Valentín Lavín Romero, mayor of Temoac (a small municipality south of Mexico City in the state of Morelos), was shot dead on Wednesday by gunmen who entered the town hall in broad daylight and fled on a motorbike — months after surviving a first assassination attempt at a petrol station in January. He is the 14th mayor to be killed since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, highlighting the persistent threat that organised crime poses to local officials, who represent the least-protected layer of Mexico's government and are frequently targeted by cartels seeking political influence. The killing comes amid the federal government's Operation Swarm, an anti-corruption drive that has already resulted in the arrest of 85 officials across three states including Morelos, as authorities attempt to sever ties between municipal governments and criminal networks.