A Mexican social media influencer was fatally shot while livestreaming in Culiacán, Sinaloa, a city long troubled by violent clashes between rival drug cartels. César Gastélum, 24, known for his comedic TikTok videos and with more than half a million followers, was livestreaming outside a KFC restaurant Tuesday night when the attack occurred.
According to authorities, Gastélum was wearing a fast-food worker costume as part of a social media challenge when two men on a motorcycle approached. Video footage, which was later removed from the streaming platform Kick, shows Gastélum expressing apprehension before one of the suspects fired a handgun at his head, killing him on the spot.
Officials suggested the shooting might be linked to Gastélum’s online content, which allegedly referenced or alluded to a faction within organized crime, though specific affiliations were not disclosed. Security expert Víctor Sánchez Valdés of the Autonomous University of Coahuila noted a growing pattern in Mexico of criminal groups targeting influencers, particularly after they post material perceived to support one cartel or another.
Culiacán has been a focal point of cartel violence since the arrest of Ismael Zambada García, known as El Mayo, in the United States in July 2024. Zambada García’s detention followed a strategic capture involving Joaquín Guzmán López, son of the imprisoned drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera. The ensuing power struggle has pitted Los Mayos, loyal to El Mayo, against Los Chapitos, the faction aligned with El Chapo’s sons.
Both factions possess sophisticated weaponry, armored vehicles, and drones, escalating daily confrontations marked by public shootouts and improvised roadblocks. These conflicts have led to a sharp rise in violence in Sinaloa, with homicides in Culiacán reaching 1,086 in 2025—nearly double the 623 reported in 2024—making it one of Mexico’s deadliest cities.
President Claudia Sheinbaum addressed the incident at a security cabinet meeting and in a subsequent press conference, emphasizing the need to identify and apprehend those responsible for Gastélum’s murder. “The perpetrators, and the mastermind, must be detained, and the reason for this tragic homicide must be uncovered,” she stated.
The targeting of social media personalities is not isolated to Sinaloa. In May 2025, Valeria Márquez, a beauty influencer in Jalisco, was also killed during a livestream, a case linked to the violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Mexican security forces recently apprehended Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, alias El R-1, regarded as a criminal cell leader within CJNG’s Los Rs faction and implicated in orchestrating Márquez’s murder at the behest of his son, who reportedly had a personal connection to the victim.
Álvarez Ayala is additionally accused of financing the 2025 assassination of Carlos Manzo, a mayor in Michoacán who had publicly vowed to combat cartel influence.
The deaths of Gastélum and Márquez highlight the increasing risks faced by content creators in regions afflicted by cartel violence, illustrating how the complex dynamics between criminal factions continue to impact civilians in Mexico.