Gunmen have killed the female mayor of a town in Mexico just hours after the country celebrated the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as its first woman president.
Yolanda Sánchez, who had governed the town of Cotija since September 2021, was ambushed and shot in the center of Cotija, Michoacán, on Monday. She was the first woman elected to the post.
Sánchez was shot 19 times and died in the hospital shortly after the attack, while her bodyguard was also killed in the gun battle. No arrests have been made, but it is widely believed that the gunmen belonged to an organized crime group.
Sánchez had reported receiving death threats since taking office in September 2021. In 2023, she was kidnapped and held for three days by armed men during a visit to the neighboring state of Jalisco. She described experiencing “psychological terror” and said the kidnappers made demands before releasing her. Local newspapers speculated that the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) was responsible.
The CJNG is known for drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, and targeting public officials who refuse to comply with their demands. Sánchez had refused demands to hand over town security to state police officers linked to organized crime groups, instead requesting military reinforcement and receiving armed bodyguards.
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