Less than a week after assuming office, the mayor of Chilpancingo, a city in southern Mexico, Alejandro Arcosa has been assassinated.
According to officials on Sunday, Arcos won an election on behalf of an opposition coalition that included the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in June.
Expectedly, a barrage of condemnations has trailed the killing.
Guerrero State governor, Evelyn Salgado, wrote on social media, ”The killing of Chilpancingo mayor, Alejandro Arcos fills us with indignation,” but did not provide further details of the circumstances.
Also, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), referred to his murder as a “cowardly crime” and demanded accountability.
The PRI stated on X, “Enough of violence and impunity! The people of Guerrero do not deserve to live in fear.”
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.
This is only the most recent in a string of attacks on politicians in the violent nation of Latin America.
Local media reported that Arcos had been decapitated, but there has been no official confirmation.
His murder came just 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.
One of the poorest states in Mexico, Guerrero, has seen years of violence as a result of turf warfare between gangs vying for control of drug manufacturing and trafficking.
