Who was the Mexican influencer Valeria Marquez who was killed while live on TikTok?

When 23-year-old Mexican influencer Valeria Márquez was shot dead during a live stream on TikTok, rumors began to circulate: Was this an assassination ordered by a cartel or another tragic case of violence against women?

The incident occurred on Tuesday at Blossom The Beauty Lounge, a beauty salon owned by the victim, located in Zapopan, a city in the state of Jalisco. The state attorney general's office said it is investigating the killing as a femicide - a crime committed because of the victim's gender.

Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, said investigations are underway: "We are working to apprehend the perpetrators and discover the motive for this event."

But the fact that the incident took place in Jalisco – the birthplace of the notorious Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) cartel – has fueled speculation about a possible link to organized crime.

Valeria Márquez was a model and influencer who rose to fame in 2021 after winning the Miss Rostro (“Miss Face”) beauty pageant. She quickly gained popularity on social media, where she shared makeup, fashion, and personal care tips, as well as documenting her luxurious travels on private jets and yachts.

At the time of her death, she had more than 223,000 followers on Instagram and about 100,000 on TikTok.

In her last broadcast, Márquez mentioned that she was waiting for a courier she knew to deliver a gift. She expressed concern after her friend was unable to see the courier's face when he arrived.

"Why didn't he leave (the gift)? Was he going to kidnap me?" she said to her followers.

Moments later, holding a pink stuffed toy, she turned away from the camera, placed her hands on her chest and stomach, and fell to the ground. Another woman picked up the phone and interrupted the broadcast.

Police arrived at the scene at around 6:30 p.m. local time and confirmed her death. According to the prosecutor's office, at least two men on motorcycles arrived at the salon. One of them asked if she was Valeria and, after she answered "yes," he pulled out a gun and shot her several times.

Investigators are analyzing security camera footage and social media activity to identify the perpetrators. So far, there is no evidence linking the murder to drug cartels. The prosecutor's office stressed that the investigation is being conducted as a femicide and that every lead is being examined.

Local media had previously published messages in which Márquez expressed fear and said that if anything happened to her, her ex-partner would be to blame. However, authorities say she had not filed any complaints or requests for help regarding any potential threats.

The mayor of Zapopan, Juan José Frangie, declared: "A murder of a woman is the worst thing that can happen. But we have no evidence that she asked for help before."

The Zapopan area, while seen as one of the safest in Guadalajara, is one of the most violent in Jalisco. Shootings in luxury shopping malls are common, and according to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than half of the real estate in the area is linked to money laundering by cartels.

On the same day that Márquez was killed, just two kilometers away, a former Mexican congressman, Luis Armando Córdoba Díaz, was also killed. Just two days earlier, a mayoral candidate, Yesenia Lara Gutiérrez, was killed during a political motorcade in Veracruz – also during a Facebook live broadcast.

Violence against women is a deep wound in Mexico. The country ranks fourth in Latin America for femicide, with 1.3 deaths per 100,000 women (2023, according to ECLAC). In Jalisco, about 90% of crimes are never reported or investigated. The prosecutor's office has often been accused of links to organized crime, a charge it denies.

In an official statement, the prosecution said: “The investigation is being conducted according to femicide protocols, with a gender perspective and respecting human rights.”

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