In a shockwave that ripped across Mexico, Alejandro Arcos, mayor of Chilpancingo, from the violence-plagued state of Guerrero, was murdered. Just six days after taking office, Arcos was found dead after driving alone to an out-of-town meeting, seriously raising concerns about safety in the region.
Photographs and videos spread through social media and Mexican news outlets showed the beheaded body with the head tossed atop a pickup truck, presumably Arcos. The brutal incident came days before President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a new strategy against violent crime.
In a news conference, Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch stated that Arcos had left the town of Chilpancingo in his pickup truck alone without a driver or escort, headed in the direction of the nearby town of Petaquillas. The mayor hadn’t requested protection from the federal government. “We know he attended a specific meeting, and communication was lost in a community. Hours later, the mayor’s body was found,” Garcia Harfuch said.
Pressed by reporters over the nature of the meeting with Arcos, he would only say he couldn’t reveal details while investigations were ongoing. But Mexican newspaper Reforma cited federal sources as saying that Arcos had met with members of the Los Ardillos criminal group shortly before his death.
Mourners on Monday lined Arcos’ funeral procession route, showering his cortege with rose petals. The region has seen its fair share of such atrocities, where decapitation has been used in threats by members of the cartel. Fears of violence are on the rise; schools have suspended classes following the murder of Arcos, as gang violence continues to cripple daily life here in Chilpancingo.
