List of assassinations

7 December 1710

Daniel Parke, British governor of the Leeward Islands

Several members of a mob.

An angry mob captured Parke in his house, beat him severely, and dragged him out to die of his wounds. His last words to his tormentors, as he lay dying, were reported as: "Gentlemen, you have no sense of honor left, pray have some of humanity."

1835

Facundo Quiroga, Governor of La Rioja Province

José Vicente Reynafé, Reynafé brothers, Capt. Santos Pérez

While returning to Buenos Aires, armed men ambushed his carriage; Quiroga was shot in his left eye when he left the carriage to negotiate.

1838

Alejandro Heredia, Governor of Tucumán Province

Gabino Robles, Vicente Neirot, Lucio Casas, Gregorio Uriarte,

Heredia was shot in the head when he and his son were ambushed by an armed party. The perpetrators left Heredia and his son. The body was discovered 2 days later

1841

José Cubas, Governor of Catamarca Province

Mariano Maza

1841

Marco Avellaneda, Governor of Tucumán Province

Mariano Maza

1861

Antonino Aberastain, Governor of San Juan Province

1863

Chacho Peñaloza, La Rioja Province insurrectionist

Col. Pablo Irrazábal

1870

Justo José de Urquiza, former president of Argentina and Governor of Entre Ríos Province

1889

Ricardo López Jordán, soldier, politician, and former governor of Entre Ríos Province

1908

Mariano Santillán, Jr., National Deputy for Santiago del Estero Province

1909

Ramón Falcón, chief of the National Police

Simón Radowitzky

Assassinated by anarchists as a retaliation for his brutal repression of workers.

1921

Amable Jones, Governor of San Juan Province

1929

Carlos Washington Lencinas, former Governor of Mendoza Province

1935

Enzo Bordabehere, National Senator for Santa Fe Province

Ramón Valdez Cora

Killed during a session of the Argentine Senate.

1969

Augusto Vandor, Metalworkers Union (UOM) Secretary General

Killed in commando attack by the Ejército Nacional Revolucionario (National Revolutionary Army), a far-left Peronist splinter group.

1970

Pedro Aramburu, former de facto president of Argentina

Executed by the Peronist guerrilla Montoneros in revenge for the abduction of Evita's body and for the execution of those implicated in a 1956 failed uprising, during Aramburu's dictatorship.

1970

José Alonso, CGT Secretary General

Montoneros

1972

Oberdan Sallustro, Director of FIAT Argentina

ERP

1973

José Ignacio Rucci, CGT Secretary General

Montoneros

1973

Juan Manuel Irrazábal, Governor of Misiones Province

Argentine Anticommunist Alliance

Killed with Vice-Governor César Ayrault by bomb placed in Beechcraft Queen Air plane.

1974

Arturo Mor Roig, former Interior Minister

Montoneros

1974

Carlos Mugica, Catholic Third World priest

Rodolfo Almirón (Argentine Anticommunist Alliance)

1974

Rodolfo Ortega Peña, National Deputy for Buenos Aires Province

Argentine Anticommunist Alliance

1974

Atilio López, former Vice-Governor of Córdoba Province

Argentine Anticommunist Alliance

1974

Silvio Frondizi, University of Buenos Aires law professor

Argentine Anticommunist Alliance

1974

Carlos Prats, exiled Chilean general, former Commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army

Michael Townley

Killed by the secret service of the Pinochet dictatorship

1975

Hipólito Acuña, National Deputy for Santa Fe Province

Montoneros

1975

John Egan, U.S. Honorary Consul in Córdoba

Montoneros

1975

Rubén Cartier, Mayor of La Plata

CNU, a right-wing student group liked to the Triple A

1975

Ramón Rojas, National Deputy for San Juan Province

Fernando Otero

Killed at the behest of Vineyard Workers' Federation (FOEVA) leader Delfor Ocampo.

1975

Alberto Manuel Campos, Mayor of General San Martín Partido, Buenos Aires Province

Montoneros

1976

Miguel Ragone, former governor of Salta Province

Army Gen. Luciano Menéndez

Abducted and killed by right-wing task force made of up of Army and provincial police officers led by Menéndez.

1976

Zelmar Michelini, exiled Uruguayan senator, founder of the Broad Front

Killed after the 1976 Argentine coup as part of Operation Condor involving the collaboration between military dictatorships in the Southern Cone.

1976

Juan José Torres, exiled former military President of Bolivia

Killed as part of Operation Condor

1976

Enrique Angelelli, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of La Rioja

Luis Estrella

Beaten to death after Angelelli's car was run off the road on orders from III Army Corps Chief Luciano Menéndez.

1977

Juan Carlos Casariego de Bel, Chief Foreign Investments Adviser at Economy Ministry

Army Capt. Héctor Vérgez

Casariego had objected to a 400 million payout for the nationalization of the bankrupt CIADE electric company - one of whose top shareholders was the Economy Minister, José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz.

1978

Miguel Tobías Padilla, Undersecretary for Coordination at Economy Ministry

Montoneros

1985

Osvaldo Sivak, banker

José Benigno Lorea, police officer

Killed following ransom kidnapping by the Aníbal Gordon gang led by former Argentine Anticommunist Alliance operatives.

1997

José Luis Cabezas, photojournalist for leading Argentine news weekly Noticias.

