The mayor of a Mexico city plagued by drug violence was murdered less than a week after taking office.
Alejandro Arcos was found dead on Sunday in Chilpancingo, a city of about 280,000 people in the southwestern state of Guerrero. He has been mayor for six days.
Gov. Evelyn Salgado said the city was mourning a murder that “fills us with outrage.” His death came three days after the city’s new secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot dead.
Authorities have not released details about the investigation or suspects. However, Guerrero is one of the states worst affected by drug violence, with drug cartels murdering dozens of politicians across the country.
Authorities confirmed Akos’ murder after unconfirmed social media images showed his body.
Akos’ social media posts show he has been overseeing relief efforts while in office hurricane john Last month, it caused severe flooding.
In the hours before his death, photos of meetings with rescue workers and residents were posted on his Facebook account.
Mexican Senator Alejandro Moreno said Arcos and Tapia were “young and honest officials who seek progress for their communities.” He called on federal authorities to investigate given that Guerrero was “ungovernable.”
Arcos’s Institutional Revolutionary Party called for justice. “Enough with violence and impunity! The people of Guerrero should not live in fear,” it said on Twitter/X.
Politicians, especially local ones, often fall victim to bloodshed linked to corruption and the multibillion-dollar drug trade.
Guerrero is one of the worst-affected states due to its location on the Pacific Coast smuggling route, while Chilpancingo has long been the scene of a turf war between two drug gangs, the Adillos and the Tracos.
In the run-up to Mexico’s June 2 elections, at least six candidates for public office were killed in the state.
Since the government deployed the military to combat drug trafficking in 2006, more than 450,000 people have been murdered across Mexico and tens of thousands have disappeared.
