Gunmen Kill Mayor in Brazen Attack at Village Hall Amid Organized Crime Surge

In a brazen daylight attack underscoring the grip of organized crime on Mexico’s rural municipalities, gunmen stormed the village hall of San Mateo Piñas in Oaxaca and shot dead Mayor Lilia Gema García Soto, along with a local official, while injuring two municipal police officers.

According to eyewitnesses, four armed men arrived on motorcycles and entered the town hall, where they opened fire during a meeting. García Soto and Eli García Ramírez, a local official, were killed at the scene. The attackers fled, and security forces are now pursuing the suspects.

Authorities have not yet disclosed a motive or identified the perpetrators, but the incident is widely seen as part of a pattern of violence directed at local officials in regions where criminal groups hold significant sway.

Governor Salomón Jara of Oaxaca condemned the attack, vowing that this incident must not go unpunished and pledging cooperation with state prosecutors to bring the perpetrators to justice.

This marks the second murder of a mayor in Oaxaca this year, following the ambush and killing of the mayor of Amoltepec last month.

Analysts note that such attacks have increased in the lead-up to recent elections, with smaller municipalities especially vulnerable to cartel influence. The governor has called for federal assistance in the investigation.

The attack has renewed concerns over the safety of local politicians in Mexico, where drug-related violence has claimed nearly half a million lives since 2006 and left over 120,000 missing.

Authorities continue to investigate, while the community mourns the loss of its leaders.