César Arturo Valencia Caballero, mayor of Aguililla, in the state of Michoacán, was killed on Thursday, confirmed the governor of the state, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, and officials of the municipality.
On Twitter, Ramírez Bedolla said he ordered an investigation so that the murder is clarified “as soon as possible.”
We strongly condemn the murder of the mayor of Aguililla, César Arturo Valencia Caballero. I have issued instructions to thoroughly investigate the events, clarify them as soon as possible and punish those responsible.
— Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla (@ARBedolla) March 10, 2022
Reports indicate that the mayor was aboard his truck, outside the soccer field of the municipal capital, when a man shot at him.
Hours earlier, Valencia, of the Green Ecologist Party of Mexico (PVEM), held a meeting in the municipal presidency with federal government officials.
“We are going to ask the federal and state government very sharply that they can soon find those responsible. We are dismayed,” said Ernesto Núñez Aguilar, leader of the PVEM in Michoacán.
Núñez Aguilar sent his condolences to Valencia’s family.
“He wanted to do things right for his municipality; he constantly made arrangements, he saw how to bring benefits to his people and it is very regrettable that today we learned of this news,” he added.
The parish priest of Aguililla, Gilberto Vergara García, sent a message from the place where the municipal president was assassinated.
“I’m here next to Caesar’s body. It is a truly regrettable development. He came in a vehicle of the presidency, he came alone and apparently they arrested him, probably armed people, to talk to him and they shot him,” he said.
The press area of the state prosecutor’s office indicated that its staff is heading to the scene.
In January, Michoacán was the second state in the country with the most intentional homicides. The state recorded 234 murders, down from 246 in Guanajuato, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).
Read more: Army enters towns and roads in Aguililla, Michoacán, in the face of violence
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