An armed attack against Damaris Salazar Balderas, the municipal trustee (*síndica*) of Cortazar, Guanajuato, triggered a severe political and family crisis in the municipality. The official survived the attack alongside one of her children; this prompted her husband, Diego Estefanía Torres, to directly accuse his own brother—Municipal President Mauricio Estefanía Torres—of being the alleged mastermind behind the incident.
Both men are on the payroll of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (CSRL). In fact, in July 2025, Diego Estefanía Torres entered the city of Querétaro with a group of hitmen disguised as bodyguards. Although he held only the position of President of the Board of the Municipal Water and Sewerage Agency (JUMAPAC), he traveled in a convoy with the gunmen; he claimed they were security detail, yet they all carried weapons without the proper permits. They were detained, but he used his political influence (*charoleo*), and a political figure in Querétaro secured their release.
The attack occurred while the trustee was traveling with one of her four children in a GMC Denali pickup truck—an armored vehicle with an estimated value of over two million pesos. Thanks to the vehicle’s armor, the official and the minor were unharmed, even though the bodywork sustained dozens of hits from high-caliber gunfire. Hours after the attack, Diego Estefanía Torres—a local leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the victim’s husband—posted a video on social media confirming that his family was safe but publicly holding the mayor of Cortazar (a member of the *Movimiento Ciudadano* party) and his inner circle responsible for any future reprisals.
The roots of this family and political conflict go back to last February, when Diego Estefanía was removed as president of the Board of Directors of the Municipal Drinking Water Board (JUMAPAC), allegedly for attempting to directly interfere in the administration run by his younger brother. This rift led City Trustee Damaris Salazar to resign from *Movimiento Ciudadano* and join the PRI, where her husband is already emerging as a potential candidate for the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, Mayor Mauricio Estefanía Torres released a video this Tuesday afternoon from the Bajío International Airport, categorically rejecting his brother’s accusations and distancing himself from the attack.
The mayor stated that he was out of the state on vacation in Cancún with his family, completely removed from mayoral duties and personal disputes. He expressed shock over his nephew’s situation and formally requested the intervention of federal and state authorities to clarify the facts of the case.
