International Courant
The Mexican authorities has revealed new particulars in regards to the ugly homicide of Mayor Alejandro Arcos, who was discovered decapitated final weekend.
Arcos’ killing got here almost per week after President Claudia Sheinbaum took workplace, growing strain on her authorities to curb cartel-related violence within the nation.
On Tuesday, Safety Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch informed reporters that Arcos, a outstanding opposition determine, had not requested safety escorts on the day of his killing.
“The mayor went to Petaquillas alone for a gathering,” Garcia Harfuch mentioned, referring to a metropolis within the coastal state of Guerrero.
“We all know he went to a particular assembly, he was unaccompanied, communication locally was misplaced and the invention (of his physique) was made hours later.”
When pressed by journalists, the minister emphasised that Arcos had not approached both the Ministry of Safety or the Nationwide Guard for assist, regardless of stories that the mayor had informed native media he needed extra safety.
Garcia Harfuch additionally underlined that the investigation into Arcos’ loss of life was ongoing. “There’s quite a lot of info on this topic that we have to guard within the curiosity of the investigation,” he mentioned.
Mourners pay their respects throughout the funeral service for Alejandro Arcos on October 7 (Oscar Ramirez/Reuters)
Every week in workplace
Arcos’ loss of life comes lower than per week after he took workplace on September 30 as mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero.
With its remoted mountains and temperate Pacific local weather, Guerrero has lengthy been a hub for the manufacturing of opium poppies, the primary ingredient in heroin.
There are as many as sixteen drug gangs energetic within the state, vying for management of the profitable area.
The armed gangs have additionally overtly challenged the native authorities, particularly in 2023.
When two alleged members of the Los Ardillos gang have been arrested, 1000’s of demonstrators took to the streets on behalf of the gang to demand their launch.
They clashed with Nationwide Guard members and police in Chilpancingo, even utilizing an armored automobile to interrupt via the gates of the state legislature. Through the unrest, a number of officers have been taken hostage.
Based on Reforma, a Mexican information outlet, Arcos was anticipated to fulfill members of the Los Ardillos gang on Sunday, the day of his loss of life.
However photographs quickly emerged on social media displaying Arcos’ severed head on high of what gave the impression to be his pickup truck.
It was the second time in lower than per week {that a} member of the municipal council was discovered useless. Simply three days earlier, Francisco Tapia, one other new member of the town council, was shot useless.
Elections marred by violence
On Tuesday, Garcia Harfuch revealed that 4 different mayors – from Guerrero and one other state, Guanajuato – had requested for cover after Arcos’ loss of life.
Mexico has lengthy struggled with political violence as cartels and different gangs attempt to affect authorities affairs.
This yr, the nation held the most important elections in historical past, with almost 20,000 public places of work up for grabs, together with native, state and federal positions.
However the proceedings have been marred by violence, with an estimated 37 candidates killed within the run-up to the election, lots of whom have been searching for native workplace. In different circumstances, family of candidates have been killed in obvious makes an attempt at intimidation.
The violence pressured some candidates out of the race. Others have been assigned members of the Nationwide Guard for cover.
Within the aftermath of Arcos’ loss of life, authorities officers expressed frustration and anger over the continued violence.
“I strongly condemn the assassination of the municipal president of Chilpancingo, Alejandro Arcos Catalán,” Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda wrote on social media. “His loss saddens the whole Guerrero society and fills us with indignation.”
Alejandro Moreno, the top of Arcos’ conservative-leaning celebration, the Institutional Revolutionary Occasion (PRI), mentioned on Monday: “We is not going to permit his loss of life to go unpunished.”
Minister of Safety and Civil Safety Omar Garcia Harfuch speaks alongside President Claudia Sheinbaum as she unveils her safety technique on October 8 (Henry Romero/Reuters)
Sheinbaum’s safety technique
As authorities officers grappled Tuesday with the fallout from Arcos’ loss of life, President Sheinbaum — herself inaugurated on September 30 — unveiled her proposals to strengthen Mexico’s safety.
As a member of the left-wing Morena celebration, she dominated out a return to hardline techniques. “The battle on medication is not going to return,” she mentioned, citing a controversial initiative led by america.
Sheinbaum echoed her predecessor, in style Morena chief Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in calling for measures that deal with the foundation causes of crime, akin to poverty.
She additionally asserted that her authorities wouldn’t resort to extreme drive to deal with crime. The Mexican army and police have lengthy been accused of committing extrajudicial killings – and even of collaborating with the cartels.
“We’re not searching for extrajudicial killings, as occurred earlier than,” Sheinbaum mentioned. “What are we going to make use of? Prevention, consideration to the causes, intelligence and (enforcement) presence.”
Lopez Obrador, Sheinbaum’s political mentor, was criticized for his “hugs, not bullets” method to tackling crime – one thing Sheinbaum himself was accused of embracing throughout his marketing campaign.
Mexican Safety Minister Says Beheaded Mayor Did not Ask for Safety | Crime information
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