Mexico: Mayor of southern city assassinated days after taking office
MEXICO CITY – Alejandro Arcos, the mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, has been assassinated, according to Governor Evelyn Salgado and a representative from the opposition political alliance.
The 43-year-old elected official, who had taken office six days earlier, was decapitated, and his head was left on the roof of a car. A photo of the gruesome scene has been circulating on social media.
“They have murdered our mayor of Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, and just three days ago, the secretary of the same city hall, Francisco Tapia, met the same fate. It had been less than a week since they took office,” lamented Alejandro Moreno, president of the PRI (opposition party).
Alejandro Arcos Catalan had won the Chilpancingo mayoral election on June 2, with the city’s population standing at 283,354 in 2020, according to official figures. He ran under the opposition PRI-PRD-PAN alliance.
His assassination occurred five days after the inauguration of President Claudia Sheinbaum, who is scheduled to present her national security plan on Tuesday.
