Forensic technicians and police officers work at the crime scene where Mexican social media influencer Cesar Gastelum was shot and killed while livestreaming with friends in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, August 4, 2026. Jesus Bustamante / REUTERS

Mexico has arrested a man who allegedly shot and killed an influencer during a live broadcast, authorities said on Wednesday.

Cesar Gastelum was attacked on August 4 while livestreaming in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, which has been a battleground for warring drug factions.

Gastelum, who had more than 500,000 TikTok followers, was dressed as a food delivery worker and taking part in a social media challenge along with two friends when a motorcycle stopped next to him. In the recording of the livestream, seen by the Reuters news agency, the driver of the motorcycle appeared to fire a gun directly at Gastelum.

Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said the alleged killer was located in the state of Puebla, in central Mexico.

During the arrest operation, police officers came under attack by three armed individuals and killed one of them, Harfuch wrote on X.

Authorities arrested the suspected killer of Gastelum and another person. Three firearms, ammunition and vehicles were seized at the scene, Harfuch said.

Preliminary investigation showed that the influencer's killing was related to his social media posts "alluding to a faction of a criminal group," Mexico's security secretariat said.

A sprawling war between the two main factions of the Sinaloa Cartel and associated armed groups has left thousands dead or missing in the northwestern state, even as President Claudia Sheinbaum seeks to contain criminal violence.

The cartel was founded by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who is now imprisoned in the United States.

Influencers targeted in Mexico
Culiacan is ground zero for "narco-culture" celebrating the life of drug traffickers, and Mexican media report that social media influencers are often tied to disputing criminal gangs, leading to acts of intimidation or score-settling. Around a dozen influencers have been killed in recent years in Sinaloa, local media have reported.

Last year, Mexican social media influencer Valeria Marquez was shot dead at a beauty salon during a livestream on TikTok, where she had tens of thousands of followers. Prosecutors said she appeared to be murdered by a hit man and expressed fear before being killed.

In July, authorities announced the arrest in Jalisco of Ramon Angel Alvarez Ayala, whom officials linked to the killing of Marquez as well as the November 2025 murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo, Reuters reported.

Marquez's murder shocked Mexico — where killings and kidnappings are a daily occurrence — and brought into sharp focus both its femicide epidemic and growing violence against influencers.

In January 2025, a small plane was reported to have dropped pamphlets in Culiacan threatening around 20 artists and YouTubers for alleged dealings with a warring faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Influencers have been targeted in other parts of Latin America. Last year in Venezuela, police arrested an alleged accomplice in the murder of a TikTok influencer who was killed during a livestream after denouncing members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang and allegedly corrupt police officers.


Mexican social media influencer, Valeria Marquez, 23, who was brazenly shot to death during a TikTok livestream in the beauty salon where she worked in the city of Zapopan, looks on in this picture obtained from social media. @v___marquez/via Instagram/via REUTERS

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