Mexico leader says no to drug war despite killing

'Not an option,' the president states after mayor's assassination.

- BY PATRICK J. MCDONNELL AND KATE LINTHICUM

MEXICAN PRESIDENT Claudia Sheinbaum spoke as the nation was reeling after the Saturday slaying of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo.

(CHRISTOPHER ROGEL BLANQUET Getty Images)

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum ruled out a new “war on drugs” as a response to the assassination of a regional mayor who was shot at a Day of the Dead celebration, a brazen killing that has sparked national outrage.

“Returning to the war against el narco is not an option,” Sheinbaum told reporters Monday, referring to the bloody anti-crime offensive launched almost two decades ago. “Mexico already did that, and the violence got worse.”

The president spoke as the nation was reeling from the killing Saturday of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan in the west-central state of Michoacán, which has become an organized-crime battleground. She condemned the assassination as “vile” and vowed to track down his killers.

While Mexican mayors and other local officials are frequent cartel targets — scores have been assassinated in recent years as gangs fight for control of city halls, budgets and police forces - the killing of Manzo struck a nerve nationwide.

Manzo, 40, gained notoriety as an outspoken proponent of taking a hard line against the cartels that have overrun many regions of Mexico. According to Manzo, police and prosecutors coddle criminals ill-deserving of legal protections.

Manzo’s unyielding stance won him considerable popularity in a nation where polls show security remains citizens’ major concern — despite Sheinbaum’s frequent citing of official figures showing that homicides and other violent crimes are decreasing.