"Los Horneros" gang, led by Buenos Aires Provincial Police Inspector Gustavo Prellezo

Killed on orders from businessman Alfredo Yabrán.

2019

Héctor Enrique Olivares, National Deputy for La Rioja Province

Juan Jesús Fernández and Juan José Navarro Cádiz

Killed in attack directed at Olivares' aide, Miguel Yadón (dead on arrival), by businessman Rafael Cano Carmona.

1973

Richard Sharples, Governor of Bermuda

Erskine "Buck" Burrows and Larry Tacklyn

Shot outside Bermuda's Government House. Sharples's aide-de-camp Captain Hugh Sayers was also killed.

1 January 1829

Pedro Blanco Soto, President of Bolivia

Killed after being overthrown and taken prisoner.

11 June 1849

Eusebio Guilarte, former acting president of Bolivia

23 October 1861

Jorge Córdova, former president of Bolivia

23 March 1865

Manuel Isidoro Belzu, former president of Bolivia

27 November 1872

Agustín Morales, President of Bolivia

Federico Lafaye

27 February 1894

Hilarión Daza, former president of Bolivia

Assassinated after returning from exile.

17 June 1917

José Manuel Pando, former president of Bolivia

21 July 1946

Gualberto Villarroel, President of Bolivia

Killed by mob.

9 August 1967

Che Guevara, revolutionary

Captured and executed by Bolivian Special Forces

24 May 1989

Elders Jeffrey Brent Ball and Todd Ray Wilson, LDS Missionaries

Zarate Willka Armed Forces of Liberation

25 August 2016

Rodolfo Illanes, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Bolivia

Protesting miners

1678

Ganga Zumba, leader of Quilombo dos Palmares

1695

Zumbi, leader of Quilombo dos Palmares

Portuguese colonial authorities

1830

Líbero Badaró, journalist

The assassination unleashed a wave of protests against the government of Pedro I of Brazil

1897

Carlos Machado de Bitterncourt, Minister of War

Marcelino Bispo de Melo

See Attempted assassination of Prudente de Morais

1908

José Plácido de Castro, former president of the Republic of Acre

1915

Pinheiro Machado, Senator for Rio Grande do Sul

1929

José Gomes Duarte, Mayor of Bauru, São Paulo

Moacir de Almeida

1929

Manuel Francisco de Sousa Filho [PT], Federal Deputy for Pernambuco

Ildefonso Simões Lopes [PT]

1930

João Pessoa Cavalcânti de Albuquerque, Governor of Paraíba

João Duarte Dantas

1938

Virgulino Ferreira da Silva "Lampião", leader bandit of Cangaço

Killed during the Massacre of Angico, led by João Bezerra da Silva

1938

Maria Gomes de Oliveira "Maria Bonita", bandit of Cangaço

José Panta de Godoy

Killed during the Massacre of Angico, led by João Bezerra da Silva

1964

Adib Shishakli, exiled Syrian military dictator

Nawaf Ghazaleh

1971

Rubens Paiva, former Federal Deputy for São Paulo and critic of the Military dictatorship in Brazil

1973

Maurício Grabois, leader of the Communist Party of Brazil

1975

Vladimir Herzog, journalist

1976

Zuzu Angel, fashion designer and critic of the Military dictatorship in Brazil

1986

Josimo Morais Tavares, Catholic priest and coordinator of the Comissão Pastoral da Terra

Ranchers

Killed by ranchers for his support of rural workers.

1988

Francisco "Chico" Alves Mendes Filho, environmental activist

Darci Alves Pereira

Shot on the orders of the assassin's father, rancher Darly Alves da Silva

1992

Edmundo Pinto, Governor of Acre

1996

Paulo César Farias, President Fernando Collor de Mello's campaign treasurer

2001

Antonio da Costa Santos, Mayor of Campinas, São Paulo

2001

Aguinaldo Pereira da Silva, Mayor of Caraúbas, Rio Grande do Norte

2002

Celso Daniel, Mayor of Santo André, São Paulo

2002

Tim Lopes, journalist

Elias "Maluco" Pereira da SilvaAndré "Capeta" da Cruz BarbosaCláudio "Ratinho" Orlando do NascimentoMaurício "Boizinho" de Lima MatiasClaudino "Xuxa" dos Santos CoelhoElizeu "Zeu" Felício de SouzaÂngelo "Primo" da SilvaReinaldo "Cadê" Amaral de JesusFernando "Frei" Sátyro da Silva

Murdered by drug traffickers connected to Comando Vermelho and Amigos dos Amigos

2002

Lídia Menezes, Vice Mayor of Magé, Rio de Janeiro

2005

Dorothy Stang, American nun

Raifran das Neves Sales

Killed by business interests

2010

Walderi Braz Paschoalin [PT], Mayor of Jandira, São Paulo

2016

José Gomes da Rocha, former mayor of Itumbiara, São Paulo, and mayoral candidate

Gilberto Ferreira do Amaral

2016

Kyriakos Amiridis, Greek ambassador to Brazil

Françoise de Sousa Oliveira and Sergio Gomes

Murdered by Gomes on the orders of Oliveira, and corpse burnt in an arson attack on a rental car.

