Gunmen assassinated Cotija, Michoacan mayor Yolanda Sanchez, the first woman to hold the post, one day after Mexico’s national elections.
Sanchez had just arrived at a local gym with her security detail when assailants fired from a passing vehicle, fatally wounding her with 19 shots.
Michoacan officials confirmed her death and said they were working to identify the perpetrators.
Sanchez made history in 2021 as Cotija’s first female mayor under the opposition National Action Party.
She was not running for reelection though her party’s candidate won the prior day’s vote.
Sanchez had survived a 2023 cartel kidnapping by Jalisco New Generation when visiting another state, escaping after authorities intervened following her release on a bus.
Her killing underscores ongoing cartel violence plaguing Michoacan despite political transitions of power.
