Add The New York Post on Google A Mexican stripper-turned-ruling party congressman was found dead Friday with a gunshot wound inside his luxury vehicle on the side of a road in Veracruz, Mexico.
Zenyazen Escobar, 42, was shot at least one time in the head, Veracruz state secretary Ricardo Ahued said during a press conference.
Ahued said the Morena lawmaker’s vehicle did not display any signs of violence.
“It wasn’t an attack, because the car is off to the side,” Ahued said. “There are no signs of major damage to the vehicle … A tragic death involving a firearm.”
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office will be leading the investigation into Escobar’s death, he said.
At least 30 incidents — including 14 homicides — related to “political-criminal violence” were reported in July in 11 Mexican states, according to human rights organization Data Civica.
Images displayed by Mexican news television outlets showed Escobar slightly slumped on the driver’s seat of his Mercedes-Benz, with a black firearm tucked between his legs.
During his early adulthood years, Escobar worked as a stripper under the monicker “Tarzan Boy” and claimed that he was training for local bodybuilding competitions after shirtless photos of him were leaked on social media.
He was also licensed teacher and took part in several education movements before he sought public office for the first time in 2016 and was elected to the Veracruz state congress.
Escobar was named Veracruz secretary of education by then-Gov. Cuitláhuac García in 2018 and then stepped down in 2023 to campaign for governor but dropped out after he didn’t fare well in opinion polls.
Instead, he was elected as a federal representative for Veracruz’s 16th District in August 2024.
“I deeply mourn the passing of my friend and fellow party member Zenyazen Escobar García, with whom I shared years of struggle, hard work, and commitment to the service of the people of Veracruz,” García wrote on Facebook.
Escobar made headlines May 28 when he allegedly showed up drunk to the Chamber of Deputies and challenged Institutional Revolutionary Party Congressman Carlos Gutiérrez to a fight in a scene that was captured on video and went viral.
Gutiérrez at one point shouted, “You f–king stripper, social climber,” at the late congressman, who then walked towards him and settled into a fighting stance before other onlookers interceded.
Institutional Revolutionary Party Congresswoman Isabel González later called on Escobar to undergo a drug test.
