The Mayor Of Mexico Left The City Alone Before He Died With A Head Cut Off

Mayor Alejandro Arcos. (Instagram/alejandro_arcos_calatan)

JAKARTA - The mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of Mexico's violent Gu Way state, went alone to a meeting outside the city before he was killed, Mexico's security minister said on Tuesday.

Mayor Alejandro Arcos, of Mexico's main opposition alliance, had just served six days before being found dead in a pathetic condition.

Photos circulating on Sunday via WhatsApp and in Mexican media, depicting the head cut off over a pick-up truck, which appears to be the head of Arcos.

Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said at a press conference an investigation had determined the late Mayor Arcos was leaving Chilpancingo in his pickup truck without a driver or escort heading to Petaquillas City.

Minister Harfuch explained that the Mayor of Arcos did not ask for security protection from the federal government.

"We knew he would attend a certain meeting, that he was not accompanied by someone. Communication was cut off in a community, and hours later the mayor's body was found," Minister Harfuch said.

When asked by a reporter who met Arcos, Minister Harfuch refused to give details, and said that this was an open investigation.

"There is a lot of information about this that we must protect for the sake of the investigation," said Minister Harfuch.

The Mexican newspaper Reforma, citing federal government sources, reported that the Mayor of Arcos had met with members of Los Ardillos, an active criminal group in Gu jurisprudence State, hours before his death.

This horrific act comes just days before new President Claudia Sheinbaum launched a security strategy aimed at fighting crime with violence.

Arcos' funeral was held on Monday, with mourners lined up on the streets and throwing rose petals as his coffin was paraded around the city.

Similar horrific killings involving deletion of the head have hit Gu knowledge, including Chilpancingo, in the past as a way that cartel members use to send threatening and control messages.

Recently in 2023, violence from warring gang factions paralyzed public transport and