Wednesday, May 21

The personal secretary and adviser to Mexico City's mayor were assassinated in a brutal attack yesterday, sparking fears over more killings in the relatively safe city.

Mexico City's mayor, Clara Brugada, belongs to the Morena political party, and she is the second-most powerful person in the country, behind President Claudia Sheinbaum. Brugada and Sheinbaum are close allies, but they also have political enemies.

Brugada's adviser, José Muñoz, and secretary, Ximena Guzmán, were both killed yesterday in an assassination. Guzmán was inside the car and was stopping to pick up Muñoz when shots were fired at them. Guzmán was killed inside and Muñoz was shot on the sidewalk. Police arrived at the scene, which was located between the roads of Calzada de Tlalpan and Napoleón, to find both people dead, with four bullet holes on the driver's side of the windshield.

Security camera videos showed the two gunmen arriving on a motorcycle and firing at the vehicle before fleeing the scene-- authorities are currently working to identify the attacks and their exact motives.

Sheinbaum and Brugada both issued statements on how amazing both members were to work with, as they had known Guzmán and Muñoz for long periods of time and were quite close with them. While this is an unnerving event, Sheinbaum and Brugada have maintained their composure and confirmed that the murders will not go unnoticed.

After an initial investigation, officials believe that the killing was a targeted assassination of both people, and was meant to be a sign from a drug cartel or some sort of other organized crime group.

Sheinbaum denied knowing anything about any threats that had been placed on the two victims, but unfortunately, politically-motivated attacks are quite common in Mexico. In 2024, the country saw a total of 661 political attacks, with victims ranging from prominent mayors to campaigning individuals.

However, the fact that political violence is so common has raised questions as to why Guzmán and Muñoz did not have any security around their vehicle, as it should have been a given due to the current situation.

Additionally, Mexico City is relatively safe compared to the rest of the country, which has been struggling with homicides for years. Drug cartels heavily contribute to this violence-- though in the past, Mexico City has been avoided by cartels. Unfortunately, this new attack has sparked fears over an increasing number of homicides, shocking many of the city's citizens.

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In a Sentence: I decided to take a gap year to the chagrin of my parents.