Overview
- The attack occurred around 7 a.m. at the entrance to a lime kiln on Mezhua’s property in the Piedras Blancas community, where gunmen in two pickup trucks intercepted and killed him near a National Guard post.
- The Veracruz Attorney General’s Office confirmed the homicide and said prosecutors, forensic experts, and ministerial police are conducting investigative procedures.
- Security forces deployed search operations into the Zongolica sierra after the assailants fled, and authorities have not announced arrests or suspects.
- Family members and allies announced his death on his social media accounts and publicly criticized state and federal security policies.
- Mezhua, a former PRD state leader and mayor from 2018 to 2021, had been organizing an independent political project, and his killing is being reported within a 2025 surge of attacks on politicians in Veracruz, with the shooting occurring hours before President Claudia Sheinbaum’s scheduled visit to the state.