Temoac Mayor Valentín Lavín Romero killed, under cartel investigation

Valentín Lavín Romero, the mayor of the municipality of Temoac in the state of Morelos, was shot dead on 22 July 2026 inside the municipal palace. Two armed men entered the building, fired at the mayor and fled on a motorcycle.

Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Protection Citizens, Omar García Harfuch, said the mayor had been the subject of a formal investigation for possible links to the criminal cells “Los Aparicio” and “Los Huazulco,” groups involved in kidnapping, extortion, narco‑selling and homicide in eastern Morelos. He noted that the investigation also examines the mayor’s alleged intellectual involvement in the killings of activists Samir Flores and Sandra Camacho.

Authorities have detained the mayor’s relatives – his mother‑in‑law Andrea “La Patrona” (former municipal treasurer) and his father‑in‑law Arturo Romero – for alleged ties to the same criminal structures. A coordinated federal‑state operation was launched to secure Temoac, collect evidence and capture the perpetrators. The municipal council has appointed interim mayor Esperanza Galván Zavala while legal succession procedures proceed.