Mexico City, Mexico – Salvador Bastida García, Mayor of Tacámbaro, Michoacán, in western Mexico, was murdered along with his security detail on Friday morning while driving to his home.
The township’s city hall was the first to report the mayor’s death and confirmed that Bastida García and his personal security officer, Pastor Cortez Álvarez, were attacked by armed men.
“We are working in coordination with the three levels of government to reinforce security measures to ensure the well-being of our citizens,” the municipal government wrote on social media.
Following an initial term over a decade ago, Bastida García had recently won back his position as mayor in September 2024 under the banner of the MORENA ruling party and its allied parties.
Bastida García had recently faced serious allegations after Mexico’s prosecution began an investigation into the mayor for suspected ties with organized crime.
According to the prosecution, a handful of public officials held meetings with local criminal groups, including the mayor.
The leader of the socialist Partido del Trabajo (The Labor Party), one of the parties that supported Bastida García’s candidacy, came to the mayor’s defense after his death was announced.
“Salvador was a good man, he was a president who worked for his people, he was not involved with any criminal group. He made that known to the federal authority that investigated him and to the state authority,” said the political leader.
As state officials and drug cartels become increasingly intertwined, especially in rural areas, violence against politicians has been rising – particularly during last year’s elections, some of the most consequential in Mexico’s history.
States like Michoacán, which have long been under the violent siege of different criminal groups, have been more susceptible to this type of hostile takeover by local drug cartels.
Features Picture from Tacámbaro’s City Hall archive
