Mexican mayor beheaded week after taking office; Involvement with drug cartels suspected

Mexico City: Officials have confirmed that the new mayor of a state capital in southern Mexico, Mayor Alejandro Arcos, was assassinated just a week after taking office. The announcement follows allegations on social platforms that the severed head of Alejandro Arcos, who took office as mayor of Chilpancingo last Monday, was found on a vehicle on the road.

In 2023, Chilpancingo experienced extreme violence when a drug gang held a public protest, seized a government vehicle and kidnapped law enforcement officers to free detained individuals.

Chilpancingo is the capital of the state of Guerrero, home to Acapulco. The prosecutor’s office released a statement on Sunday confirming that Arcos was killed, but did not provide details.

The confirmation was made official after photos were circulated on WhatsApp showing a severed head on a pick-up truck, believed to be Arcos. The validity of the photos could not be confirmed by a third party.

Alejandro Moreno, the leader of the PRI party, expressed sadness over Arcos’ death, noting that the recently appointed secretary of the city council had been killed three days earlier.

“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 for some time been the scene of violent wars between two rival drug cartels, the Ardillos and the Tlacos. The battle resulted in many brutal deaths and some notable controversies.

A former mayor was recorded meeting with gang members at a restaurant. She was later expelled from her party.

Federal officials said in July 2023 that a protest in Chilpancingo organized by the Ardillos gang was aimed at securing the release of two gang leaders held on drug and weapons charges.

The demonstrators blocked traffic on the highway from Mexico City to Acapulco for two days, clashing with security forces and taking control of an armored police vehicle to break through the gates of the state legislature building.

The protesters kidnapped ten members of the state police and National Guard, along with three state and federal officials, and held them as hostages to pressure authorities to meet their demands before eventually letting them go.

Supporters of Mayor Alejandro Arcos place candles a week after he took office in Chilpancingo, Mexico, October 7, 2024. | AP photo (Alejandrino Gonzalez)

Less than a week after being sworn in as Mexico’s first female president, Sheinbaum is expected to introduce policies aimed at restoring law and order in the most dangerous areas hit by violence linked to drug cartels and organized crime .

The first phase of Sheinbaum’s strategy aims to reduce the number of homicides and major crimes in ten specific zones, which are responsible for at least 25% of organized crime homicides, such as Colima, Tijuana, Acapulco and Celaya, as revealed by an anonymous member of the committee. Sheinbaum’s security team.

In her usual morning press conference on Monday, Sheinbaum stated that Arcos’ murder is under investigation to determine the reason behind it and arrest those responsible. She stated that her security strategy would include better cooperation with state governors and attorneys general offices. She said deploying the National Guard to the area was an option.

Mexico is known to be extremely dangerous for politicians and government officials, who are regularly attacked by organized criminal groups. The country’s most recent elections, in which Sheinbaum emerged victorious, were the deadliest in modern history, with 37 candidates killed before the June 2 election, some during brutal displays of public violence.

Arrests and successful prosecutions are unusual in Mexico for these killings, as well as most other murders.

“There is a problem with impunity in Mexico, and until that goes away, until those institutions are stronger, you simply cannot guarantee the safety of the candidates,” said Mike Ballard, director of intelligence at the international security firm Global Guardian. .

Ballard said Mexico’s new government must take action to arrest and bring to justice more cartel leaders to effectively weaken their influence. He pointed to the decline of the American mafia due to numerous arrests, convictions and long prison sentences in the 1980s and 1990s.