Gunmen Dismember Political Candidate, Wife in Mexican Beach-Resort Town

A group of gunmen abducted, killed, and then dismembered a political candidate and his wife. The gunmen left their remains in the bed of a pickup on a busy street in the popular beach resort town of Acapulco, Guerrero. Mexico has experienced one of the bloodiest-ever political seasons, with more than 30 politicians being murdered so far.

The gruesome killing took place this week in Acapulco, where authorities responded to the Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez neighborhood regarding human remains in a vehicle. Authorities cordoned off the area as they collected the dismembered human remains.

Mexico’s El Diario reported that the two bodies belonged to Anibal Zuniga Cortez and his wife, Rubi Bravo. Zuniga was a city council candidate for the town of Coyuca de Benitez. He was a candidate for an alliance of opposition parties made up of PAN-PRI and PRD, which joined forces nationwide to take on Mexico’s ruling party Morena.

Earlier in the day, authorities responded to a similar incident where gunmen dumped the remains of four individuals in the middle of the street. That incident took place in the Renacimiento neighborhood, Lopez Doriga Digital reported. Just a few meters away from the bodies, authorities found a small truck that had been set on fire. It is believed that the gunmen used that truck to move the human remains and then set it on fire. The violence in Acapulco comes at a time when various drug cartels continue to wage fierce turf wars for control of lucrative drug routes into Mexico, as well as control of drug production areas.

The NGO Laboratorio Electoral has recorded 70 murders tied to political campaigns, including candidates and campaign workers, since the start of the electoral cycle on June 2023. So far this political season, there have been 33 candidates killed, as well as multiple kidnappings, attacks, and acts of intimidation.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.