2018

Marielle Franco, human rights activist and City Councillor of Rio de Janeiro

Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Vieira de Queiroz

Convicted assassins reportedly hired by local militias

2018

Gerson Camata, former Governor of Espírito Santo

Marcos Vinícius Moreira Andrade

2019

Paulo Paulino Guajajara, Indigenous environmental activist

Murdered by illegal loggers

2023

Mãe Bernadete, community activist

7 April 1868

Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Father of Canadian Confederation

Patrick J. Whelan

14 December 1872

William End, Magistrate in northern New Brunswick

He and his office set aflame by ex-convict.

May 9 1880

George Brown, Father of Canadian Confederation

George Bennett

21 October 1914

William C. Hopkinson, immigration officer, British intelligence agent

Mewa Singh, Ghadarite sympathizer

29 October 1924

Peter Verigin, Russian philosopher, activist, leader of the Community Doukhobors in Canada

Assassinated via train explosion. The explosion also killed member of the provincial legislature John McKie. Perpetrators never identified.

17 October 1970

Pierre Laporte, Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of Quebec

Bernard Lortie, Paul Rose, Jacques Rose, Francis Simard

Kidnapped and murdered by the FLQ.

27 August 1982

Atilla Altıkat, Turkish diplomat

Armenian Secret Army For the Liberation of Armenia

Assassinated by Armenian nationalists in Ottawa.

10 March 1993

Dino Bravo, wrestler

Shot eleven times at his home in Vimont, Laval, Quebec. Believed to have been a result in his alleged role in illegal cigarette smuggling in Canada and his ties to the Cotroni Crime Family.

1 August 1995

Brian Smith, sports anchor and former ice hockey player

Jeffery Arenburg

Shot outside the CJOH-DT studio, died the next day.

18 November 1998

Tara Singh Hayer, founder of the Indo-Canadian Times, Journalist

Outspoken critic of extremism, key witness in the trial of the Air India 182 Flight Bombing. This was the third attempt on his life, the first was a thwarted bombing and the second, a shooting, had left him paralysed.

10 November 2010

Nicolo Rizzuto, crime boss and founder of the Rizzuto crime family

Shot by a sniper's bullet through the rear patio doors of his mansion in the Cartiervill borough of Montreal. On July 12, 2013, Salvatore Calautti, a Toronto criminal figure, suspected by police of being the assassin who shot Rizzuto, was shot dead.

14 July 2022

Ripudaman Singh Malik, Air India bombing suspect

Tanner Fox & Jose Lopez

Shot and killed outside his business. The two hitmen admit to being paid to perform the killing but it has not yet been determined by whom.

18 June 2023

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Sikh involved with the Khalistan movement

Four people currently arrested awaiting trial.

Allegedly assassinated on orders of the Indian government for his role in the Khalistani movement.

1818

Luis Carrera and his brother Juan José Carrera, independence war heroes

Attributed to the head of the government, Bernardo O'Higgins

1818

Manuel Rodriguez, lawyer and guerrilla leader, considered one of the founders of independent Chile

Attributed to the head of the government, Bernardo O'Higgins

1837

Diego Portales, entrepreneur, statesman and Minister of War

Colonel José Antonio Vidaurre

1970

René Schneider, Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army

Was kidnapped and killed by far-right paramilitary squads, due to his opposition to any intervention of the armed forces to block the election of left-wing candidate Salvador Allende in 1970.

1971

Edmundo Pérez Zujovic, former Secretary of Interior Affairs

1973

Víctor Jara, left-wing singer

Killed after the coup of 1973.

1982

Eduardo Frei Montalva, former President of Chile and opponent of the Pinochet dictatorship

Although he officially died by sepsis after a low-risk surgery, recent research suggests he was poisoned by the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional. However, there is no absolute certainty about the real causes of his death.

1982

Tucapel Jiménez, trade-unionist

Killed by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

1991

Jaime Guzmán, right-wing Senator and former adviser to the Pinochet dictatorship

Killed by far-left guerrillas after the return of democracy.

1830

Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan politician, statesman, soldier

Juan Gregorio Sarria, José Erazo, and three peons

1861

José María Obando, former President

1914

Rafael Uribe Uribe, lawyer, journalist, diplomat, soldier

1948

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Liberal Party leader

Juan Roa Sierra

His assassination sparked the Bogotazo and served as a catalyst for La Violencia

1984

Carlos Toledo Plata, early leader of the M-19 guerrilla movement and member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia

1984

Rodrigo Lara Bonilla, Minister of Justice

The assassination was ordered by the Medellin Cartel

1985

Tulio Manuel Castro Gil, Judge who had indicted Pablo Escobar

1985

Alfonso Reyes Echandia, Head of the Supreme Court.

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Fabio Calderon Botero, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Pedro Elias Serrano Abadia, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Dario Velasquez Gaviria, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Jose Eduardo Gnecco Correa, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Ricardo Medina Moyano, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Alfonso Patiño Rosselli, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Carlos Medellin Forero, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Fanny Gonzalez Franco, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Dante Luis Fiorillo Porras, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Manuel Gaona Cruz, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Horacio Montoya Gil, Supreme Court Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Carlos Horacio Uran Rojas, State Council Assistant Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Lizandro Juan Romero Barrios, State Council Assistant Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Emiro Sandoval Huertas, State Council Assistant Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Julio Cesar Andrade Andrade, State Council Assistant Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1985

Jorge A Correa Echeverry, State Council Assistant Justice

Killed during the Palace of Justice Siege.

