Union leader shot dead in Salamanca, the fuel theft hub

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Unidentified gunmen murdered a trade union leader in Mexico ’s city of Salamanca , authorities said on Sunday, the latest outbreak of violence in an area plagued by crime, violence , and disputes between cartels and gangs over fuel theft.

Gilberto Muñoz Mosqueda

, a former federal lawmake r and the leader of the National Chemical and Petrochemical Union , died after being shot on Saturday, the government of Salamanca ’s home state of Guanajuato said in a statement.

The reason behind the attack on Muñoz is unclear. A spokeswoman for Guanajuato ’s government said investigations are ongoing and that no further details could be released.

The union , workers , and PRI leader Claudia Ruiz Massieu condemned the attack and demanded justice Gilberto Muñoz Mosqueda .

Nuestro sector está de luto, condenamos enérgicamente lo sucedido a nuestro asambleísta GILBERTO MUÑOZ MOSQUEDA, esperando que familia y amigos encuentren pronta resignación, pero sobre todo se haga justicia.
— Dirección Sectorial de los Trabajadores (@DSTInfonavit) May 11, 2019

Salamanca

is home to one of Mexico ’s six oil refineries . The facility has been protected by the army since early 2019 after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador launched a war against fuel theft across the country.

The fight to control fuel pipelines has turned the once relatively peaceful state of Guanajuato into one of the most violent .

Between 2007 and 2018, the annual murder tally in Guanajuato increased to over 2,600 .

A total of 969 murder investigations were opened in Guanajuato in the first four months of this administration, a 50% increase, compared to the same period in 2018 , according to figures published by the Interior Ministry .