Two close aides of Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada were shot dead on a city street in broad daylight, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Tuesday. The attack happened in a central part of the capital. This is the latest in a series of violent incidents targeting public officials in Mexico.

President Sheinbaum said the shooters were on a motorcycle. “It is a deplorable incident and we are going to give all the support that the mayor may need,” she stated.

The victims were identified as Ximena Guzman, Brugada’s personal secretary, and Jose Munoz, who was among her advisers. The announcement was made in a statement issued by the Mexico City government and posted on the social media platform X by Mayor Brugada.

Photos shared by local media showed a black Audi with numerous bullet holes on the front windshield. Two corpses, draped in white sheets, were lying close to the car. Mayor Brugada was not inside the vehicle during the shooting, a city official said.

Videos posted online showed the crime scene being examined by forensic teams.

Mayor Brugada, in her statement, said the city will not let the crime go unpunished. “There will be no impunity, those responsible will be arrested and must face justice,” the statement read.

A PATTERN OF VIOLENCE

The attack is part of a recent chain of violent attacks against members of the government. Only last week, a city council candidate and three of her supporters were assassinated at a campaign rally in Veracruz. Days before that, councilwoman Cecilia Ruvalcaba was murdered in a hospital in Jalisco.

In April, Jose Luis Pereira, a high-ranking official in Teocaltiche, was gunned down at a restaurant. A ruling coalition congressman was assassinated in Veracruz in December 2024. Two months before that, a mayor was killed and decapitated in Guerrero — a former police official and prosecutor were arrested in the case.

With inputs from Reuters