Mexican authorities have arrested a man accused of shooting and killing an influencer as he livestreamed, officials said.
Cesar Gastelum was attacked on 4 August in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, a region caught in a violent struggle between rival drug factions.
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Gastelum, who had more than 500,000 followers on TikTok, was dressed as a food delivery worker while taking part in a social media challenge with two friends. A motorcycle pulled up beside the group, and one of its two riders shot him in the head.
Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said the alleged gunman was found in Puebla state, in central Mexico.
Authorities arrested the suspected killer along with another person, officials said.
A preliminary investigation found that Gastelum’s murder was linked to social media posts “alluding to a faction of a criminal group,” Mexico’s security secretariat said.
Thousands of people have been killed or reported missing in northwestern Sinaloa amid a sprawling conflict between the two main factions of the Sinaloa Cartel and allied armed groups. The violence continues as President Claudia Sheinbaum works to curb criminal activity.
The cartel was founded by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a prison sentence in the United States.
Culiacan is widely regarded as the heart of a “narco-culture” that glorifies drug traffickers. Mexican media have reported that social media influencers are frequently connected to rival criminal gangs, sometimes making them targets of intimidation or violent score-settling.
