Kidnapped Mayor Sanchez Was Released in Mexico

On Tuesday, the mayor of Cotija, Yolanda Sanchez, was freed after being kidnapped since Saturday.

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Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) announced that the National Guard intercepted a bus in which Sanchez was traveling in the municipality of Villamar.

Sanchez, who is a member of the right-wing National Action Party (PAN), was abducted in Zapopan, in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco.

Currently, Cotija, a city located on the border between Jalisco and Michoacan, is suffering from a wave of violence due to the presence of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which is considered the most dangerous in Mexico.

Mayor Sanchez left a shopping plaza on Saturday at 7:00 PM local time, when an armed group intercepted the vehicle in which she was traveling.

The Mexican president did not share any hypotheses about the motive for the kidnapping and only informed that the release was revealed during the daily Security Cabinet meeting.

"At 5:00 AM today, the Cotija Public Security Secretary requested assistance from the National Guard personnel after receiving a call from the municipal president, informing that she had already been released and was on a bus to Zamora," AMLO commented.

Jalisco, with 1,350 homicides so far this year, and Michoacan, with 1,214 murders, are two of the six most violent states in Mexico due to the presence of criminal groups competing for control of drug trafficking and the chemical precursors of fentanyl that arrive at Pacific ports.

Mexico experienced the most violent election in its history in 2021, with 1,066 attacks on politicians and 102 fatalities, including 36 candidates.