Cesar Gastelum, a Mexican social media influencer with 650,000 followers on TikTok, was shot dead on Tuesday, August 5, 2026, while livestreaming in a car park in Culiacan, the capital of Mexico's volatile Sinaloa state. Authorities reported that Gastelum was sitting with two others when two men on a motorcycle approached and opened fire.
A video obtained by The Associated Press shows Gastelum laughing with two men in the car park of a Kentucky Fried Chicken just before the shooting.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the incident during a news conference on Wednesday, stating, “We must find out why this deplorable homicide occurred.”
The US Treasury Department identified Gastelum as the prime suspect in the murder of Marquez, whom they described as his alleged romantic partner. Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced rewards totaling up to $102 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of eight leaders of the Jalisco cartel (CJNG), a major criminal organization in Mexico.
The investigation into Gastelum's killing is ongoing.
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