In a Mexican neighborhood rife with crime, a politician was shot and killed while eating at a seafood restaurant.
Jose Luis Pereira, the secretary general of the Teocaltiche City Council, was shot and killed Monday at approximately 4:57 p.m. inside a restaurant in Jalisco state.
By the time medical help arrived, Pereira was already dead, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The “cowardly murder” of X was denounced by Senator Alejandro Moreno, who also pointed out that “the Jalisco and federal governments’ lack of capacity and action claims another victim today.”
He called on authorities to take action and start policing criminals, saying that residents of Mexico should not have to live in fear of gang attacks on the streets.
“Insecurity continues to grow while those who should be protecting the people remain idle,” he wrote.
“We demand immediate justice and firm action against the organized crime that has taken over entire regions of our country. Our full support and solidarity goes out to his family, to the Jalisco PRI, and to all Mexicans who today demand to live without fear.”
Only two weeks have passed since the shooting death of Ramón Grande Moncada, the local police chief.
On its official Facebook page at the time, the Teocaltiche Municipal Administration voiced their indignation.
“The people of Teocaltiche can no longer live in fear, violence and pain. Today we raise our voices with profound powerlessness and indignation for the tragedies that have repeatedly struck our community.”
“Enough of the deaths! Enough of the suffering of our families! Stop being ignored!”
“Every life lost, every family broken, every night spent, are wounds that cry for justice. We can’t and shouldn’t get used to living like this.”
“We don’t ask for privileges, we ask for what is rightfully ours: to live safely, with justice and with respect. Indifference is also violence.”
Because to the high rate of gang activity, kidnapping, and murder in Jalisco State, the US government has advised travelers to think twice before visiting.
“Violent crime and gang activity are common in parts of Jalisco state,” the US advisory reads.
“Territorial battles between criminal groups take place in tourist areas. Shooting incidents between criminal groups have injured or killed innocent bystanders.”
“US citizens have been victims of kidnapping.”
Additionally, travel from some areas of the region has been prohibited for U.S. federal officials.
They are completely prohibited from going south of Cocula on Federal Highway 80, and they are also prohibited from traveling between specific locations close to the Jalisco-Michoacan border on Federal Highway 110.
Local police discovered the beheaded bodies of five men on a nearby road in October of last year.
Between January and September of 2024, 1,415 individuals were murdered in Jalisco, according to official statistics.