1986

Guillermo Cano Isaza, Director of El Espectador newspaper

The assassination was ordered by the Medellin Cartel

1987

Jaime Pardo Leal, Presidential candidate, leader of the Patriotic Union party

The assassination was ordered by druglord José Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha.

1987

Carlos Mauro Hoyos, Attorney General of Colombia

The assassination was ordered by the Medellin Cartel.

1989

Teófilo Forero, National Organizing Secretary of the Colombian Communist Party

1989

Luis Carlos Galán, Presidential candidate, leader of the Colombian Liberal Party

Jaime Rueda

The assassination was ordered by the Medellin Cartel.

1989

Jorge Enrique Pulido, journalist, Director of Mundovision

The assassination was ordered by the Medellin Cartel

1989

Waldemar Franklin Quintero, Commander of the Police of Antioquia

The assassination was ordered by the Medellin Cartel

1990

Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, Presidential candidate, leader of the Patriotic Union party

Andres Arturo Gutierrez

1990

Carlos Pizarro Leongómez, Presidential candidate, leader of the M-19 party

1991

Diana Turbay, journalist

Turbay was kidnapped on August 30, 1990, when she was tricked into going to a supposed interview with a guerrilla leader, the Spanish priest Manuel Pérez Martínez, alias El Cura Pérez (The Priest Pérez), orchestrated on the orders of Pablo Escobar. Turbay was kept at Copacabana, Antioquia, with her cameraman Richard Becerra. She died on January 25, 1991, during a botched rescue operation launched by the police without authorization from the family. The cause of death was a bullet in her back, which partially destroyed her liver and left kidney. Becerra was rescued unharmed.

1991

Enrique Low Murtra, former Ambassador to Switzerland

Medellin Cartel

The assassination was ordered by the Medellin Cartel

2 December 1993

Pablo Escobar, drug lord

Search Bloc

Killed during a shoot out in Medellín

2 July 1994

Andrés Escobar, footballer

Believed to have been killed by criminal figures who lost money on bets after Escobar scored an own goal in the 1994 FIFA World Cup

1994

Manuel Cepeda Vargas, Senator, leader of the Patriotic Union party

1995

Alvaro Gómez Hurtado, former presidential candidate and director of El Nuevo Siglo newspaper

FARC (allegedly)

FARC has claimed responsibility for the assassination.

1999

Jaime Garzón, journalist, activist and satirist

Right wing paramilitaries

2000

Crispiniano Quiñones Quiñones, Colombian Army General

Assassinated by members of FARC

2001

Consuelo Araújo, former Minister of Culture

Assassinated by members of FARC

2003

Guillermo Gaviria Correa, Governor of Antioquia

Assassinated by members of FARC

2003

Gilberto Echeverri Mejía, former Minister of Defense and adviser to Governor Gaviria (see above)

Assassinated by members of FARC

2009

Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Governor of Caquetá

Assassinated by members of FARC

2021

Germán Medina Triviño, former governor of Caquetá

Assassinated by members of FARC

2025

Miguel Uribe Turbay, Senator and presidential pre-candidate

Assassination of Miguel Uribe Turbay Turbay initially survived the assassination, but was hospitalised in critical condition. He died two months later.

23 August 1938

Ricardo Moreno Cañas, doctor and politician, and surgeon Carlos Echandi

Beltrán Cortés

Killed as revenge for a failed surgery the two doctors had operated on Cortes. Moreno was shot to death inside his home, while Echandi was shot to death outside his door. Cortes also killed Canadian Arthur Maynard that same day.

8 May 1935

Antonio Guiteras, Revolutionary Socialist leader

5 May 2013

Helmin Wiels, leader of the Sovereign People party.

Elvis Kuwas

26 July 1899

Ulises Heureaux, president of the Dominican Republic

Ramón Cáceres, president of the Dominican Republic

19 November 1911

Ramón Cáceres, president of the Dominican Republic

30 May 1961

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, Dominican Republic dictator

Shot in ambush

16 February 1973

Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó, military officer and former de facto leader

6 June 2022

Orlando Jorge Mera, Environment Minister

Favsto Miguel de Jesús Cruz de la Mota[citation needed]

Shot

1875

Gabriel García Moreno, President of Ecuador

Faustino Rayo

Shot outside Quito Cathedral, owing to his pro-religious views.

1912

Eloy Alfaro, former president of Ecuador

Killed by a mob of pro-Catholic soldiers in Quito.

1999

Jaime Hurtado and Pablo Tapia, communist legislators

Killed in Quito.

28 December 2020

Jorge Luis Zambrano, drug trafficker and head of Los Choneros

Shot at point-blank range at a shopping center in Manta in the company of his wife and his daughter, as well as personnel who offered him protection.

24 July 2023

Agustín Intriago, Mayor of Manta

9 August 2023

Fernando Villavicencio, Presidential candidate and former legislator

Killed at a campaign rally in Quito.

7 February 2024

Diana Carnero, Member of Naranjal City Council

Shot by hitmen on motorcycles on a public street.

23 March 2024

Brigitte García, mayor of San Vicente

Shot multiple times in her car along with her staffer Jairo Loor. The killer has not been captured.

