MEXICO CITY (AP) — Four mayors in Mexico have asked federal authorities for protection after a colleague was beheaded last week in the southern state of Guerrero, officials said Tuesday.
Mayor Alejandro Arcos had been sworn in less than a week earlier.
Omar Garcia Harfuch, Minister of Public Security, said four mayors asked for protection on Monday, a day after Arcos’ remains were found. The requests came from Guerrero and another violence-ridden state, Guanajuato.
The situation in Guanajuato is so bad that at least four mayoral candidates were killed ahead of the June elections.
Garcia Harfuch did not say why the mayors asked for protection. He also did not provide many details about the investigation into Arcos’ murder, saying only that the mayor left his staff to attend a private meeting shortly before his death.
Arcos had told local media he needed more protection, but Garcia Harfuch said no formal request had been received. State and federal governments can offer mayors bulletproof vehicles, extra bodyguards and emergency alert systems.
The state capital, Chilpancingo, is dominated by two warring drug gangs, the Ardillos and the Tlacos. One organized a demonstration of hundreds of people, hijacked a government armored car, blocked a major highway and took the police hostage in 2023 to secure the release of arrested suspects.
Gangs and drug cartels in Mexico often target mayors to make demands for extortion payments, government contracts and the appointment of henchmen to municipal police forces.
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