Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan in Mexico’s Michoacán state, was killed during a Day of the Dead event on November 1, 2025. The assassination occurred despite Manzo wearing a bulletproof vest and having National Guard protection amid death threats. The Mexican politician, described as the “Mexican Bukele” for his unwavering stance against cartels, was shot seven times.
This murder marked the tenth mayor to be killed in incumbent President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first 13 months in office, underscoring the deepening crisis of cartel violence across Mexico. Public outrage erupted nationwide as protests organized by “Generation Z Mexico” swept from Mexico City to Michoacán, drawing thousands of demonstrators.
Sheinbaum has dismissed calls for militarized responses to the violence, accusing critics of political exploitation and claiming homicide rates have declined. However, her vague “Plan Michoacán,” which promises intelligence sharing and social programs, has failed to address the reality that states like Michoacán have become ungovernable cartel territories.
On November 15, mass protests erupted across Mexico, with approximately 17,000 demonstrators clashing violently with riot police outside the National Palace in Mexico City. Protesters accused Sheinbaum’s government of complicity in violence and chanted “Out, Morena,” referencing her left-wing Morena party. Twenty people were arrested after tear gas was deployed by authorities following the destruction of barriers. Sheinbaum attributed the unrest to political opponents, business leaders, and foreign social-media bots.
During the protests, a single demonstrator spray-painted “PUTA JUDIA” (“Jewish whore”) across the main doors of the National Palace—a direct attack on Sheinbaum—sparking international condemnation. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the antisemitic slur in a public statement, emphasizing that such attacks must be rejected unequivocally.
Sheinbaum has publicly expressed support for Venezuela and its president Nicolás Maduro despite U.S. designations of the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The move follows Trump’s administration labeling cartel groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Cristóbal Ascencio García, bishop of Michoacán’s Apatzingán diocese, warned that communism is imminent under Sheinbaum’s leadership, accusing her of advancing radical leftist ideologies. Socialist magazine Jacobin has reported deep ties between Sheinbaum’s family and the Communist Party, including her government’s billions in oil aid to Cuba. The Communist Party USA has also publicly endorsed Sheinbaum and Maduro against U.S. policies.
The crisis intensifies amid historical context: Operation Fast and Furious, conducted during the Obama administration by Attorney General Eric Holder, allowed thousands of U.S.-acquired firearms to enter Mexico, arming narco-terrorists and resulting in the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010. The ATF’s complicity in facilitating these sales has drawn scrutiny for undermining Second Amendment protections.
Trump’s administration has reclassified multiple Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists, authorizing military action against them worldwide. Trump recently imposed a 25-percent tariff on U.S.-imported goods from Mexico under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, targeting migration and narcotics trafficking while claiming exemptions for USMCA-compliant products.
A nation that refuses to defend its borders surrenders sovereignty—a principle Trump emphasized by signing an executive order requiring U.S. military protection of territorial integrity. Critics argue that decades of inaction on cartel violence have allowed Mexican cartels to operate as de facto invading forces, waging war on the United States while flooding cities with drugs and exploiting migrants.
