Violence struck Oaxaca once again on Saturday after Joel Ángel Bravo Martínez, the mayor of San Miguel Amatitlán, was shot and killed inside his home by a group of armed attackers.
According to preliminary reports, the gunmen forced their way into the mayor’s residence and opened fire multiple times.
Security forces and emergency responders rushed to the scene, but Bravo Martínez succumbed to his injuries.
The attack took place in San Miguel Amatitlán, a municipality in Oaxaca’s Mixteca region within the district of Huajuapan de León. The killing triggered a large-scale response from local and state authorities.
Following confirmation of the mayor’s death, the Oaxaca State Attorney General’s Office announced that it had opened an investigation into the attack.
Authorities said personnel from the State Investigation Agency and forensic specialists were dispatched to process the crime scene, collect evidence, and remove the body.
State and federal authorities also launched a security operation across parts of the Mixteca region, increasing surveillance and attempting to block potential escape routes used by the attackers.
The assassination comes amid growing concerns over the safety of municipal officials in Oaxaca.
Just two days earlier, Mayor César Figueroa Jiménez of Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz was wounded in a separate armed attack in Oaxaca’s Sierra Sur region. A municipal employee was also injured in that incident.
The latest killing underscores the security challenges facing authorities in Oaxaca as investigators work to identify those responsible and prevent further violence against local government officials.
