The embattled Mexican state of Michoacán has once again found itself at the epicenter of a wave of violence that is shaking the country and drawing international scrutiny. Over the weekend of December 7, 2025, a Mexican National Guardsman fatally shot three fellow service members and wounded a fourth inside a barracks in Michoacán, according to federal officials cited by The Associated Press and CBS. The suspect was swiftly detained, and authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, which underscores the spiraling instability in the region.
This shocking episode came just hours after a deadly car bomb detonated outside a police station in Coahuayana, Michoacán, killing five people. Local community police commander Héctor Zepeda described the attack as so powerful that human remains were scattered across the area, a grim testament to the brutality that has become all too common in the state. President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has faced mounting criticism over her response to cartel violence, declined to provide further details about the weekend's attacks when pressed by reporters on December 9.
The violence in Michoacán is not an isolated occurrence but rather part of a disturbing pattern that has intensified in recent months. The federal government has responded to the escalating bloodshed by deploying thousands of additional troops to the region. After two high-profile assassinations—the killing of a prominent representative of lime growers and the murder of Uruapan mayor Carlos Manzo—President Sheinbaum ordered 2,000 reinforcements to Michoacán, supplementing the 4,300 permanent troops already stationed there, as well as 4,000 more in neighboring states.
The murder of Carlos Manzo on November 1, 2025, during a Day of the Dead event, sent shockwaves through Mexico. Manzo, known as the "Mexican Bukele" for his hardline stance against the cartels, was shot seven times despite wearing a bulletproof vest and being under National Guard protection. His assassination marked the tenth killing of a mayor in the first 13 months of Sheinbaum's presidency, a grim statistic that highlights the perilous grip of organized crime on local politics. According to The New American, Manzo's death ignited widespread protests, with thousands taking to the streets from Mexico City to Michoacán. The youth-led movement, organized by "Generation Z Mexico," saw demonstrators torch government buildings and clash with police, resulting in more than 100 injuries and over 20 arrests.
The unrest reached a fever pitch on November 15, when approximately 17,000 protesters gathered outside the National Palace in Mexico City. The demonstration turned violent as barriers were torn down and riot police responded with teargas. Amid the chaos, a protester spray-painted a vulgar antisemitic slur on the main doors of the palace, targeting President Sheinbaum, who is of Jewish descent. The act drew swift international condemnation. Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa’ar, posted on X, "Israel strongly condemns the antisemitic and sexist slurs directed at Mexico’s President @Claudiashein. There is no place for such attacks in political discourse. All forms of antisemitism, in any context, must be rejected unequivocally."
This incident shifted the media narrative, with coverage focusing on the antisemitic graffiti and violence rather than the government's response to cartel aggression and the alarming frequency of political assassinations. Sheinbaum dismissed calls for militarization, accusing critics of exploiting the crisis for political gain and claiming that homicide rates had actually decreased. Instead, she promoted her "Plan Michoacán," which centers on intelligence sharing, welfare initiatives, and social programs—a strategy that many critics argue is insufficient in the face of mounting cartel power.
The conflict in Michoacán is exacerbated by the presence of at least three powerful drug cartels that the Trump administration designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations: the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, United Cartels, and the New Michoacan Family. These groups, along with numerous armed splinter factions supported by the Sinaloa Cartel, have turned the state into one of Mexico's most contested criminal battlegrounds. The violence, often targeting public officials and security forces, has rendered large swathes of the region effectively ungovernable.
The U.S. has not remained a passive observer. Under President Donald Trump, the administration took the unprecedented step of officially designating several Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Trump also imposed a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Mexico starting February 1, 2025, using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The tariffs, which have been revised multiple times to exempt imports compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), are intended to pressure Mexico to take stronger action against illegal migration, human trafficking, and the flow of narcotics northward. "OK with me, whatever we have to do to stop drugs," Trump said, signaling his willingness to authorize ground strikes inside Mexico if necessary.
In a further move to strengthen border security, Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office requiring the U.S. military to protect the nation's borders under United States Northern Command. Critics of these measures argue that such actions violate Mexican sovereignty, while supporters contend that decades of congressional inaction have allowed cartels to operate as de facto invading armies, waging war on both sides of the border and fueling the opioid epidemic in the United States.
Meanwhile, the legacy of Operation Fast and Furious continues to haunt U.S.-Mexico relations. The controversial operation, conducted during the Obama administration, saw the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) allow thousands of firearms purchased in the U.S. to "walk" into Mexico in an ill-fated attempt to track cartel activity. The operation backfired disastrously, with most of the weapons never recovered and many ending up in the hands of narco-terrorists. The fallout included the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December 2010 and countless deaths in Mexico over the past decade. Whistleblower John Dodson exposed the operation, contradicting claims that American gun laws were solely to blame for cartel firepower.
Amid this turmoil, questions about the ideological direction of Mexico's leadership have added another layer of tension. Sheinbaum's support for Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro and Cuba's communist regime has raised concerns about the growing influence of leftist and communist ideologies in Mexico. The socialist magazine Jacobin has detailed Sheinbaum's family ties to the Communist Party, and the Communist Party USA has voiced support for Sheinbaum and Maduro against what it calls U.S. "imperialism." Critics, such as Bishop Cristóbal Ascencio García of Apatzingán, warn that communism is imminent under Sheinbaum's rule, accusing her of steering Mexico toward radical leftist policies.
As Michoacán reels from the latest bloodshed, the broader implications for Mexico's stability and U.S.-Mexico relations are becoming impossible to ignore. The convergence of cartel violence, political assassinations, ideological battles, and international pressure has created a volatile mix that threatens to destabilize not just a state, but an entire region. For many Mexicans, the question now is whether the government can regain control—or if the cycle of violence and unrest will only deepen.
