Valeria Márquez, a 22-year-old TikTok influencer with a large following, was gunned down in broad daylight while livestreaming from her beauty salon in Mexico. The shocking execution was captured on camera and quickly spread across social media platforms.
The attack shows clear signs of being carefully planned. Earlier that day, a person on a motorcycle visited the salon claiming to be a courier with a gift for Márquez, who wasn’t present at the time. Márquez reportedly planned to leave but received a text message telling her to stay and wait for the “courier” to come back.
When the gunman entered the salon, he paused to double-check it was Márquez before shooting her several times. Nothing was taken from the scene, showing the only goal was to kill her.
What’s even more troubling are reports that a friend who was there during the attack encouraged Márquez to stick around at the salon to get the supposed delivery. That same friend ended the livestream after the shooting without showing any signs of panic, which has people wondering if they might have been involved.
People believe the motive is tied to Márquez’s past relationship with a high-ranking member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), known only as “RR.” Before she died, Márquez had publicly said she was getting threats from her ex-boyfriend, even telling people that if anything happened, he’d be the one behind it.
This tragic story shows just how risky it is for social media personalities in Mexico—even those with just loose ties to cartel members. Influencers have been getting targeted more often, whether because of their relationships, perceived disloyalties, or just showing off wealth that some think is tied to criminal groups.
Mexico’s homicide rate right now is about five times higher than in the United States, and murders linked to organized crime hardly ever get solved. Cops haven’t made any arrests yet in Márquez’s case, and if other cases like this are anything to go by, it’s unlikely justice will come anytime soon.
