Mexican TikTok Star Valeria Márquez Killed in Livestream Attack in Jalisco

In a heartbreaking tragedy, Valeria Márquez, a 23-year-old TikTok influencer with over 113,000 followers, was fatally shot during a livestream at a beauty salon in Jalisco, Mexico. The targeted attack, carried out by a masked gunman who fled on a motorcycle, has shaken the region known for its cartel violence. Prosecutors are investigating the killing as a femicide, a gender-based crime, amid suspicions the gunman was a hired assassin.

Just hours before her death, Márquez voiced fears about two men who visited the salon, claiming to deliver an "expensive" gift. "Maybe they were going to kill me," she said on her livestream, her words now haunting. When the men returned, they confirmed her presence before the fatal shots rang out. A stuffed animal and a Starbucks coffee bag were handed to her moments before the attack, adding a chilling layer to the scene.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel dominates this area, where murders by motorcycle-riding sicarios are grimly routine. Authorities are probing whether Márquez’s killing links to another recent murder in Guadalajara, that of a former congressman, also executed by two men on a motorcycle. President Claudia Sheinbaum has vowed to uncover the motive and bring justice, expressing solidarity with Márquez’s grieving family.

This brutal act underscores Mexico’s ongoing struggle with violence against women. Jalisco ranks sixth among Mexico’s states for homicides, with 909 recorded since October 2024. As friends and family mourned at her funeral, the nation grapples with the loss of a vibrant young voice silenced too soon.