TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) – Mexico's leading presidential candidate was traveling between campaign stops Sunday when masked men stopped the car he was carrying and said he would be heading to southern Chiapas if he won the election. He called for action to be taken against violence in the state. June 2nd election.
former mayor of mexico claudia sheinbaumThe candidate from the ruling Morena party sat in the passenger seat of his car, window rolled down, listening quietly. Her masked men filmed the interaction on their cellphones, and one of them shook her hand before letting her proceed.
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The men, who identified themselves as local residents, said they felt “helpless” because the government was not doing enough to ensure their safety. They called on her to take action as president to ensure that their town, Motozintla, on Mexico's southern border with Guatemala, does not become a “disaster” like other communities in the region.
During his campaign in Chiapas, Sheinbaum was escorted by the military and National Guard.
The border region of Chiapas has been plagued by violence as rival new-generation cartels from Sinaloa and Jalisco battle for territory. Thousands of people have been forced to flee as cartels control migrant, drug and arms smuggling routes and forcibly recruit local populations.
Late Sunday, Sheinbaum acknowledged the incident happened but downplayed it and said he did not believe the men were part of an organized crime group. She described the encounter as “very strange” because it was first reported by media outlets critical of President Andres Manuel López Obrador's administration.Sheinbaum maintains a comfortable lead presidential electionaccording to a poll.
A federal lawmaker from López Obrador's party, who was traveling with Sheinbaum, previously described the encounter on social platform X. Federal lawmaker Carmen Patricia Armendariz wrote that she was stopped by masked men from one of the cartels vying for control of the area, but she later deleted it.
