Gunman kills Mexico City mayor’s top aides

The private secretary and an adviser to the mayor of Mexico City were gunned down in an attack in the Mexican capital Tuesday. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said Ximena Guzmán and José Muñoz died “during a direct attack,” in the Moderna neighborhood. Brugada, as mayor of Mexico City, holds the country’s second most powerful political office after the country’s President Claudia Sheinbaum. Brugada and Sheinbaum are allies in the Morena party. The Mexico City Attorney General’s Office said the attack took place when the two officials were on their way to work and their vehicle was intercepted. Authorities are analyzing a security camera video circulating on social media that allegedly captured the moment Guzmán and Muñoz were shot. It showed a man approaching a parked car and getting in, while another man wearing a helmet stands on the road and fires at the vehicle. The attacker then flees the scene. CNN contacted the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection to find out if the video corresponds to the attack that occurred on Tuesday. They responded that it is under investigation. The attack took place between Calzada de Tlalpan and Napoleón Street. Authorities said Wednesday they have identified at least four people who allegedly participated in the attack. “Given the dynamics of the events, it is concluded that it was a direct and highly planned attack, and that those who carried it out had prior experience,” Prosecutor Bertha Alcalde Luján told a press conference Wednesday. Alcalde said the motive for the attack was still being investigated and that nothing could be ruled out. Authorities seized a motorcycle near the scene and a vehicle in the Iztacalco borough, possibly linked to the incident, according to a joint bulletin from the Citizen Security Secretariat and the Attorney General’s Office. Brugada said her government was “deeply saddened” by the loss of their colleagues, describing Guzmán as a wonderful and kind woman, and Muñoz as one of the smartest people she’s ever met. Sheinbaum expressed condolences to the loved ones of the two officials during her press conference Tuesday morning and offered her support to the investigation. “We will get to the bottom of this situation and ensure justice is served,” Sheinbaum said. The president said both Guzmán and Muñoz had been “working in our movement (the Morena party) for a long time; we have known them.” Political violence Attacks on politicians are common in Mexico. Last year, the country saw a record number of victims from political violence, with Data Cívica, a human rights organization, reporting 661 attacks on people and facilities. Many of the victims either held or were running for municipal-level positions. In May 2024 a mayoral candidate was killed during a campaign stop in the southern state of Guerrero, in a shooting that was captured on video. Days later, the mayor of Cotija in Michoacán state was shot dead as she was walking from a gym back to her house with her bodyguard. In October, the mayor of Guerrero’s capital Chilpancingo was killed less than a week after taking office. Earlier this month, a mayoral candidate in Veracruz state was gunned down alongside three other people during live broadcast of a campaign rally.