Chihuahua, Mexico – “We have to go.” That was all Bryan LeBaron’s security officer needed to say for the congressional candidate to know the situation was serious.
It was May 21, and LeBaron, 47, was in the audience of a mayoral debate at a university sports hall in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Mexico. His wife, Lindi Johnson Berlin, was at his side as they watched his uncle participate.
But the mayoral hopefuls had barely introduced themselves when the moderator cut the discussion short: The premises need to be evacuated, immediately. A security threat had been reported to police.
Members of the audience started to panic, some running to the nearest exits. LeBaron said he overheard the words “men outside with guns”.
He knew to stick close to the head of his security team, agent Antonio Ayala, but in the confusion, his wife had turned in the other direction. He reached over and grabbed her wrist to keep her close.
It was “one of the only times I felt scared during the campaign”, LeBaron explained a few days after the event, from the safety of his headquarters in Cuauhtemoc, a city in the state of Chihuahua.
But it wasn’t the first — and it wouldn’t be the last — time that LeBaron’s safety was threatened during his campaign for a seat in Mexico’s national Congress.
This year’s election, to be held on June 2, is set to be the largest in Mexican history, with more than 20,000 public offices being contested, including every seat in Congress and the presidency.
But bloodshed has marred the campaign season. In the year leading up to the vote, the Mexican civil society organisation Causa en Comun recorded the murders of at least 59 political figures, 34 of whom were candidates or politicians preparing to launch a bid.
The other 25 were officials in other roles, including party representatives. Experts believe drug cartels and criminal networks are most often behind the violence, in an effort to influence the outcome of key local races.
The violence has forced candidates like LeBaron to factor security measures into their campaigns. Agent Ayala, for instance, has become part of LeBaron’s daily life, leading the candidate’s 14-member security team.
Like LeBaron, 185 other federal candidates have been assigned National Guard agents, according to the security information released by the Mexican government on May 27.
Not all National Guard agents have the same background, but Ayala told Al Jazeera he has experience protecting high-profile figures, including former United States President Bill Clinton.
He was originally a member of the Federal Police before the force was folded into the National Guard in 2019. He has also trained as a close protection officer — similar to a bodyguard — and attended courses with international special forces.
So when the mayoral debate on May 21 descended into panic, he knew exactly what to do.
It took less than three minutes to get “el señor Bryan” to safety, said Ayala, whose baby face belies his 11 years of experience.
Officials later revealed two bomb threats had been called in, though no explosives were ultimately found in the debate venue.