Silverio Cavazos Ceballos, the former governor of the western state of Colima, was assassinated Sunday.
According to El Milenio, three gunmen shot and killed the ex-governor as he spoke on the telephone near his home. Cavazos served as governor between 2005 and 2009, after governor Gustavo Vasquez Montes died in a plane crash.
The current state economic advisor and a bodyguard were also injured in the attack. No arrests have been made.
Colima's Manzanillo port is an important entry point for cocaine come from South America and methamphetamine precursors such as ephedrine coming from Asia. It is controlled by Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias "El Mayo," a Sinaloa Cartel head.
However, the Juarez and Tijuana Cartels, as well as the Beltran Leyva Organization, are reportedly battling the Sinaloa Cartel for the "plaza."