Friday, January 9, 2026

New councilor assassinated in Cortázar, Guanajuato

A newly-elected municipal councilor in Cortázar, Guanajuato, was shot and killed outside his home yesterday.

Agustín Banda Olivares, social development director and councilor-elect for 2018-2021, died in in a hail of gunfire as he stepped out of his vehicle.

Alternate federal Deputy Ramiro Zaragoza Ramírez, who was with Banda, was wounded in the attack but reported to be in stable condition.

Both are members of the Democratic Revolution Party.

A municipal official said neither of the two men had received any threats prior to the attack.

There have been 69 homicides in Cortázar in the first seven months of the year but several other municipalities have seen far worse numbers.

León leads with 189 and Salamanca follows with 128.

Homicides have almost doubled so far this year over 2017.

Source: El Universal (sp)

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