Overview
- Ex-mayor Juan Carlos Mezhua was shot dead on November 23 in Piedras Blancas, Zongolica, after armed men in two vehicles intercepted him outside a business he owned.
- Veracruz’s state prosecutor’s office opened a case through the Córdoba regional unit and deployed prosecutors, forensic specialists and ministerial police, with no public announcement of suspects.
- Mezhua was mourned and buried in the Sierra de Zongolica as relatives demanded credible results and rejected scapegoating, while his family pledged to continue his independent political project.
- In San Luis Potosí, former PRI regidor and two-time mayoral candidate Rafael Cárdenas was ambushed on a rural road near La Bonita on November 24; the Vicefiscalía Científica processed the scene and sent the body to the medical examiner.
- Veracruz Governor Rocío Nahle said at least three mayors-elect have requested state security protection, as local reporting counts at least 14 political figures killed in the state this year.