A widow of a Mexican mayor has been arrested on suspicion of extortion a week after her husband was assassinated.
Valentin Lavin’s wife, Marisol, was arrested on Monday, alongside the Chief of the Municipal Police Geovany Emmanuel, for suspected extortion the week after the Temoac mayor died.
Lavin, who is aligned with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, was shot and killed during a town hall on July 22. He was the 14th mayor to be shot since Sheinbaum took office in October 2024.
On Wednesday, the gunman fled city hall on a motorbike, and has yet to be identified.
He had previously been targeted in January at a gas station near Mexico City, where he was left injured, The Guardian reported.
It is unclear if Marisol and Geovany’s arrests are related to Lavin’s death. The Morelos Attorney General’s Office did not release more information regarding the two public servants’ crimes.
Lavin allegedly had ties to local crime groups, Los Aparicio or Los Huazulco, according to Spanish magazine Contralinea.
His relation to the groups – which are known for kidnapping, extortion, and drug dealing – was being investigated by authorities for a potential link to the murder of journalist Samir Flores Soberanes, among others, Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection Omar Garcia Harfuch, said, according to the magazine.
Valentin Lavin was shot dead on July 22 during a town hall meeting in Mexico
Lavin’s wife, Marisol, was arrested on Monday, on suspicion of extortion. It is unclear if her alleged crimes are tied to her husband’s deaths
The investigation also involved Lavin’s family, including his mother-in-law, Andrea Angelina Zamora Castilla, who went by Patrona. She served as the municipal treasurer and is accused by the attorney general of being the leader of one of the criminal organizations, the magazine reported.
She was arrested in September 2025. Lavin’s father-in-law as taken into custody was well.
Several groups have also called for Lavin to be investigated for Flores Soberanes’ 2019 death.
The attorney general also allegedly linked Lavin to the death of Temoac mayoral candidate Felix Oviel Ocampo’s murder. Ocampo allegedly received threats from the mayor’s family before his death, Contralinea reported.
Sheinbaum is cracking down on municipal leaders attaching themselves to crime groups, having enacted Operation Swarm, which has seen 85 officials arrested.
In February, the mayor of Tequila was arrested for allegedly collaborating with the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion to extort beer and tequila companies, according to Brookings, a Washington DC think tank.
Marisol was arrested alongside Chief of the Municipal Police Geovany Emmanuel
Citizens attending Lavin’s funeral on July 24
Lavin allegedly had ties to two criminal groups and was being investigated
The operation began in November 2024, first rolling out in 10 municipalities before expanding.
As of January, 18 of those arrested have been convicted, according to Brookings.
