The mayor of a state capital in Mexico is assassinated less than a week after taking office | International

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Relatives on Monday buried the mayor of a state capital in southern Mexico who was assassinated just a week after taking office.

Photos from the crime scene shared on social media showed Mayor Alejandro Arcos’ severed head lying on the roof of a pickup truck. Authorities did not immediately confirm the authenticity of the images, but at his funeral there were signs that his head had been reattached by forensic examiners or morgue staff.

Arcos was sworn in last Monday as mayor of Chilpancingo, a city so violent that a drug gang openly staged a demonstration, hijacked a government armored car and in 2023 took police hostage to secure the release of arrested suspects.

Chilpancingo is the capital of the state of Guerrero, where Acapulco is located.

Arcos had said in an interview with local media shortly before his death that he wanted additional protection, but it was not clear whether a formal request had been made to state officials.

The prosecutor’s office issued a statement on Sunday confirming that Arcos was killed, but provided no details.

Alejandro Moreno, the national leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, deplored Arcos’ killing, saying Monday “we will not allow his death to go unpunished.” A few days before Arcos’ death, the newly installed secretary of the city council had also been murdered.

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

Chilpancingo has long been the scene of bloody battles between two drug gangs, the Ardillos and the Tlacos. The battle has resulted in dozens of gruesome murders and several high-profile scandals.

A previous mayor was captured on video apparently holding a meeting with leaders of one of the gangs at a restaurant. She was subsequently expelled from her party.

In July 2023, federal officials said a demonstration held that month by hundreds of people in Chilpancingo was organized by the Ardillos gang to secure the release of two gang leaders arrested on drug and gun possession charges.

Protesters blocked largely all traffic on the highway between Mexico City and Acapulco for two days, fought security forces and commandeered an armored police car and used it to ram the gates of the state legislature building.

The protesters kidnapped ten members of the state police and National Guard, as well as three state and federal officials, and held them hostage to enforce their demands before releasing them.

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