Mexican Mayor Shot Dead After Being Denied State Protection in World Cup Host Country (opens in new tab)

Joel Ángel Bravo Martínez, the mayor of San Miguel Amatitlan in Oaxaca, was gunned down inside his own home on Saturday — weeks after formally requesting state protection he never received. His killing, the latest in a pattern of targeted political assassinations across Mexico, arrives as the country hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup and President Claudia Sheinbaum insists her government has the security situation under control.