Cesar Gastelum, a Mexican social media influencer with over 600,000 followers on TikTok, was shot dead on Tuesday, August 5, 2026, while livestreaming outside a restaurant in Mexico's Sinaloa state. The region is widely known for its prevalent cartel and gang violence.
Gastelum, reportedly 25 years old and known for posting lifestyle content, was broadcasting with two friends at the time of the attack. All three were dressed as food delivery workers, participating in a social media challenge. Online video footage, reviewed by the Reuters news agency, shows a motorcycle carrying two individuals pulling up alongside Gastelum and his friends. The driver of the motorcycle then appeared to fire a gun directly at Gastelum.
The livestream was abruptly halted and subsequently removed by the platform, although footage and images of the attack have continued to circulate across social media. Local police confirmed Gastelum's death, initially reporting the victim as a delivery worker before later identifying him as the influencer.
Following the incident, soldiers and police were deployed to the scene, while forensic experts collected evidence and removed Gastelum's body, according to footage from local TV stations.
Sinaloa has been a hotspot for violence, with the district experiencing internal struggles within its powerful local cartel over the past two years. Local media reports indicate that approximately a dozen influencers, some allegedly linked to criminal gangs, have been killed in Sinaloa in recent years.
This incident echoes previous attacks on social media figures in Mexico and other parts of Latin America. Last year, Mexican social media influencer Valeria Marquez, who had tens of thousands of TikTok followers, was shot dead at a beauty salon during a livestream. Prosecutors stated that Marquez appeared to have been murdered by a hit man and reportedly expressed fear before her death. In July, authorities announced the arrest in Jalisco of Ramon Angel Alvarez Ayala, whom officials linked to Marquez's killing, as well as the November 2025 murder of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo.
Marquez's murder sent shockwaves through Mexico, a country where killings and kidnappings are a daily occurrence, bringing into sharp focus both its femicide epidemic and the escalating violence targeting influencers. In January 2025, pamphlets threatening around 20 artists and YouTubers for alleged dealings with a warring faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel were reportedly dropped by a small plane in Culiacan.
Beyond Mexico, influencers have also been targeted in other Latin American nations. Last year in Venezuela, police arrested an alleged accomplice in the murder of a TikTok influencer who was killed during a livestream after denouncing members of the Tren de Aragua criminal gang and allegedly corrupt police officers.
