A mayoral candidate was shot dead on Sunday, May 11, during a campaign event in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, according to state authorities. Yesenia Lara, representing President Claudia Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party in the race for mayor of Texistepec, was identified by local media as the victim of the attack.

Disturbing footage circulated online captured the chaos as gunfire erupted at a campaign procession involving motorcycles and supporters waving Morena flags. The video showed people fleeing and screaming as shots rang out, while other images showed what appeared to be bodies lying in the street.

“We will find those responsible for the cowardly murder of the Morena candidate and supporters in Texistepec; four dead and three wounded,” Veracruz state governor Rocio Nahle wrote on X. “No position or office is worth a person’s life.”

The incident underscores the persistent danger facing political figures in Mexico, particularly at the local level, where violence linked to organized crime and drug trafficking is widespread.

The assassination of Lara comes just two days after another violent killing Cecilia Ruvalcaba, a councillor in Jalisco state, was shot dead in a hospital.

Mexico has been plagued by soaring criminal violence for years, with an estimated 480,000 people murdered since 2006, when the government launched a militarized campaign against drug cartels.