Mexican mayor murdered one week into office

The newly appointed mayor of the southern Mexican city of Chilpancingo was killed just a week after his inauguration, authorities confirmed Sunday.

Alejandro Arcos, who took office last Monday, immediately faced threats in a city notorious for violent crimes and drug trafficking.

The Guerrero prosecutor’s office released a statement confirming Arcos’ death but did not provide additional details about the incident.

Alejandro Moreno, the national leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), expressed his condolences over the killing and also pointed out that the newly appointed secretary of the municipal council had also been killed just three days earlier.

“They had been in office for less than a week,” Moreno wrote on social media. “They were young and honest public servants looking for progress for their community.”

The violence in Chilpancingo reflects broader issues within Guerrero, where ongoing battles have led to numerous fatalities and high-profile controversies.

Previous mayors have come under severe scrutiny, including a recording made during a video meeting with gang leaders, which led to her expulsion from the PRI.

Chilpancingo, the capital of the state of Guerrero and home to the famous tourist destination Acapulco, has long been a battleground for rival drug gangs, most notably the Ardillos and the Tlacos.

The city’s prominence was illustrated in July 2023, when federal officials reported that a large public demonstration in Chilpancingo, organized by the Ardillos, aimed to secure the release of two gang leaders arrested on drug and weapons offenses.

During the protest, and in a demonstration of their influence, a drug gang hijacked a government armored vehicle and took police officers hostage to secure the release of their detained associates.

The loss of Mayor Arcos underscores the significant risks facing officials in some of Mexico’s most dangerous regions.

Last week, Claudia Sheinbaum made history by becoming Mexico’s first female president, a major milestone for a country 200 years after it gained independence.

One of her tasks will be to curb escalating violence in several Mexican cities, including Culiacan, which is dominated by drug cartels and where clashes between factions of the Sinaloa cartel have intensified following the arrest of high-profile drug lords Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada. and Joaquín Guzmán López in the US

The situation is similar across the country, with drug-related violence on the rise from Tijuana in the north to Chiapas in the south, forcing thousands of people to flee.

This article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press