Reports have emerged of two mayoral candidates being killed in Mexico on Friday, one in the northeast and the other in the south of the country.
Authorities have linked these incidents to a surge in political violence leading up to the upcoming June elections.
In Tamaulipas, located on Mexico’s northern border and plagued by organized crime, a manhunt has been launched for the assailant who fatally stabbed candidate Noe Ramos, as stated by state attorney general Irving Barrios.
According to local media, Ramos, a center-right candidate seeking reelection as the head of the municipality of Mante, was ambushed by a knife-wielding assailant while meeting with residents on the streets.
Ramos succumbed to his injuries, confirmed state security spokesman Jorge Cuellar in an interview with Milenio television.
Meanwhile, in Oaxaca, a southern state, another mayoral candidate named Alberto Antonio Garcia was discovered dead on Friday after being reported missing earlier in the week, as per the state prosecutor’s office.
The authorities had been searching for Garcia, a candidate representing the ruling Morena party, and his wife, Agar Cancino, the current mayor of San Jose Independencia, after they went missing on Wednesday.
Cancino was found alive on Friday, but tragically, Garcia had lost his life, revealed the prosecutor’s office.
Over the years, the escalating violence associated with organized crime has claimed the lives of many Mexican politicians across different political affiliations, particularly those holding or vying for regional positions.
Before the tragic demise of Ramos and Garcia, the consulting firm Integralia had reported that since the initiation of the electoral process for the June general elections on September 23, 15 candidates for regional positions had been assassinated.
Earlier this month, a mayoral candidate in Celaya, one of Mexico’s most perilous cities, was fatally shot in the street while engaging with supporters.
AFP