Influencer Cesar Gastelum fatally shot during a livestream in Culiacán, echoing wave of cartel violence
The shooting, which was captured on video, took place outside a fast food restaurant in a busy commercial area near the Sinaloa state prosecutor's office.
The attack
Cesar Gastelum, a Sinaloa-based influencer with about 577,000 followers on TikTok, 116,000 on Instagram and 16,200 subscribers on YouTube, was shot and killed at about 8.15pm on Tuesday, 4 August 2026, in the car park of a KFC restaurant on Bulevar Enrique Sánchez Alonso, near the corner with Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, in the Tres Ríos district of Culiacán. He was broadcasting live on the streaming platform Kick, under the channel name compasexor, while filming material for his Instagram and TikTok accounts with two collaborators, all three dressed as Rappi delivery couriers. Two people on a white, red and black Honda motorcycle, both wearing helmets, pulled up beside the group. The driver fired a gun directly at Gastelum's head before fleeing. A recording of the livestream, seen by Reuters, captured the attack; the transmission cut off shortly afterward and was later removed from the platform, though portions were retained and circulated by news sites.
Local police initially reported the death of a delivery driver. The victim was subsequently identified as Gastelum through the video recording and witness accounts. He was 24 and known for comedy videos and parodies of northern Mexican life. His Kick channel went offline after the killing. The attack took place in a busy zone close to the Sinaloa state prosecutor's office. A security official in Sinaloa confirmed the death and said a significant security operation was underway. Soldiers and police were deployed, forensic experts gathered evidence, and the body was taken to the medical examiner's office, according to local television images.
Pattern of violence
The killing is the latest episode in a conflict between rival organized crime factions that has plagued Culiacán for nearly two years. The violence intensified after the mid-2024 abduction of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada by a son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. Zambada was handed over to US authorities, and his faction went to war with the faction led by Guzmán's sons. The feud initially trapped Culiacán residents in the crossfire before spreading statewide. US President Donald Trump designated the Sinaloa Cartel a foreign terrorist organization during his term.
The shooting also recalled the murder of Mexican beauty influencer Valeria Marquez, 23, who was shot dead on 13 May 2025 during a TikTok livestream at the salon where she worked in Zapopan, Jalisco. Prosecutors investigated her death under femicide protocols. On 30 July 2026 federal forces arrested Ramon Angel Alvarez Ayala, known as "El R-1," at Atotonilco el Alto in Jalisco. Security minister Omar Garcia Harfuch identified him as the leader of Los Rs, a cell linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and as the man who ordered and financed the murder of Uruapan mayor Carlos Manzo on 1 November 2025. He is also under investigation over the Marquez killing, which investigators say his son asked him to order.
Broader danger
Local press have noted that around ten influencers, some allegedly connected to criminal groups, have been killed in Sinaloa in recent years. The Independent reported that the violence initially trapped residents of Culiacán in the crossfire but eventually extended statewide. The slaying of Gastelum, and the attack's recording, underscore the brazen nature of such violence in public spaces.
- Beauty influencer Valeria Marquez shot to death during a TikTok livestream at a salon in Zapopan, Jalisco
- Uruapan mayor Carlos Manzo shot dead at the Festival of Candles; later attributed to 'El R-1' and CJNG
- Ramon Angel Alvarez Ayala ('El R-1') arrested at Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, over the Manzo murder and investigated over the Marquez killing
- Influencer Cesar Gastelum shot to death during a livestream in Culiacan, Sinaloa
The investigation
The area was cordoned off by local and federal authorities while evidence was collected. The people who accompanied Gastelum were taken to the public prosecutor's office to give statements. Mexican media reported that the two aggressors escaped after the shooting. The state prosecutor's office opened an investigation file. As of the latest official updates no one had been detained and no line of investigation had been made public.
Identity and confusion
Some outlets noted that the victim shares a name with Cesar Gastelum Serrano, alias "La Señora," a Sinaloa Cartel narcotics trafficker who was on the US Treasury Department's OFAC sanctions list until March 2026. That Gastelum Serrano is linked to "El Mayo" Zambada and was arrested in Cancún in 2015 on charges of large-scale cocaine trafficking through Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala bound for the United States. No official source has drawn a connection between the two men in relation to the shooting.
