Mexico mayor killed in town hall months after surviving assassination attempt - CBS News

Valentin Lavin, mayor of Temoac in the central Mexican state of Morelos, was shot dead inside local government facilities, authorities reported Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
Lavin, a member of President Claudia Sheinbaum's leftist party, had survived a previous armed attack in January, according to local media reports.
Forensic experts and police discovered his body in the town hall, and the state prosecutor's office said an operation to arrest those responsible was underway.
Morelos lies near Mexico City in a region where several drug cartels are active, and criminal groups frequently target local officials in areas contested by rival gangs.
Nearly 100 mayors have been killed in Mexico since 2006, including 14 under the current government that took office in October 2024, three of them in 2026; the November killing of Michoacan Mayor Carlos Manzo during Day of the Dead drew particular attention.
The violence continues despite Sheinbaum's claim on July 14 that homicides had fallen by almost half since September 2024, a reduction she credited to her security policies; nationwide, roughly 500,000 people have been killed and about 130,000 have disappeared since the 2006 anti-cartel offensive began.