1913

Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of El Salvador

1975

Roque Dalton, poet and revolutionary

People's Revolutionary Army

Executed for criticizing fellow members of the ERP.

1977

Rutilio Grande García, S.J., Roman Catholic priest

1977

Alfonso Navarro Oviedo, Roman Catholic priest

1978

Ernesto Barrera, Roman Catholic priest

Killed by Salvadoran soldiers

1979

Octavio Ortiz Luna, Roman Catholic priest

1979

Rafael Palacios, Roman Catholic priest

1979

Alirio Napoleón Macías, Roman Catholic priest

1980

Óscar Arnulfo Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador

Killed by right-wing death squad.

1980

Enrique Álvarez Córdova and five other leaders of the opposition Democratic Revolutionary Front (FDR)

Captured and killed by government aligned security forces.

1980

Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan, American Roman Catholic nuns

Killed by the National Guard of El Salvador.

1983

Marianella García Villas, human rights lawyer and activist

Killed by the Salvadoran Armed Forces.

1983

Albert Schaufelberger, senior U.S. Naval representative

Killed by members of the Central American Revolutionary Workers Party.

1984

Domingo Monterrosa, commander of the Atlácatl Battalion of the Salvadoran Army, and perpetrator of the El Mozote Massacre

Killed by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) along with 13 others using a bomb hidden inside a radio transmitter in the helicopter he was flying in over Joateca in retaliation for massacres committed by the Atlácatl Battalion.

1989

María Cristina Gómez, teacher and community leader

1989

Ignacio Ellacuría, Roman Catholic Jesuit priest

Killed by Atlácatl Battalion of the Salvadoran Army.

1989

Ignacio Martín-Baró, Roman Catholic Jesuit priest

Killed by Atlácatl Battalion of the Salvadoran Army.

1989

Segundo Montes, Roman Catholic Jesuit priest

Killed by Atlácatl Battalion of the Salvadoran Army.

1983

Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada

Killed along with Creft and six other politicians and businessmen in a coup that led to the United States invasion of Grenada a few days later.

1983

Jacqueline Creft, Minister of Education and Women's Affairs and domestic partner of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop

Killed along with Bishop and six other politicians and businessmen in a coup that led to the United States invasion of Grenada a few days later.

1898

José María Reina Barrios, President of Guatemala

1957

Carlos Castillo Armas, President of Guatemala

Killed by bodyguard

1968

John Gordon Mein, United States ambassador in Guatemala

FAR

Shot one block from the U.S. embassy in Guatemala City by rebels during a botched kidnapping attempt

1970

Karl von Spreti, West German ambassador in Guatemala

FAR

1970

César Montenegro Paniagua, communist politician and former congressman

Murdered three days after in retaliation for von Spreti's own murder

1979

Alberto Fuentes Mohr, Social Democratic Party leader

1979

Manuel Colom Argueta, Mayor of Guatemala City

1980

Hugo Rolando Melgar Melgar, Law professor at San Carlos University and leftist leader

Efrain Rios Montt regime

Ambushed on his way to work by the Guatemalan Army

1981

Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest

Shot twice in the head by gunmen who forced their way into his rectory in Santiago Atitlán.

1993

Jorge Carpio Nicolle, journalist and founder of the National Centre Union

April 26, 1998

Juan José Gerardi Conedera, Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala

Beaten to death by Guatemalan soldiers.

2012

Valentín Leal, legislator and former governor of Alta Verapaz

2013

Carlos Castillo Medrano, Mayor of Jutiapa

13 June 1980

Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and political figure

22 April 2006

Satyadeow Sawh, Agriculture Minister

Murdered along with his brother, sister and a security guard, by masked gunmen dressed in military fatigues.

17 October 1806

Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Emperor of Haiti

28 July 1915

Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, President of Haiti

Killed by a mob.

14 July 1963

Clément Barbot, aide to President François Duvalier

Killed after launching a failed coup.

11 September 1993

Antoine Izméry, businessman and Lavalas supporter

14 October 1993

Guy Malary, minister of justice

3 April 2000

Jean Dominique, journalist

14 July 2005

Jacques Roche, journalist

7 July 2021

Jovenel Moïse, President of Haiti

Killed by Colombian mercenaries posing as US Drug Enforcement Administration agents. See Assassination of Jovenel Moïse

1862

José Santos Guardiola, President of Honduras

1966

Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, former President of El Salvador

2008

Mario Fernando Hernández, deputy speaker of the National Congress for the Liberal Party

2016

Berta Cáceres, environmental and indigenous rights activist

David Castillo, former military intelligence officer

2021

Francisco Gaitán, Mayor of Cantarranas

Wilfredo Velásquez

17 April 1987

Carlton Barrett, musician, drummer, and member of The Wailers

Shot by a gunman outside his home in Kingston. Barrett's widow, Albertine Barrett, was subsequently jailed in 1991, after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. Sentenced with her were taxi driver Glenroy Carter, her reputed lover, and Junior "Bang" Neil, a mason, who the prosecution alleged was responsible for the actual shooting.

