root causes of violence.

Michoacan is one of Mexico’s most violent states and is a battleground for various cartels and criminal groups fighting for control of territory, drug distribution routes and other illicit activities.

Manzo, 40, died Saturday night in a hospital in Uruapan after being gunned down in the town’s historic center during Day of the Dead celebrations. The gunman was also killed at the scene.

Manzo had been under protection since December 2024, three months after taking office. His security was reinforced last May with municipal police and 14 National Guard troops.

In recent months, the mayor had publicly appealed to Sheinbaum on social media for help confronting the cartels and criminal groups. He had also accused Michoacan Gov. Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, a Sheinbaum ally, and the state police of corruption for failing to stop various criminal groups that operate in the state, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and La Familia Michoacana, which the Trump administration designated as terrorist organizations in February.

Regarding Manzo's killing, the president assured that “there will be no impunity” and that investigations will be carried out to find those responsible.

In reference to a proposal made by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau for greater security cooperation, Sheinbaum said “Mexico is a free and sovereign country” and added that “we accept help in information, in intelligence, but not intervention.”