Mexican congressman Zenyazen Escobar, 42, was found dead Friday with a gunshot wound to the head inside his luxury vehicle on the side of a road in Veracruz. Ricardo Ahued, Veracruz state secretary, stated that the vehicle showed no signs of violence and described the death as tragic.
The Attorney General’s Office is leading the investigation into Escobar’s death. Authorities found a black firearm between the congressman's legs in the driver's seat of his Mercedes-Benz.
Escobar, a member of the Morena party, had a varied career prior to public office. In his early adulthood, he worked as a stripper under the moniker “Tarzan Boy.” He was also a licensed teacher and participated in education movements before entering politics in 2016. He was appointed Veracruz secretary of education in 2018 and later stepped down in 2023 to pursue a gubernatorial campaign, though he withdrew before the primaries. In August 2024, he was elected as a federal representative for Veracruz’s 16th District.
He had recently been involved in a public altercation. On May 28, Escobar allegedly appeared intoxicated at the Chamber of Deputies and challenged another congressman, Carlos Gutiérrez, to a fight. The incident was captured on video and widely shared on social media.
At least 30 incidents, including 14 homicides, linked to political-criminal violence were reported in July across 11 Mexican states, according to the human rights organization Data Civica.