Daily Times

The mayor of Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, was brutally murdered less than a week after taking office, in the latest wave of violence targeting Mexican politicians. Arcos’s death comes amid a surge in cartel-related violence in Guerrero, one of Mexico’s most violent states, as authorities vow to bring justice and address the country’s deep-rooted security crisis.

The mayor of a city in southern Mexico has been murdered less than a week after taking office, authorities said Sunday, the latest in a series of attacks on politicians in the violence-plagued Latin American country. The killing of Chilpancingo mayor Alejandro Arcos “fills us with indignation,” Guerrero state governor Evelyn Salgado wrote on social media, without providing further details of the circumstances. Local media reported that Arcos was decapitated, but there has been no official confirmation.

Arcos was elected in June representing an opposition coalition that included the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which denounced his killing as a “cowardly crime” and called for justice. “Enough of violence and impunity! The people of Guerrero do not deserve to live in fear,” it said on X. Condenamos enérgicamente el asesinato de Alejandro Arcos, presidente municipal de Chilpancingo, Guerrero. Exigimos justicia por este cobarde crimen. ¡Basta ya de violencia e impunidad! Las y los guerrerenses no merecen vivir con miedo.

His murder came days after the killing of another city official, Francisco Tapia, according to PRI president Alejandro Moreno. “They had been in office for less than a week. Young and honest officials who sought progress for their community,” Moreno said on X. Han asesinado a nuestro alcalde de Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos, y hace apenas tres días al secretario de este mismo Ayuntamiento, Francisco Tapia. Llevaban menos de una semana en el cargo. Funcionarios jóvenes y honestos que buscaban progreso para su comunidad.