Mexico

Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office amid surge of cartel violence

Author: Editors Desk Source: France 24

October 7, 2024 at 09:41

Investigators and forensic personnel work at the crime scene where remains of Chilpancingo Mayor Alejandro Arcos of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) were found in Chilpancingo, Guerrero state on October 6, 2024. © Jesus Guerrero, AFP

The mayor of Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, was brutally murdered less than a week after taking office, in the latest wave of violence targeting Mexican politicians. Arcos's death comes amid a surge in cartel-related violence in Guerrero, one of Mexico's most violent states, as authorities vow to bring justice and address the country’s deep-rooted security crisis.

The mayor of a city in southern Mexico has been murdered less than a week after taking office, authorities said Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks on politicians in the violence-plagued Latin American country.

The killing of Chilpancingo mayor Alejandro Arcos "fills us with indignation," Guerrero state governor Evelyn Salgado wrote on social media, without providing further details of the circumstances.

Condeno de manera enérgica el homicidio del Presidente Municipal de Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos Catalán, hecho que la Fiscalía General del Estado ha confirmado, dando inicio a las investigaciones pertinentes para su esclarecimiento y para llevar a los responsables ante la…
— Evelyn Salgado Pineda (@EvelynSalgadoP) October 7, 2024

Local media reported that Arcos was decapitated, but there has been no official confirmation.

Arcos was elected in June representing an opposition coalition that included the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which denounced his killing as a "cowardly crime" and called for justice.

"Enough of violence and impunity! The people of Guerrero do not deserve to live in fear," it said on X.

Condenamos enérgicamente el asesinato de Alejandro Arcos, presidente municipal de Chilpancingo, Guerrero.

Exigimos justicia por este cobarde crimen. ¡Basta ya de violencia e impunidad! Las y los guerrerenses no merecen vivir con miedo.

Nuestra solidaridad y más sentidas…
— PRI (@PRI_Nacional) October 7, 2024

His murder came days after the killing of another city official, Francisco Tapia, according to PRI president Alejandro Moreno.

"They had been in office for less than a week. Young and honest officials who sought progress for their community," Moreno said on X.

Han asesinado a nuestro alcalde de Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, y hace apenas tres días al secretario de este mismo Ayuntamiento, Francisco Tapia.
Llevaban menos de una semana en el cargo. Funcionarios jóvenes y honestos que buscaban progreso para su comunidad.
Nuestro pésame…
— Alejandro Moreno (@alitomorenoc) October 7, 2024

Guerrero, one of Mexico's poorest states, has endured years of violence linked to turf wars between cartels fighting for control of drug production and trafficking.

Last year, 1,890 murders were recorded in the state, which is home to the beachside resort city of Acapulco, a former playground of the rich and famous now blighted by crime.

Across Mexico, more than 450,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands have gone missing in a spiral of violence since the government deployed the army to combat drug trafficking in 2006.

Politicians, particularly at the local level, frequently fall victim to bloodshed connected to corruption and the multibillion-dollar drugs trade.

Tackling the cartel violence that makes murder and kidnapping a daily occurrence in Mexico is among the major challenges facing Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's first woman president.