11 September 1987

Peter Tosh, musician, songwriter, and member of The Wailers

Armed gunmen led by Dennis "Leppo" Lobban

Shot twice in the head after being held hostage and tortured for hours during an armed robbery attempt at his home in Kingston. Killed alongside herbalist Wilton "Doc" Brown and disc jockey Jeff 'Free I' Dixon. Several others in the house were wounded, including Tosh's common law wife Andrea Marlene Brown, Free I's wife Yvonne ("Joy"), Tosh's drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, and musician Michael Robinson.

2 June 1999

Junior Braithwaite, musician, singer, and member of The Wailers

Shot and killed along with fellow musician Lawrence Scott in Kingston.

29 June 1520

Motecuhzoma II Xocoyotl, Emperor of the Aztec Alliance

14 February 1831

Vicente Guerrero, former President of Mexico

Lured, captured, and executed by firing squad in a plot orchestrated by conservative political rivals in Cuilapan, Oaxaca.

3 June 1861

Melchor Ocampo, lawyer, scientist, and Liberal reformer

Abducted from his hacienda in Michoacán by conservative guerrillas on orders from either Leonardo Márquez or Félix María Zuloaga or both (reports differ). Ocampo was executed by firing squad at the Hacienda of Tlaltengo, Tepeji del Río, in what is today the state of Hidalgo.

13 November 1863

Ignacio Comonfort, former president of Mexico

Ambushed and killed by conservative guerillas during the Second French Intervention in Mexico near Chamacueros, Guanajuato (present-day Comonfort).

18 August 1868

José María Patoni, Liberal general and former governor of Durango

Officers under General Benigno Canto

11 November 1889

Ramon Corona, Liberal general and Governor of Jalisco

Ron Salcedo

Stabbed several times by Salcedo in Guadalajara on 10 November and died the next day. Salcedo was later killed by local police.

22 February 1913

Francisco I. Madero, President of Mexico

Killed in a coup along with Vice-president José María Pino Suárez. See Ten Tragic Days.

7 March 1913

Abraham González, revolutionary, governor of Chihuahua and mentor to Pancho Villa

Officers under President Victoriano Huerta

7 October 1913

Belisario Dominguez, Senator of the Congress of the Union for Chiapas

Officers under President Victoriano Huerta

Abducted and shot in Mexico City under orders from Huerta after giving a memorable speech in the Senate denouncing him.

10 April 1919

Emiliano Zapata, revolutionary

Officers under Colonel Jesús Guajardo

Shot at Hacienda de San Juan in Chinameca, Morelos

20 May 1920

Venustiano Carranza, President of Mexico

Killed in a revolt led by Álvaro Obregón

20 July 1923

Francisco "Pancho" Villa, revolutionary

Unknown, most likely attributed to a plot orchestrated by future President Plutarco Elías Calles with tacit support and approval of then-president Álvaro Obregón

Shot while being driven in an open car at Parral, Chihuahua. His bodyguards Rafael Madreno and Claro Huertado were also killed.

3 January 1924

Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Governor of Yucatán

Murdered as part of a plot by rogue army officers as part of a larger rebellion waged by former interim president Adolfo de la Huerta beginning the previous year. Executed by firing squad alongside three of his brothers, Wilfrido, Benjamín, and Edesio, and eight of their friends in Mérida, Yucatán.

10 June 1924

Salvador Alvarado, revolutionary and former governor of Yucatán

Killed in an ambush near Palenque, Chiapas in retaliation for supporting the rebellion of Adolfo de la Huerta against then-President Alvaro Obregon

17 July 1928

Álvaro Obregón, President-elect

José de León Toral

Killed by a pro-Catholic sympathizer as part of the Cristero War

10 January 1929

Julio Antonio Mella, Cuban revolutionary

Unknown

11 April 1938

José Antonio Urquiza, political activist and co-founder of the National Synarchist Union

Isidro Parra

Stabbed twice by Parra, a farmer employed under him, while on a visit to Apaseo el Grande, Guanajuato to settle a land dispute

20 August 1940

Leon Trotsky, exiled Russian communist leader

Ramón Mercader, an agent of the NKVD posing as a journalist

Killed by penetrating head injury from an ice axe in his residence in Coyoacan, Mexico City.

23 May 1962

Rubén Jaramillo, revolutionary, politician, and agrarian rights activist

Killed by Federal Judicial Police officers and soldiers raiding his home in an extrajudicial operation near Xochicalco, Miacatlán, Morelos. His wife, Epifanía, three stepsons, were subsequently taken and shot on the premises; the only surviving member of the family was a stepdaughter.

3 June 1974

Octavio Muciño, footballer

Jaime Antonio Muldoon Barreto

Shot at a Guadalajara restaurant after a physical altercation. Muldoon Barreto then fled to Spain and was never charged upon his return to Mexico in 1980, which was widely attributed to the influence and power possessed by the Muldoon Barreto family within the Mexican government.

30 May 1984

Manuel Buendía, journalist and political columnist

Suspected that figures within the PRI wanted him killed.

9 February 1985

Enrique Camarena, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent

Abducted and killed by the Guadalajara Cartel with the assistance of figures within the Mexican government and law enforcement agencies

7 February 1986

Carlos Loret de Mola Mediz, journalist and former Governor of Yucatán

16 May 1992

Chalino Sánchez, singer-songwriter

Executed on a farm in Culiacán, Sinaloa by two men posing as police officers hours after he had received a death threat via a note live on stage. The two men are believed to have been associated with the local cartel.

