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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Mexican mayoral candidate Yesenia Lara Gutierrez killed ahead of June 1 elections, US visa bans for 8 more Mexican pols | |
| 2025-05-14 | |
| [NYPOST] A mayoral candidate in Mexico has been shot dead by suspected cartel gunmen live on air — becoming the second politician to be killed in the state ahead of elections on June 1. Yesenia Lara Gutierrez of the governing Morena party was gunned down while she was greeting supporters in the small town of Texistepec in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz on Sunday, where she was running for election. A chilling Facebook live stream shows Gutierrez greeting residents of the town of 20,000, surrounded by supporters. As she walks through the smiling and chanting crowd, gunfire suddenly rings out off camera. Some 20 gunshots can be heard in the video, which was still up on Gutiérrez’s Facebook page until the following day. Gutiérrez’s daughter was also killed in the shooting along with two others, while three more were wounded, Veracruz Governor RocÃo Nahle GarcÃa, also from the Morena party of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Monday. At least EIGHT more international politicians face visa bans
The bombshell claim comes after the Governor for Baja California Marina del Pilar and her husband had their tourism visas to the US revoked this week over reports of money laundering and ties to drug cartels, which she has denied. Simón Levy, a past Minister of Tourism during the administration of former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, claimed the US was actively investigating current and former officials including four governors, one senator and one congresswoman. He added that two unnamed former acting secretaries of state were being investigated for 'links' to the Gulf Cartel. 'As I told you before anyone else, today banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America canceled the accounts of Mexican public servants with deposited money, confirming that it comes from illegal activities, such as money laundering,' Levy wrote on X Monday afternoon. Levy identified the officials on Tuesday as Senator Adan Agusto López and former Congresswoman Clara Luz Flores, who is the director of the Interior Ministry's Religious Affairs and Social Prevention Unit. He also named governors Alfredo RamÃrez Bedolla [Michoacán]; Miguel Angel Navarro [Nayarit]; Ruben Rocha Moya [Sinaloa]; and Américo Villareal [Tamaulipas]. It comes a day after renowned Mexican journalist Luis Chaparro accused Baja California governor del Pilar, and her husband Carolos Torres, of having their American bank accounts frozen as part of a Justice Department probe. Chaparro reported that del Pilar met with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Department of Homeland Security officials at a tourism event in the resort town of Rosarito on April 28, 2024, when she was first notified of the investigation. 'Both are being investigated by the United States for money laundering in an investigation involving other Baja California businessmen and officials...' Chaparro said during his YouTube show 'Pie de Nota'. He added that the U.S. agents told her the investigation was looking into the 'Rusos Cartel' in Mexicali, as well as a network of individuals and businessmen from Baja California allegedly linked to members of organized crime in that region. 'She pleaded with CBP and DHS supervisors to please not make public the actions against her and her husband and to not inform the Mexican consulate to prevent them from being leaked to the media,' Chaparro said. 'The governor requested, as a personal favor, that her actions not be communicated to the Mexican consulate or any other Mexican authority so that the information would not spread.' Del Pilar addressed the visa ban again in a press conference without making any comments over the alleged money laundering investigation or bank account closures, while also not make any reference to her husband or his visa ban. 'I have been included in a consular measure, and therefore today I do not have a visa to enter the United States,' del Pilar said. 'But that does not define me. Because I am not defined by what I have or by the permits granted or withheld. I am defined by my values, my convictions, and the purpose I have embraced since I decided to dedicate my life to public service.' Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the allegations during her press briefing at the National Palace in Mexico City on Tuesday and said that del Pilar informed her that they did not have accounts in banking institutions outside of Mexico. Related: Veracruz: 2024-12-03 Unknown gunmen open fire at cafe in Mexico, killing eight people Veracruz: 2024-04-26 Houthis say they attacked an Israeli ship in the Gulf of Aden Veracruz: 2024-01-13 CRACKDOWN: Mexican Cops Detain 40 Chinese Migrants Heading to U.S. Border Related: Claudia Sheinbaum 05/05/2025 Trump says Mexican president is afraid of cartels after she rejected his offer to send US troops to Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum 05/04/2025 Mexican president declines Trump's offer of US troops to help fight drug cartels Claudia Sheinbaum 05/02/2025 Mexican Senator Brands President Sheinbaum as ‘Liar' with Ties to Cartels | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #8 ^6,7 but the cartels are the agents of much violent crime |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2025-05-14 18:38 |
| #7 ^ True. Loss of human trafficking income will cause them to step up the drug game to make up |
| Posted by: Frank G 2025-05-14 11:20 |
| #6 If one could wave a magic wand and instantly eliminate the cartels from Mexico, it would be akin to scraping the icing off the cake. Corruption is deeply, deeply rooted into all levels of the nation, and the cartels are merely the most obvious players. |
| Posted by: Crusader 2025-05-14 11:03 |
| #5 Mexico needs to declare an emergency and adopt a Bukele solution. |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2025-05-14 09:57 |
| #4 ..well, they can't get anymore dishonest or corrupt :) |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-05-14 09:01 |
| #3 ^No you can't: gangsters always kill each other. |
| Posted by: Grom the Affective 2025-05-14 07:28 |
| #2 You can tell who's the honest Mexican politicians by the fact they're dead. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2025-05-14 07:11 |
| #1 Sinaloa cartel leaders charged with narco-terrorism after authorities seize 1.65 tons of fentanyl |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2025-05-14 03:28 |