MEXICO CITY (AP) — The personal secretary and an adviser to Mexico City’s mayor were killed by gunmen on a motorcycle in a central neighborhood of the capital Tuesday, authorities said.
Mayor Clara Brugada holds the second most powerful political post in the country to President Claudia Sheinbaum, and they are allies in the Morena party.
Brugada said in a statement that her secretary Ximena Guzmán and adviser José Muñoz were killed in the Moderna neighborhood. The motive was under investigation.
The attack happened at around 7:30 a.m. local time when Muñoz and Guzmán were driving with Muñoz behind the wheel of a black Audi SUV. Two gunmen aboard a motorcycle fired several times at Muñoz. There were four bullet holes clustered on the driver’s side of the windshield.
When Guzmán tried to flee the vehicle she was shot and her body lay on the pavement, local media reported, citing police sources.
Sheinbaum lamented the killings and said during her morning press briefing that there would not be impunity. Sheinbaum said that she was not aware of threats against Guzmán and said she did not have a security detail. Sheinbaum served as Mexico City’s mayor prior to winning the presidency last year.
In 2020, gunmen from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel attempted to kill her then police chief in a spectacular ambush on a central boulevard. He was wounded and three people were killed.
Homicides were up slightly in Mexico’s capital during the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year.
