On the first anniversary of the murder of Carlos Manzo, former mayor of Uruapan, Michoacán, his widow and current municipal president, Grecia Quiroz, offered new details about the night of November 1, 2025, from witnessing the attack to arriving at the hospital and seeing her husband's body covered with a sheet.
- Investigation progress: the Michoacán Attorney General's Office reports 34 people detained and a declared advance of 90% in the case.
- March for justice: Quiroz led a march of more than two thousand people through Uruapan's streets on November 1 to demand justice.
- Outstanding: Colonel José Manuel Jiménez Miranda, Manzo's former head of security detail, remains at large; authorities offer a 100,000-peso reward for information leading to his capture.
The attack, seen from the front
Speaking to Azteca Noticias, Quiroz said she was facing Manzo when the attack occurred. A woman approached the then-mayor apparently to take a photo with him, and at that moment Quiroz saw the assailant coming toward them.
“The attacker was coming straight at me; I saw him from a close angle, just a few steps away. He wore a hoodie that covered his face, but I could see his build,” the mayor said.
She described seeing the glint of the weapon. Víctor Manuel, the 17-year-old identified as the material perpetrator, was shot dead at the scene by Manzo's own bodyguards seconds after he opened fire.
The farewell at the hospital
Quiroz recounted that when she reached the hospital she found her husband's body covered with a sheet. Esteban Constantino Magaña, the municipality's public works secretary who was also wounded that night, entered the room with her and told her not to uncover more than the face.
“I only uncovered his face. I hugged him, I cried, I told him... Of course, I kept telling him not to leave me, even though I knew he was already gone,” Quiroz told Azteca Noticias.
The mayor also showed cameras the hat Manzo was wearing the night of the attack. She said it was the only thing she picked up from the ground after the crime: “That hat is the only thing I lifted off the floor that day. Under no circumstances was I going to leave it lying there. I came to honor it and wear it with great pride,” she declared.
Grief, demands for justice and case developments
Quiroz spoke about the mourning she has faced while taking office as municipal president weeks after her husband's murder.
“There are moments when I cry, when I buckle and feel I can't go on. Last night I came home from my duties, there's a picture of Carlos and I stood in front of it and talked to him,” she said.
She acknowledged that the pain has also given her strength: “Pain makes you strong and takes away fear. I have children who don't deserve to see a cowardly mother or one collapsed in bed,” she stated.
The mayor said her main demand remains that Manzo's murder not go unpunished and that all possible lines of investigation be pursued, including a political motive that the federal government has not acknowledged. The Fiscalía General de la República has not responded to her formal request to take over the case.
On the night of November 1, 2025, Manzo was shot during the Festival of Candles in Uruapan's main square as he toured the event with his family and cabinet members. The attacker, Víctor Manuel Ubaldo Vidales, 17, shot him at least six times and was killed at the scene by the mayor's bodyguards seconds later.
Along with Manzo, Esteban Constantino Magaña, public works secretary; Víctor Hugo de la Cruz, a municipal councilman, and bodyguard Montserrat were wounded. The former mayor was taken to a hospital where he died. Mexico's Security Cabinet confirmed his death around 9:00 p.m.
The main line of investigation points to retaliation by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) for the security operations Manzo led in Uruapan, including the arrest of alleged local boss René “El Rhino” on August 27, 2025. Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said in July 2026, after the capture of the main suspect, that the crime has an identified mastermind, motive and criminal structure.
Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, alias “El R1,” leader of “Los R's”—a cell linked to the CJNG—was arrested in Atotonilco, Jalisco, on July 30, 2026, after an operation in which Army special forces were met with gunfire. Authorities accuse him of ordering and financing the attack. Jorge Armando García, alias “El Licenciado,” is identified as the direct coordinator of the homicide.
The crime was planned through an encrypted messaging chat on Threema, from which the attack was tracked and executed in real time. Investigations revealed that two people in Manzo's inner circle leaked information to facilitate the attack: Samuel García Rivero, former director of public relations for the city government, who had access to the mayor's public schedule, and Alexis Jesús Medina García, alias “El Brilloso,” Manzo's godson, who provided security information to the criminal cell.
With 34 detainees and a file the state prosecutor's office considers nearly complete, the case remains defined by the demands of the family and the mayor herself, who insists that all responsibilities be clarified, including the possible involvement of people close to the former mayor and the eventual takeover of the case by the Fiscalía General de la República.