2nd mayoral candidate killed in Mexico's Veracruz state ahead of June 1 elections

TEXISTEPEC, Mexico (AP) — Gunmen killed a mayoral candidate from Mexico’s governing party in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz and four others who accompanied her, the second such local candidate killing in the state ahead of the June 1 election, authorities confirmed Monday.

There were reports later Monday that two federal agents were killed in another part of the state.

The attack on candidate Yesenia Lara Gutiérrez of the Morena party occurred Sunday when she was leading a caravan of supporters through Texistepec. Three more people were wounded.

Veracruz Gov. Rocío Nahle, also of the Morena party of President Claudia Sheinbaum, said Monday that Lara Gutiérrez’s daughter was among those killed.

Texistepec is a town of 20,000 southwest of the important petroleum industry port of Coatzacoalcos.

“No (elected) position is worth dying for,” Nahle said in a press conference Monday, where she promised justice.

“All of the state’s power will be present in coming days so that the elections are free and democratic,” she said.

At a wake Monday in Texistepec, family and friends mourned Lara Gutiérrez and spoke about the fear the violence stirred around the election.

“We can’t continue with the insecurity, we’re tired of all of this, this is terrorism,” said supporter Joaquín Fonseca. “There are five people dead, not one. We’re living the worst of the terrorism.”

Family friend Cruz Morales said the violence is so bad that “we’re afraid to go into the fields, to go see our family in the evening, because we don’t know what’s going to happen to us on the way.”

Lara Gutiérrez was the second mayoral candidate killed in Veracruz during the campaign. On April 29, the first official day of campaigning, gunmen killed Germán Anuar Valencia, also from the governing party at his campaign headquarters in Coxquihui in the northern part of Veracruz.

Nahle said that 57 local candidates had requested security offered by the state and federal government. It was not immediately clear if Lara Gutiérrez had.

Municipal elections are scheduled in Veracruz’s 212 municipalities for June 1.

Local candidates are historically the most vulnerable to election violence as organized criminal groups seek to gain control of local governments.

Later Monday, local press reported that two federal agents and a third person were killed in an attack in the coastal city of Boca del Rio, Veracruz. An Associated Press photojournalist saw federal agents and soldiers maintaining a perimeter around the scene of the shooting.

Neither state nor federal authorities immediately responded to requests to confirm the toll.

Alemán reported from Xalapa, Mexico.

Navy officers stand guard near a vehicle involved in a shootout in Veracruz, Mexico, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Victoria Razo)

Members of the general prosecutor's office and the Navy stand guard near a vehicle involved in a shootout in Veracruz, Mexico, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Victoria Razo)

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — A historic lodge on the Grand Canyon's North Rim has been destroyed by a fast-moving wildfire, the park said Sunday.

The Grand Canyon Lodge, the only lodging inside the park at the North Rim, was consumed by the flames, park Superintendent Ed Keeble told park residents, staff and others in a meeting Sunday morning. He said the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing also were lost.

Two wildfires are burning at or near the North Rim, known as the White Sage Fire and the Bravo Dragon fire. The latter is the one that impacted the lodge and other structures. The park initially was managing it as a controlled burn but then shifted to suppression as it rapidly grew, fire officials said.

Millions of people visit Grand Canyon National Park annually, with most going to the more popular South Rim. The North Rim is open seasonally. It was evacuated last Thursday because of wildfire.

The burning of the water treatment plant resulted in the release of chlorine gas that prompted the evacuation of firefighters and hikers from the inner canyon, park officials said Sunday. Chlorine gas is heavier than air and can quickly settle into lower elevations such as the inner canyon, posing a health risk.

Meanwhile, officials reported progress in battling a second wildfire burning north of the Grand Canyon. Fire lines on the White Sage Fire that forced evacuations at the North Rim and in the community of Jacob Lake were holding, officials said. On the southern edge of the fire, hand crews and bulldozers were working uphill, and the spread of the blaze had been minimal.

But to the east and north, the fire has spread rapidly, with grasses and standing dead trees contributing to the fire’s intensity, officials said. The fire was pushing downhill toward the Vermilion Cliffs area, and crews were assessing opportunities to create buffer zones that help slow or halt the fire’s progress.

In this photo provided by the National Park Service, smoke from wildfires settles over Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Friday, July 11, 2025. (Joelle Baird/Grand Canyon National Park)

This photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management shows aerial resources working to suppress White Sage wildfire burning north of Grand Canyon National Park in Ariz., on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office via AP)