Mexico City, Mexico — After the killing of Valentín Lavín Romero on Wednesday, Mexican authorities said the assassinated mayor of Temoac, Morelos, had links to organized crime and the brutal killings of activists and land defenders in Morelos.
Lavín Romero was shot dead at a government building in Temoac by two unidentified gunmen who left the scene on a motorcycle following an incident of political violence in Mexico on July 22, according to a report released by Mexico’s state prosecutor’s office.
At a press conference Friday morning, Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harpucci, said the slain mayor was under active investigation for alleged links to powerful criminal organizations such as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), as well as the criminal organization “Los Aparicio” or “Los Huazulcos,” a local group linked to murders, drug trafficking, extortion and kidnappings in Morelos.
According to Harfuch, the ongoing investigation has led to the arrest of Romero’s mother-in-law, Andrea Angelina, or “La Patrona,” the operator of Los Aparicio and suspected of committing several acts of violence in the area. She also worked in the municipality’s finance department when Romero was mayor of Temoac.
Harfuch reported that Romero’s father-in-law was also arrested in September 2025.
Romero’s family has been a target of violence in Mexico. In September 2018, three relatives of his wife, Marisol Romero Zamora, were murdered in Huazulco. Romero also suffered serious injuries after surviving an assassination attempt in January.
The investigation is still ongoing and the motive for Romero’s murder is unclear, although Mexican authorities are currently investigating rival criminal organizations and revenge as the main motive.
Harfuch also said that as part of the current investigation, authorities are following up on a formal complaint filed by the Popular Front for the Defense of the Land and Waters of Morelos, an environmental and land rights movement known for protecting the territory from development and industrial projects. The complaint alleges that Romero is involved in the murders of two people, Samir Flores and Sandra Rosa Camacho Flores.
“Unfortunately, there are two cases involving the mayor and the cases he has been formally charged with are the murders of Samir Flores Soberanes and Sandra Rosa Camacho Flores,” Harfuch said.
Flores was murdered outside his home in February 2019. His murder is believed to be linked to his work as a land defender, particularly his opposition to energy development projects aimed at building thermal power plants and gas pipelines in Morelos.
The seven-year-old murder case has become a warning to activists and land advocates like Samir. Since then, investigations into who the intellectual author was have stalled, although Los Aparicio has long been believed to be behind his murder.
Camacho Flores was killed in his home in March after publicly accusing Romero’s family in front of Morelos Governor Margarita González Saravia of being behind extortion and violence in Temoac.
Featured Image: Valentin Ravine Romero
