(Bloomberg) — Mexican authorities arrested the alleged mastermind behind the murder of an outspoken local mayor that has shined a spotlight on persistent cartel-fueled violence. But the detention is unlikely to quiet growing outrage with President Claudia Sheinbaum’s crime-fighting results.
Insecurity fueled by the country’s hyper-violent gangs is among the thorniest challenges faced by Sheinbaum as she enters her second year in office.
Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan in Michoacán state, had promoted a harder-line approach to fighting the cartels before he was gunned down by a 17-year-old assassin in a crowded plaza earlier this month. His killing is just the latest brazen hit blamed on powerful drug gangs, provoking widespread anger and leading to massive street protests across the country.
Security Minister Omar García Harfuch announced the arrest of Jorge Armando “N,”describing him as ordering the hit. The minister told reporters at a press conference that he has links to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the country’s most notorious criminal groups. Detainee surnames are commonly withheld by authorities in Mexico.
García Harfuch added that the murder was ordered even if it might also kill innocent bystanders.
“Before the attack, Jorge Armando… told the killers they should shoot even if Carlos Manzo was around other people, no matter who,” he said. Minutes before Manzo was shot seven times, he was seen holding his toddler son in his arms during a Day of the Dead festival in Uruapan.
Going out of his way to show the government’s commitment to investigating high-profile crimes, Sheinbaum’s security chief provided a minute-by-minute breakdown of the four suspects implicated in the murder, citing messages recovered from two phones.
The teenager who pulled the trigger was killed at the scene, and two other suspects were found dead last week on the side of a highway, where the phones were recovered.
García Harfuch pledged further action, including more arrests.
“This criminal network that commits homicides, extortion and uses young people to generate violence in the region will be completely dismantled,” he said.
While Manzo was guarded by local police as well as a contingent of federal guards, the minister did not provide details on their whereabouts at the time of the shooting.
Sheinbaum needs to show progress in the murder investigation and Mexico’s broader scourge of lawlessness or face even more public discontent, following major street protests across the country last weekend that threaten to chip away at the leftist leader’s support.
Juan Carlos Villarreal, a political scientist at the Autonomous University of Mexico State, sees the alleged mastermind’s arrest as a way for the government to show it’s taking action and potentially distract the public from the recent demonstrations.
Since Manzo’s murder, Sheinbaum launched a new security plan for Michoacán including the deployment of 10,000 National Guard troops in a bid to quell the violence. The state is especially battered by extortion networks that target its lucrative avocado and lime industries.
Nearly three weeks after Manzo’s assassination, Sheinbaum continues to field questions about insecurity in Michoacán at her daily morning press conference. With another street march planned for Thursday’s nationwide Revolution Day holiday, pressure on her to show better results will likely grow.
The pressure is also coming from President Donald Trump, who earlier this week again mulled the possibility of direct strikes on the cartels, saying it “would be ok” with him if the US military were to carry out attacks in Mexican territory.
Trump pointed to the recent street protests as a sign Sheinbaum’s government isn’t doing enough to fight the violence.
–With assistance from Alex Vasquez.
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