Cartel Gunmen Murder Newly Elected Mayor in Southern Mexico

MORELIA, Michoacán — Residents in the town of Buenavista, Michoacán, gathered to bury their newly elected mayor who was gunned down over the weekend. The murder comes a week after cartel shooters in the northern state of Tamaulipas kidnapped the newly elected mayor of Ciudad Mier.

Over the weekend, Eliseo Delgado Sanchez and two of his associates were at a local restaurant in Buenavista when a team of gunmen barged in and shot him. His two aides were seriously injured and the politician died soon after. Delgado was elected during the presidential election on July 1 as a candidate for the Morena Party which was founded by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) — the newly elected president.

Since September 2017, Mexico saw a dramatic spike in political violence with 136 murders of politicians leading up to the country’s July 1 election. The violence against politicians has not slowed down.

The murder comes a week after cartel gunmen in Tamaulipas kidnapped Roberto “Betito” Gonzalez, the mayor of Ciudad Mier. That kidnapping took place as Gonzalez was preparing to host a party to celebrate his re-election. Unlike Delgado’s case, Gonzalez was released without harm.

Delgado’s murder also comes less than a month after another mayor in Michoacan and a mayoral candidate were gunned down in a crime that remains unsolved. In late June, cartel gunmen killed the mayor of Aguililla, Michoacan–Omar Gomez Lucatero–days before the election. Lucatero’s murder occurred hours before a team of gunmen killed Fernando Angeles Juarez, the mayoral candidate for Ocampo, Michoacán.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Nuevo León and other areas to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Jose Luis Lara, a former leading member who helped start the Self-Defense Movement in Michoacán.