24 May 1993

Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo, Roman Catholic Cardinal of Guadalajara

Sinaloa Cartel boss, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, may have also been involved.

Shot at Guadalajara Airport, along with 6 other people, by the Tijuana Cartel using the San Diego-based Logan Heights Gang, either after his car was misidentified as belonging to the Sinaloa cartel or to silence Posadas regarding his denunciation of possible connections between government and drug cartels; some recent speculation that an anti-church group was involved.

23 March 1994

Luis Donaldo Colosio, Presidential candidate of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional

Mario Aburto

Assassinated at a campaign rally in the Lomas Taurinas neighborhood of Tijuana.

28 September 1994

José Francisco Ruiz Massieu, Secretary-General of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional

Daniel Aguilar Treviño

Shot while leaving a PRI party meeting in Mexico City. PRI deputy Fernando Rodríguez González confessed to authorities that he hired Aguilar Treviño and his cousin to commit the murder. Aguilar Treviño confessed that he was paid US$500,000 (equivalent to that of $1,038,026.32 in 2023) by Rodríguez González himself to commit the crime.

7 June 1999

Paco Stanley, comedian

Luis Alberto Salazar Vega

19 October 2001

Digna Ochoa, human rights lawyer

22 June 2004

Francisco Ortiz Franco, contributing editor to Zeta Magazine

25 November 2006

Valentín Elizalde, banda singer

Gunmen led by Raúl Hernández Barrón

Ambushed and killed by gunmen by Hernández Barrón after leaving a concert in Reynosa, Tamaulipas along with his chauffeur and assistant. It is widely believed that Elizalde was killed for his concert performances of the corrido, "A Mis Enemigos", which contains lyrics believed to antagonize drug trafficking gang Los Zetas. Hernández Barrón was later killed in a shootout with Mexican Federal Police in Reynosa on July 26, 2014 alongside several cartel members.

8 May 2008

Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, Commissioner of the Federal Preventive Police

Alejandro Ramírez Báez

Murdered after arriving at his home in Mexico City by being shot at eight times in the chest and once in the hand on behalf of the Beltrán-Leyva Organization in retaliation for the arrest of co-founder Alfredo Beltrán Leyva.

19 June 2010

Jesús Manuel Lara Rodríguez, Mayor of Guadalupe, Chihuahua

28 June 2010

Rodolfo Torre Cantú, former member of the Chamber of Deputies and gubernatorial candidate in Tamaulipas

He was shot and killed along with six in his entourage.

19 January 2012

Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro, former Mexican Army general and convicted drug trafficker

Jonathan Javier Arechega Zarazúa

Approached by a lone gunman who him and shot him three times in the head after Acosta had arrived at an auto shop to drop off his car. On 4 June 2012, a man allegedly named Jonathan Javier Arechega Zarazúa was detained in connection with the assassination of Acosta Chaparro. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in January 2013. No clear motive was stated, but may be linked to either his involvement in drug trafficking with the Gulf Cartel (which he was convicted of in 2000 and later released in 2007), or his alleged involvement in torture and homicide of political dissidents in the Mexican Dirty War during the 1970s. Acosta had previously survived an attempt on his life in 2010.

14 September 2012

Eduardo Castro Luque, businessman and deputy-elect to the Chamber of Deputies

16 September 2012

Jaime Serrano Cedillo, former member of the Chamber of Deputies

Stabbed in the chest with a knife by his wife during an argument that morning. Taken to a nearby hospital by his family where he was later pronounced dead.

12 November 2012

María Santos Gorrostieta Salazar, physician and former mayor of Tiquicheo, Michoacán.

Kidnapped by armed gunmen while driving her daughter to school in Morelia, Michoacán on the 12 November. Gorrostieta Salazar pleaded with her abductors to let her daughter go unharmed, and then agreed to go with the kidnappers. On 15 November, police identified the body after farm workers from the rural community of San Juan Tararameo in Cuitzeo found the corpse on their way to work. Post-mortem reports indicated that she died of a traumatic brain injury, the result of severe blows to the head. She had previously survived three attempts on her life, one of which took the life of her husband José Sánchez Chávez in 2009.

17 October 2016

Vicente Bermúdez Zacarías, federal judge

Unknown

Killed by a gunman approaching behind him in broad daylight while out on a morning jog in Metepec, State of Mexico. Suspect fled the scene with an accomplice nearby. No clear motive has been established in Bermúdez Zacarías' murder, but may be possibly linked to his role as presiding judge in Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's extradition process, or his complaints against colleagues and court predecessors for judicial irregularities. In October 2019, his ex-wife Marisol Macías Gutiérrez was arrested for allegedly masterminding her ex-husband's murder in a scheme to claim his life insurance plan.

23 March 2017

Miroslava Breach, investigative reporter and journalist for La Jornada and Norte de Juárez

Shot eight times by a gunman in Chihuahua City while driving to take her 14-year-old son to school. Due to the investigative nature of her work on collusion between drug trafficking and local political corruption, her murder had been ordered as a hit to silence her. Police investigation into Breach's murder had determined that the criminal organization "Los Salazares", a division of Gente Nueva, an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel, had masterminded the killings. On 25 December 2017, Juan Carlos Moreno Ochoa was captured in Bacobampo, Sinaloa, and in August 2020 sentenced to 50 years in prison for being the intellectual author of Breach's murder.

