GUADALAJARA, Mexico, April 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A local Mexican official was shot and killed on Monday while dining at a restaurant in western Mexico's troubled Jalisco state, authorities said.

Jose Luis Pereira, a senior member of the Teocaltiche city government, was attacked at around 5:00 pm (2300 GMT), according to the local prosecutor's office.

The city and its surrounding region have seen bouts of violence in recent months.

Its municipal police chief was murdered on April 15.

In March, a lawyer who ran a local news Facebook page was killed in neighboring Guanajuato state in what state prosecutors called a crime "against freedom of expression."

Local media also reported in February that the remains of four Teocaltiche police officers were found in plastic bags along the side of a road, after eight officers disappeared along with a driver taking them to nearby Guadalajara.

After the kidnappings, the state government took control of the Teocaltiche police, accusing local law enforcement of being infiltrated by gangs.

Western Mexico is home to the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which was designated a terrorist organization by US President Donald Trump in February.

Violence linked to drug trafficking groups has skyrocketed in Mexico in recent decades, with around 480,000 people murdered in the past 19 years.

More than 124,000 people have been officially registered as missing in Mexico, and Jalisco leads the national statistics with more than 15,000 cases.