Latin America

By Sol Prendido 5/17/2024 10:22:00 PM



A mayoral candidate and five other people were killed when people opened fire at a campaign rally in southern Mexico state of Chiapas, officials said, marking yet another shooting in an area known as a trafficking route for migrant and drug smuggling that has been hit by cartel turf battles .

State prosecutors said a young girl was among the six people killed in the gunfire late Thursday, along with mayoral candidate Lucero López Maza. Two people also were wounded.

"A confrontation broke out between armed civilians during a political campaign event," prosecutors said in a statement.

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Chiapas draws tourists with its lush jungle, Indigenous communities and ancient Mayan ruins.

But the border area has been plagued by violence as the rival Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels battle for territory. Just last month, masked men stopped a vehicle carrying Mexico's leading presidential candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, while she was traveling between campaign stops to ask that she address the violence in Chiapas if she wins the June 2 election.



https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2024/05/mayoral-candidate-young-girl-among-6.html