A mayor in the southern state of Oaxaca was murdered on Saturday, weeks after his request for protection from state authorities went unmet.
Joel Ángel Bravo Martínez, mayor of the Mixtec region municipality of San Miguel Amatitlán in northern Oaxaca, was shot dead by armed men who broke into his home, according to media reports.
The Oaxaca Attorney General’s Office (FGEO) said in a statement on Saturday that it was investigating the homicide.
“Multidisciplinary teams, made up of members of the State Investigation Agency (AEI) and personnel from the Institute of Forensic Services, were deployed to the scene to conduct technical processing, remove the body, and collect forensic evidence,” the FGEO said.
“Given the seriousness of the incident, a joint and immediate response was coordinated with the agencies that make up the state and federal Security Cabinet. As a result of this operational coordination, police presence was stepped up and a continuous tactical operation was launched in the area, with the aim of blocking escape routes and locating those responsible,” the state Attorney General’s Office said.
No arrests have been reported, and the motive for the crime was unclear. Several criminal groups, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, operate in Oaxaca.
The murder of Bravo, a 53-year-old National Action Party (PAN) mayor who had been in office since 2022, came around a month after he requested protection from the state government because he feared for his life, according to the PAN.
In a statement with the heading “Joel Bravo warned that he feared for his life; the government didn’t protect him,” the PAN — Mexico’s main opposition party — condemned the “cowardly murder” of the mayor and demanded “immediate justice” for his family and community.
“This murder shows the irresponsibility and indifference of state authorities in the face of a threat that had been reported in a timely manner,” the PAN said.
The party said that Bravo had told state authorities that he feared for his life and asked for protection from the state government at a regional security meeting on May 11. It also said he personally described the situation he was facing to Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara, who leads a Morena party government in the southern state.
“According to the information available, [Bravo] was promised bodyguards to guarantee his safety. Those bodyguards never arrived,” the PAN said.
“Weeks before, the mayor suffered an attack and a virtual kidnapping by armed individuals, an event that led him to request urgent institutional assistance. Despite that, the protection measures were not implemented,” the party said.
“Today Morena can’t hide behind speeches or excuses. When an elected authority warns that he is at risk, asks for help from the state and ends up murdered, there are questions that have to be responded to with complete clarity,” the PAN said.
Bravo was killed three weeks after he and other municipal officials were beaten and robbed by armed men who intercepted the vehicle in which they were traveling on the Acatlán-Oaxaca highway.
Governor Jara condemns murder, pledges there will be no impunity
In a social media post, Jara condemned the murder of Bravo and conveyed his condolences to the mayor’s family, friends and colleagues, and the community of San Miguel Amatitlán.
“I have instructed the State Security Cabinet to provide all necessary support to the Oaxaca State Attorney General’s Office in the investigations currently underway. From the very beginning, an interagency operation was launched in the area with the aim of locating and apprehending those responsible, as well as ensuring that this crime does not go unpunished,” he wrote.
“In Oaxaca, we will not allow violence to prevail over the law or the will of our communities,” wrote Jara, who didn’t comment on the mayor’s apparent request for state protection.
According to the newspaper El Economista, close to 100 mayors have been killed in Mexico in the past 20 years. Among the victims is Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, who was assassinated during a Day of the Dead event last November. Manzo, an outspoken tough-on-crime mayor, had federal protection and a team of municipal government bodyguards. However, rather than protecting the mayor, the bodyguards allegedly facilitated his murder.
With reports from El Financiero, Reforma and DW
