Three mayors assassinated in Mexico in 2026, Oaxaca hit hardest

Mexico has seen at least three mayoral assassinations in 2026, with a significant number occurring in the state of Oaxaca. The most recent incident involved the killing of Valentín Lavín Romero, the mayor of Temoac, Morelos, on Wednesday, July 22.

This latest assassination follows the murders of two other municipal presidents in Oaxaca. Joel Ángel Bravo Martínez, the municipal president of San Miguel Amatitlán, Oaxaca, was killed at his home on June 13 by armed assailants. Earlier, on May 22, the president of San Miguel Yogovana, Oaxaca, Eduardo Saavedra López, was shot and killed outside his residence. He had reportedly been conducting surveillance duties early in the morning when two individuals on motorcycles attacked him.

In the case of Eduardo Saavedra López, the Oaxaca State Attorney General's Office announced the arrest of M.M.G. as a probable perpetrator. However, for the assassinations of Valentín Lavín Romero and Joel Ángel Bravo Martínez, no arrests have been reported thus far. Authorities in Morelos have stated they will exhaust all investigative avenues to apprehend those responsible for Mayor Lavín Romero's death.

Reports indicate that Mayor Lavín Romero had already faced another armed attack earlier in the year. The violence against elected officials highlights a concerning trend of insecurity in certain regions of Mexico, prompting ongoing investigations into these tragic events.