Valentín Lavín Romero, the mayor of Temoac in central Mexico's Morelos state, was shot dead inside city hall. Lavín survived an armed attack in January 2026 before being killed in Wednesday's shooting.
Lavín was allied with the leftist Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum. Temoac, located near Mexico City, sits in a region where multiple drug cartels operate, making local officials frequent targets of violence.
The killing underscores the persistent danger facing Mexican municipal leaders. Nearly 100 mayors have been murdered in Mexico since 2006, and 14 have been killed since Sheinbaum's government took office in 2024. Morelos state has long been a flashpoint in the country's struggle against organized crime.