Gunmen killed a town mayor in southern Mexico on Wednesday, the local prosecutor said, taking the number of such officials murdered in the country since 2000 to 94.
Ruben de Jesus Valdez Diaz, mayor of Teopisca in Chiapas state, was attacked by shooters on a motorcycle while leaving his home by car, according to an official report.
According to local residents and reporters, an as yet unidentified armed group arrived in the town after the murder and started searching homes.
The killing came just two weeks after videos circulated on social media of another armed group, suspected of drug trafficking links, staking out the same town.
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The public prosecutor announced the opening of an investigation into the mayor’s death.
Etellekt consultancy wrote on Twitter that “17 mayors have been murdered” in Mexico since December 2018, when President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador took office.
Etellekt said there had been 94 murders of mayors since 2000.
Valdez had served as mayor of Teopisca since June 2021.
Cesar Valencia, mayor of Aguililla in western Michoacan state, was murdered in March.
Aguililla has been badly hit by drug-related violence.
AFP
