The mayor of Guerrero, the capital of Mexico’s violence-plagued state was killed on Sunday, less than a week after he took office. This news was confirmed by the state’s governor.
From reports gathered, Alejandro Arcos was killed only six days after he took office as mayor of the city of Chilpancingo, a city of about 280,000 people in southwestern Mexico.
Evelyn Salgado, the Guerrero Governor had shared a statement on social media, saying; “His loss mourns the entire Guerrero society and fills us with indignation,”
Guerrero’s state attorney general’s office have also said it was investigating this murder.
The official confirmation of this news came after photos circulated on WhatsApp – a messaging app– showing a severed head on top of a pick-up truck, appearing to be that of Arcos. At press time, Reuters had yet to independently verify the photos’ authenticity.
Arcos’ death is coming only three days after the new city government’s secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot to death.
Moreno, the head of Mexico’s PRI political party, had called on the federal attorney general’s office to lead the investigation into Arcos and Tapia’s murders, in light of “the situation of ungovernability in Guerrero.”
Guerrero has over time, become one of the deadliest states for aspiring and elected public officials, as well as for journalists.
At least six candidates for public office were killed in the state in the run-up to Mexico’s June 2 elections.
Arcos’ social media posts revealed that the mayor had in recent days, been overseeing disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of the impact of Hurricane John last month. This particular Hurricane caused severe flooding in the beach resort Acapulco and surrounding towns.
