Jorge Huerta Cabrera, a candidate for local office in Mexico’s state of Puebla, was killed on Friday, marking the 37th political assassination during this year’s election, a record high. According to local media, Cabrera was gunned down near his home.

Cabrera was the candidate for councilor of the PVEM- Mexico’s Green Party. According to local media, he was shot when he exited his truck, and was taken to the General Hospital of Izúcar de Matamoros, where he died. Cabrera’s wife and another man accompanying him were injured in the attack.

This latest murder follows a string of assassinations and assassination attempts leading up to the country’s general elections, where a new president will be elected. Noticias Telemundo reported just days before, that candidate Lenin Pérez survived an attack in Chiapas. He detailed that a group of armed men entered his home and began shooting. Earlier in the week, a mayoral candidate was assassinated at a campaign rally, after being gunned down.

Integralia provided an updated political violence report in early May revealing that most candidates who were assassinated were running at municipal level. According to local media site El Universal, almost 100 officials from District and Municipal Councils of the Electoral Institute of the State of Puebla “resigned from their positions for alleged personal reasons”.

Jimmy Natale, leader of the PVEM in Puebla and candidate for local deputy made a call for justice on X (formerly Twitter). He said that the people responsible for the assassination have been identified, naming Willebaldo Rayes Méndez, a candidate for alternate councilor of the coalition PRIANPRD in the Puebla municipality. He asked the Attorney General to hold those responsible accountable.

The governor of Puebla, Sergio Salomón Céspedes Peregrina, also condemned the assassination, and confirmed on X that the Puebla Prosecutor’s Office is collecting data to complete an investigation. The Prosecutor’s Office also confirmed in an official statement that it is investigating the murder and has removed the body from the scene and secured evidence..

Mexico’s general elections are due to take place on June 2, 2024.