Mexican influencer César Gastélum shot dead during livestream in Culiacán

The killing

César Gastélum, a 24-year-old Sinaloa-based influencer known for comedy videos and parodies of northern Mexican life, was fatally shot on the night of August 4, 2026, in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa state. He was broadcasting live on the streaming platform Kick, under the channel name compasexor, from the parking lot of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant located a few meters from the state prosecutor's office. Gastélum and two friends, dressed in the orange uniforms of food-delivery couriers, were filming a social-media challenge when two men on a motorcycle approached. The driver shot Gastélum at close range; the two companions were unharmed. The Kick channel went offline after the attack.

Social media presence and possible motive

Gastélum had about 577,000 followers on TikTok, 116,000 on Instagram, and 16,200 subscribers on YouTube, with 22.2 million likes on TikTok. He sometimes referred to himself in videos as "bélico," a term used in Mexican subcultures to imply a connection to cartel culture. Mexico's Security Cabinet said investigators were examining whether some of Gastélum's posts, which "alluded to a faction of a criminal group," were connected to the killing, without specifying which faction. Local press reported that his recent content contained possible references to La Mayiza, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel led by convicted capo Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

Official response

President Claudia Sheinbaum told journalists on August 5 that the perpetrators must be arrested.

We must find out why this deplorable homicide occurred.

She added that authorities were conducting a full investigation to detain both the material perpetrators and any intellectual author. 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. Security cameras from the restaurant and surrounding area were being analyzed.

Pattern of violence against content creators

The killing fits a broader pattern of attacks on social-media personalities in Mexico. In May 2025, 23-year-old beauty influencer Valeria Márquez was shot and killed during a livestream at a beauty salon in Zapopan, Jalisco. On July 30, 2026, federal forces arrested Ramón Ángel Álvarez Ayala, known as "El R-1," at Atotonilco el Alto in Jalisco, and transferred him to the Altiplano federal prison. Security Minister Omar García Harfuch named him as leader of Los Rs. Officials describe Álvarez Ayala as the man who ordered and financed the murder of Uruapan mayor Carlos Manzo on November 1, 2025. He is also under investigation over the Márquez killing, which investigators say his son, Francisco Álvarez Solorio, asked him to order.

Security expert Víctor Sánchez Valdés of the Autonomous University of Coahuila said cartels increasingly target influencers whose content praises or references one group, provoking another.

They become targets. It is a national phenomenon, but recent changes within the cartels have made it a growing phenomenon, meaning it is accelerating.

According to Article 19, a press-freedom organization, eight journalists were killed or disappeared in Mexico in 2025, with 53 physically assaulted and 153 intimidated. ANSA reported that at least ten digital creators have been assassinated in connection with cartel feuds over territorial control. In Culiacán, rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Mayos and Los Chapitos, have fought since September 2024 for control of strategic territories including Culiacán and Mazatlán, according to the International Crisis Group.