The murder of the mayor of Uruapan on Saturday night triggered protests in the central state of Michoacán and an offer of “deepened security cooperation” from the United States over the weekend.
Protests occurred in Uruapan as well as state capital Morelia, where a small number of protesters broke into the state government palace and vandalized the colonial era building.
Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, who won the mayorship of Uruapan as an independent candidate and had urged President Claudia Sheinbaum to ramp up the fight against organized crime, was shot at a Day of the Dead event in the main square in the center of Uruapan, a city of some 350,000 people that is notorious for violence.
Manzo, 40, died from his wounds at the Fray Juan de San Miguel Hospital in Uruapan, Michoacán Attorney General Carlos Torres Piña said in a video message.
A funeral for the outspoken anti-crime crusader was held in Uruapan on Sunday.
In Morelia on Sunday, a large group of protesters marched through the historic center of the state capital. They called for justice for the killing of Manzo — whose alleged murderer was shot dead at the scene of the crime — and demanded that authorities act to put an end to the violence that plagues various parts of Michoacán. The state recorded the seventh highest number of homicides among Mexico’s 32 federal entities in the first nine months of 2025.
Outside the Michoacán Government Palace, protesters shouted slogans such as “Justice for Manzo” and “Enough with all this crime,” according to a report by the La Jornada newspaper.
A small group of protesters described as “infiltrators” and “encapuchados” (people in hoods) in Mexican media reports forced their way into the palace and proceeded to carry out acts of vandalism such as destroying furniture, breaking windows and graffitiing walls. Video footage shows one man climbing through broken windows onto a palace balcony, where he repeatedly rang a bell, eliciting cheers from the crowd gathered below. A fire was also set at a door to the palace, a baroque-style building that was built in the second half of the 18th century.
After the building was breached, police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters gathered outside, according to local media.
The Michoacán Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said in a statement that eight people — both men and women — were arrested in connection with the damage caused to the palace.
Citing a preliminary report, the FGE said that the group of people that broke into the building caused damage to 16 areas of the palace as well as its main door.
Aristegui Noticias reported that the intention of the protesters who broke into the building was to demand the resignation of Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla.
Protesters accused the state government of killing Manzo and called for Ramírez Bedolla and the Morena party he represents to “get out” of office, according to Aristegui Noticias.
Although the slain mayor had federal protection, protesters accused the Michoacán and federal governments of not providing sufficient assistance to him in the fight he led against organized crime in Uruapan, the hub of Michoacán’s lucrative avocado industry and a hotbed of extortion and violent crime.
In that city on Monday, some 2,000 university students took to the streets to demand peace and justice for the murder of Manzo.
One protester told the Reforma newspaper that “the only thing” students want is peace in Uruapan and across Michoacán so that they can go out at night and not feel unsafe.
An even larger protest took place in Uruapan on Sunday evening, with more than 10,000 people marching through the streets of the city in a mass denunciation of the murder of their mayor, a former federal deputy with the ruling Morena party who served in Congress during the latter half of Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s 2018-24 presidency.
‘They killed the best mayor in Mexico’
On Sunday, as people across Mexico continued to observe Day of the Dead, a public funeral was held for Manzo in the same square in Uruapan where he was killed the previous night.
In an eulogy, the slain mayor’s wife, Grecia Quiroz, said: “They didn’t kill the mayor of Uruapan, they killed Mexico’s best mayor.”
She asserted that her husband was the “only” mayor who “dared to speak up” against organized crime and “speak truthfully” about insecurity.
Indeed, Manzo was known for his strong rhetoric against organized crime, and even accompanied municipal police in operations against local gangs and cartels.
Esto sí es el verdadero pueblo, el que acompaña a Carlos Manzo en su funeral, porque él no los dejó solos. Claman justicia, exigen un cambio, y no están ahí de arrastrados por una despensa o una beca bimestral. El verdadero pueblo es este.
— Rhevolver (@Rhevolver) November 3, 2025
Quiroz said that while criminals “silenced his voice, they will not put an end to this fight.”
She pledged to “keep fighting” with “the citizens who are here today” and “who are tired of so much violence.”
With emotion overcoming her, the crowd of mourners broke into a chant of “you are not alone” in a moving display of solidarity and support.
Manzo’s brother, Gabriel Manzo Rodríguez, also eulogized the deceased mayor, delivering a speech in which he called on citizens to continue his brother’s legacy.
Before the public funeral, a funeral procession made its way through the streets of Uruapan led by Manzo’s black horse, whose saddle was adorned with one of the mayor’s trademark cowboy hats. A group of musicians, also dressed in black, followed and played mariachi songs, The Associated Press reported.
Among the mourners in Uruapan was Governor Ramírez Bedolla, who faced cries of “get out” and “get out murderer” from residents after he left the funeral parlor where a vigil was held for Manzo.
Deputy US secretary of state acknowledges murder
In a social media post on Sunday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau wrote that: “On this All Soul’s Day, my thoughts are with the family and friends of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, who was assassinated at a public Day of the Dead celebration last night.”
“The U.S. stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organized crime on both sides of the border,” added Landau, who served as U.S. ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021 during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.
The deputy secretary of state shared a photo of Manzo with his young son in his arms shortly before he was killed.
“May his soul rest in peace and may his memory inspire prompt and effective action,” Landau wrote.
On this All Souls’ Day, my thoughts are with the family and friends of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, who was assassinated at a public Day of the Dead celebration last night. The US stands ready to deepen security cooperation with Mexico to wipe out organized… pic.twitter.com/hf8XObasHf
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) November 2, 2025
U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ron Johnson also conveyed his condolences to the family and friends of Manzo.
“We stand together with Mexico as sovereign partners and friends, united in our resolve to ensure justice and strengthen the security that our communities deserve,” he wrote on social media.
Asked about Landau’s remarks at a press conference on Sunday, federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said that “all cooperation is welcome.”
Just two months ago, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to Mexico City, said that the U.S. and Mexico were “amplifying” their security cooperation as the two countries seek to combat organized crime groups and the narcotics they traffic on both sides of the border and around the world.
Rubio said at the time that bilateral security cooperation was already “the closest … we have ever had, maybe with any country, but certainly in the history of U.S.-Mexico relations.”
On Sunday, García Harfuch expressed Mexico’s willingness to receive any information the U.S. may have about the attack on Manzo on Saturday night. In addition to the alleged perpetrator killed at the scene of the crime, authorities took two people into custody.
Authorities have not revealed whether they have any information about any alleged criminal affiliation of the suspects, and have not publicly disclosed a motive for the attack.
Various crime groups operate in Michoacán, including the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Cárteles Unidos, an alliance made up of several organizations.
With reports from Aristegui Noticias, La Jornada, La Silla Rota, Reforma and El Financiero
