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Ex-PRI Candidate Javier López Zavala Sentenced to 60 Years for Femicide of Lawyer Cecilia Monzón

Families and feminist groups hailed the maximum term as a precedent against impunity in gender-based killings.

Overview

  • A Puebla Tribunal de Enjuiciamiento imposed 60-year prison terms on López Zavala as the intellectual author and on Jair Mauricio D. and Silvestre Vargas R. as the material perpetrators.
  • Each defendant was fined 1,000 UMAs, with judges citing the gravity of the crime in imposing the maximum penalty allowed under state law.
  • State prosecutors established that López Zavala ordered the killing in 2022 and supplied the firearm, while his nephew hired the shooter who attacked Monzón in San Pedro Cholula.
  • Puebla’s public security chief said López Zavala will be moved from the San Miguel facility to a federal maximum-security prison, likely the Altiplano.
  • The sentencing followed a public trial of roughly eight months and about 80 hearings, and officials acknowledged the defense can still pursue legal challenges.