Jesús Manuel Lara Rodríguez

Jesús Manuel Lara Rodríguez (1962 – June 19, 2010) was a Mexican politician who served as mayor of Guadalupe, Chihuahua from 2007 until his assassination. He was killed in the ongoing drug war in his country.

Guadalupe is one of Mexico's most dangerous towns.

Lara was known for his staunch opposition to the drug lords, in which efforts he worked alongside other mayors of towns bordering the United States, such as the Ciudad Juárez mayor. "His [Lara's] case is the best proof that the fight against the flow of drugs into the U.S. is right at the border." Lara's term was scheduled to end later in 2010, after elections in July.

Assassination Lara's crime-fighting activities earned him several death threats from drug lords. He installed his family in Ciudad Juárez, as a result, meanwhile maintaining his official residence in Guadalupe. Three men shot the mayor in the back on June 19, 2010, in front of his wife and child as he walked to his car, outside the Ciudad Juárez house. The gunmen then fled in a car. Police found 11 bullet shells at the scene of the shooting. In response to Lara's murder, the governor of the state of Chihuahua, José Reyes Baeza, ordered 100 combined federal, state and military troops to guard the state capitol while a closed door session discussed safety measures.

Lara "never asked for protection from the city", said the mayor of Ciudad Juárez, who had not been told by his colleague of the latter's residency in Ciudad Juárez.