15 May 2017

Javier Valdez Cárdenas, journalist and founder of Ríodoce

Shot 12 times and killed by unidentified gunmen around noon, blocks away from the Ríodoce offices in Culiacán, Sinaloa.

5 February 2018

Pamela Montenegro, activist and YouTuber

Unknown group of armed men

Shot in her restaurant while working a night shift by a group of unknown armed men likely related to the cartel, due to her activism against the cartel's influence in Mexico.

8 June 2018

Fernando Purón Johnston, former mayor of Piedras Negras, Coahuila

Shot while leaving a debate hall while running for Mexico's general election.

20 February 2019

Samir Flores Soberanes, activist, community leader, and community radio host

Murdered outside his home in Amilcingo, Temoac, Morelos by three unidentified individuals the day after he confronted government officials about federal infrastructure projects in his home state.

13 January 2020

Homero Gómez González, environmental activist, agricultural engineer, and manager of the El Rosario Butterfly Reserve

Last seen alive on 13 January attending a meeting in the village of El Soldado, Michoacán. His family reported him missing the next day, and received phone calls from individuals claiming to have kidnapped him demanding ransom payments, which they paid. More than two weeks after his disappearance, on 30 January, his body was found in an agricultural reservoir in Ocampo, with an autopsy later revealing a head injury before drowning. Because of his work combating illegal logging, and because Raúl Hernández Romero—another activist connected to the butterfly sanctuary—was also found dead a few days later, it has been speculated that he was targeted by organized criminals.

10 March 2020

Erik Juárez Blanquet, Mexican state deputy serving in Congress

Unnamed gunmen

Shot by two assailants while in the passengers seat of his car.

18 December 2020

Aristóteles Sandoval, former governor of Jalisco

Saúl Alejandro Rincón Godoy (El Chopa), was later gunned down by Mexican military forces nearby.

Gunned down while having dinner at a local restaurant in Puerto Vallarta.

13 May 2021

Abel Murrieta Gutiérrez, lawyer, former congressman, and former attorney general of Sonora

Unknown, attributed to Caborca Cartel

Shot and killed while standing on a street corner in Ciudad Obregón distributing flyers for his campaign for the municipal presidency. A female campaign worker was also injured. The attack was attributed to the Caborca Cartel, the same group that had carried out the massacre on Murrieta's clients, the LeBarón family, in 2019.

29 June 2023

Hipólito Mora, farmer, politician, and vigilante self-defense group leader

Unknown gunman

Ambushed and shot at by unidentified gunmen in La Ruana, Buenavista, Michoacán along with three of his bodyguards.

13 November 2023

Ociel Baena, activist for non-binary and LGBT+ rights, electoral magistrate at the State Electoral Court of Aguascalientes, and first non-binary magistrate in Latin America

Unknown

Found dead, along with Baena's partner, Dorian Daniel Nieves Herrera, in their home by Baena's housekeeper with razor-blade wounds. The state prosecution service said it suspected Herrera killed Baena before taking his own life; their families, however, rejected that hypothesis. They pointed out that Baena had denounced death threats a few months earlier, when their friend and LGBT+ activist Ulises Salvador Nava was also murdered in the same city, and historically Mexican police had tended to haphazardly dismiss homophobic crimes as "crimes of passion".

21 December 2023

Ricardo Taja Ramírez, aspiring Federal Deputy

Unknown gunman

Shot and killed at a Pozolería in Acapulco.

9 January 2024

Aronia Wilson Tambo, indigenous leader and activist

Jorge Santiago

Shot and killed at her home.

1 April 2024

Gisela Gaytán, lawyer and aspiring mayor of Celaya.

Unknown gunman

Shot and killed at her first campaign rally in the town.

22 July 2024

Milton Morales Figueroa, General Coordinator for the Tactical Strategy and Special Operations Unit of Mexico City police.

"Cartel hitmen"

Shot twice in the head by hitmen who pulled up in an SUV outside of a chicken shop in Coacalco de Berriozábal, State of Mexico while out with his family. Pending Investigation.

25 July 2024

Héctor Melesio Cuén Ojeda, academic, businessman, former rector of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa, former mayor of Culiacán, and deputy-elect

Shot in his vehicle and subsequently died of his wounds at a private hospital in Culiacán. However, it has been alleged his killing is tied to the kidnapping and arrest of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada that same day, whom alleged in a letter that he had arranged a meeting with Cuén and Sinaloa governor Rubén Rocha Moya in order to settle a power dispute before being kidnapped by Joaquín Guzmán López and flown to the United States, where they were subsequently arrested. He also alleged that Cuén was instead shot at the meeting place where the said meeting was due to occur. The investigation by the Attorney General's Office of Sinaloa has been marred by irregularities and accusations of a cover-up. Pending investigation.

9 December 2024

Benito Aguas Atlahua, member of the Chamber of Deputies, and former mayor of Zongolica, Veracruz

Shot at by an individual on a motorcycle while eating lunch with his siblings in the town of Tepenacaxtla, municipality of Zongolica. A second person, a friend of the politician, was killed in the attack.

1 November 2025

Carlos Manzo, municipal President of Uruapan, Michoacán

Unknown gunmen

Shot seven times during a Day of the Dead festival.