Gunmen Enter Municipal Palace and Kill Mayor of Temoac, Morelos

By “El Huaso” for Borderland Beat

Yesterday afternoon, Valentín Lavín Romero, the mayor of Temoac, Morelos was murdered by two gunmen who attacked him inside the Municipal Palace.

After killing the mayor, the two gunmen fled on a motorbike in the direction of Popotlán. Authorities launched an operation to search for the two gunmen, although no arrests have been reported so far.

Valentín Lavín Romero, municipal president of Temoac, Morelos

This was the second time Valentín Lavín has been attacked this year. On January 31, 2026, Lavín was shot while inside his vehicle at a gas station located on the Mexico-Oaxaca federal highway in the municipality of Jantetelco. So far, it is unclear exactly why Lavín was targeted.

Lavín is the son-in-law of Andrea Angelina N., alias “La Patrona,” the former treasurer of Temoac and an alleged member of the criminal cell known as Los Aparicio and/or Los Huazulco. She has been arrested twice, once in November 2024 in possession of methamphetamine and firearms. She was released and arrested a year later in along with 10 other people, on September 23, 2025.