Maricela Vallejo Orea
, mayor of Mixtla de Altamirano and member of the MORENA (National Regeneration Movement) left-wing political party was killed on Wednesday night along with her husband and a driver in the mountainous area of Veracruz.
The first police reports confirmed that the attack took place at 22:00 hours on Wednesday . The vehicle Vallejo Orea was traveling in was attacked by gunmen on the Zongolica-Orizaba highway in the Los Reyes municipality .
The MORENA mayor was one of the keynote speakers during the presentation of a conflict resolution strategy last January called Zero Tolerance for Violence against Women and Girls in Veracruz .
When speaking on behalf of municipal authorities, Vallejo proposed the creation of the Directorate for the Prevention and Care of Women Victims of Violence in each municipality.
Following the tragedy, Cuitláhuac García, governor of Veracruz , qualified it as a “cowardly killing.” “We strongly condemn these violent acts and justice will be served. We extend our deepest condolences to the family,” he wrote on Twitter.
The MORENA statesman regretted the death of the mayor, adding that she was making great progress in fighting gender violence in her community.
“Mixtla was in her prime; she was working to build a healthcare center and promote her indigenous culture,” he said.
For his part, Hugo Gutiérrez Maldonado , Veracruz minister of public security , announced that a solid security operation was in place to find those responsible for the murder of the mayor.
The state official said that an active search of the culprits was in place, in cooperation with Federal Forces.
The public servant also asked the state attorney general’s office to conduct all investigations needed to apprehend those responsible.
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