The director of the Miss World beauty pageant in Mexico has been shot dead in a targeted attack just hours after crowning the provincial winner for the violence-plagued state of Sinaloa.

Hugo Rubén Castellanos Jiménez, 39, was killed in the early hours of Sunday morning, shortly after he and a friend were abducted by several masked gunmen who had installed a road block near the bar where they had been celebrating with organisers from the Sinaloa pageant.

Castellanos, a former model and owner of a well-known modelling agency, was found shot dead a few hours later in the back of the carjacked Cherokee jeep. His friend, identified by local media as a US citizen, was freed unharmed.

Castellano was the intended target of the planned attack, according to authorities, who have discarded robbery as a motive after a substantial quantity cash was recovered at the scene. But all other lines of inquiry remain open – including possible links to the beauty pageant – according to the Sinaloa’s chief prosecutor.

Read More- The Guardian

Image courtesy of AP