Prosecutors in southern Mexico announced on Wednesday that a mayoral candidate was tragically killed in the state of Guerrero, one of several local politicians who have been murdered this year leading up to the national elections on June 2.
Tomás Morales had aspirations of becoming the mayor of the violence-stricken city of Chilapa, Guerrero.
Although the ruling Morena party had not officially declared Morales as their candidate, he was seen as a strong contender in the race.
State prosecutors reported that Morales was fatally shot by a gunman outside his home in Chilapa on Tuesday night. For over ten years, Chilapa has been plagued by violent clashes between drug gangs.
Earlier in the month, another mayoral candidate, Alfredo González, was also shot to death in the town of Atoyac, Guerrero.
In late February, two mayoral hopefuls in Maravatío, Michoacán, were gunned down within hours of each other. One of them, like Morales, was a member of the Morena party, while the other belonged to the National Action Party. A third candidate from the same town was abducted and found dead in November.
On February 10, a congressional candidate from the Morena party in Ecatepec, near Mexico City, was fatally shot on the street alongside his brother. He had reportedly been receiving threats from a local union.
A month earlier, on January 5, the local leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party and a mayoral candidate in Suchiate, Chiapas, was also killed. On the same day, a mayoral candidate from the Citizen Movement party in Armeria, Colima, was shot by gunmen while in his vehicle.
Mexico’s drug cartels often target mayors and mayoral candidates in order to gain control over local police forces or extort money from municipal governments.
Guerrero, where Morales was killed, is known for being one of the most violent and impoverished states in the country. The region has been plagued by clashes between criminal groups involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping, and extortion.
Last month, investigators in Guerrero confirmed the contents of a gruesome drug cartel video showing gunmen brutally attacking their enemies. In January, a cartel attack in Guerrero resulted in the deaths of at least six people and injuries to 13 others.
The U.S. State Department advises Americans to avoid six states in Mexico, including Guerrero, due to high levels of crime and violence. The State Department warns that armed groups operate independently of the government in many areas of Guerrero.
Since the launch of a controversial anti-drug military campaign by former president Felipe Calderon in 2006, Mexico has recorded over 420,000 murders and tens of thousands of missing persons.
