Sheinbaum unveils security plan for Michoacan following protests over
mayor's assassination
[November 05, 2025]
By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday
announced a new security strategy for the violent state of Michoacan,
where people have taken to the streets to protest the most recent
mayoral assassination, the seventh of the past three years.
The lethal attack Saturday against Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo,
who had gained popularity for his stance against cartels and criminal
groups, fueled criticism of the Sheinbaum administration’s security
policies and Mexicans' frustration with the violence plaguing parts of
the country. Between Sunday and Monday protests erupted in Morelia, the
capital of Michoacan, Uruapan and Apatzingan.
Mayors are especially vulnerable to organized crime groups in Mexico
that seek to control territory to move drugs and extort residents and
businesses.
In response to the outrage and anger caused by the attack, Sheinbaum
presented the “Michoacan Plan for Peace and Justice” during her daily
news briefing Tuesday. She said the plan would take a comprehensive
approach to strengthen security by addressing the root causes of
violence, a key element of the security policies she implemented when
she took office a year ago.
Sheinbaum said more National Guard troops and federal agents would be
sent to Michoacan to support state police, but she did not specify the
number of personnel being deployed.
During the last few years, the Mexican federal government has sent
hundreds of troops to Michoacan but it hasn’t been enough to control the
cells of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Familia Michoacana and
local criminal organizations that operate in the state. The state's
persistent violence has resisted interventions from successive
administrations.
Now, as it has done in Sinaloa and Guanajuato states, the government
will use federal security forces under the command of Public Security
Secretary Omar García Harfuch to try to combat organized crime.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a morning press conference
at the National Palace in Mexico City, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP
Photo/Marco Ugarte)
As part of the new plan, Sheinbaum said the federal government will
send Michoacan’s state legislature a proposal to strengthen the
state prosecutor’s office by creating an office dedicated to
investigating and gathering intelligence on high-impact crimes like
homicide and extortion.
The government expects to unveil details of its new plan in the
coming days. Sheinbaum said that there would be biweekly security
meetings and alert systems for mayors, economic development plans,
social security and living wages for farmers would be promoted and
investments would be made for rural infrastructure, reintegration,
victim support programs and peace forums.
“We are going to restore peace with justice,” Sheinbaum said. “Peace
can be built from the ground up, with dignity and hope," Sheinbaum
said, adding that "the war against drugs will not return.”
Last month, Michoacan was shaken by the killing of a popular and
outspoken leader of lime growers, who also suffer extortion from the
cartels.
Manzo’s assassination drew the attention of the United States, with
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters in a
Tuesday press briefing, “we condemn all political violence anywhere
in all forms.”
Leavitt stated that U.S. President Donald Trump has great respect
for Sheinbaum and appreciates the existing security coordination
with Mexico, adding that “we are continually pushing Mexico to do
more to tackle drug trafficking and the drug cartels within their
country and we are working with them in any way that we can.”
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