GRAPHIC: Gunmen Behead Mexican Mayor Six Days After Sworn In

Despite numerous claims by Mexico’s government about a decrease in crime, a group of gunmen beheaded the mayor of the capital city of Guerrero just six days after he took office. The killing sparked much outrage by politicians at the national level since the murder victim hails from one of the parties opposed to Mexico’s ruling party, Morena.

The killing took place on Sunday afternoon when a group of gunmen left the body of Alejandro Arcos Catalan, the new Mayor of Chilpancingo, Guerrero. The gunmen had left his headless body inside a vehicle and his head on top of the vehicle’s roof.

Arcos Catalan’s killing comes just three days after gunmen murdered Chilpancingo’s City Secretary, Francisco Tapia, in a separate attack that has sparked much concern in the city.

The state’s governor, Evelyn Salgado, expressed her outrage at the killing and claimed to have ordered an in-depth investigation. Salgado’s comments appear ironic since she has spent much of her administration claiming that public safety has improved under her administration and the rule of the Morena Party.

The killing is expected to turn into a political firestorm for Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum since Arcos Catalan was from an opposition party and had won against a member of the Morena party.

Alejandro Moreno, the leader of the opposition party PRI, quickly took to social media to call for federal authorities to investigate the case, claiming that Guerrero State has been unable to deal with the ongoing security crisis.

Marko Cortes, the leader of another opposition party, PAN, also took to social media to condemn the murder and claim that the security strategy implemented by the Morena Party was not yielding results. As Breitbart Texas has reported, members of the Morena Party have pushed a strategy dubbed “Hugs, not Bullets” (Abrazos no Balazos) that focuses on social programs rather than on police and military operations against cartels.

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.