A TikTok star was shot to death in Mexico on Tuesday night during a livestream, and investigators are looking into whether organized crime is responsible. Authorities say 25-year-old Cesar Gastelum, who had more than 600,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 140,000 on Instagram, was killed in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, the Los Angeles Times reports. Video circulating online appears to show Gastelum joking on a sidewalk with two collaborators in delivery-style jackets when a motorcycle with two helmeted riders pulls up behind them. One rider appears to fire at Gastelum at close range. His companions were not hurt, and the attackers fled.
Mexico's Security Cabinet said it is examining possible links to a faction of a criminal group, noting Gastelum had made comments referencing organized crime. The killing took place near the Sinaloa state prosecutor's office in a city already riven by cartel infighting. The case echoes other recent attacks on Mexican influencers, including last year's killing of beauty creator Valeria Márquez. Officials suspect the killings are part of a larger trend by criminal groups to target influencers, especially in regions like Sinaloa and Jalisco dominated by organized crime, per the AP.
Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said influencers are killed or threatened for multiple reasons. In some cases, the influencers may have had ties to one criminal faction in a disputed region, or romantic relationships with cartel members. In others, influencers launder money for cartels or disseminate information as a journalist does. "Cartels are interested in dictating and controlling ... the regions where they operate," Saucedo said. The aim is to turn them "into channels for disseminating criminal messages." President Claudia Sheinbaum told journalists on Wednesday that "We must find out why this deplorable homicide occurred."
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