No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsCrimeMexico mayor's killing a threat to others: governor

Mexico mayor’s killing a threat to others: governor

CUERNAVACA, Mexico — A central Mexico state took over police command in several towns on Sunday after a mayor was assassinated, a crime described as a gang threat to other mayors.

Governor Graco Ramírez ordered the State Security Commission to take charge charge of police in 15 municipalities of Morelos state, including the capital, Cuernavaca, and Temixco, where the slain mayor served.

Gisela Mota, 33, a left-of-center former member of Congress, was gunned down on Saturday, barely 24 hours after taking her oath of office in Temixco, which is about 90 kilometers south of Mexico City.

Two suspected gunmen were killed and three were detained, including a minor.

The state of Morelos has been plagued by drug cartel violence as well as kidnappings and extortion.

Mota had vowed to clean up crime when she took office. The governor said she had agreed to back a “single command” coordination scheme that groups state and municipal police.

Her murder “is a message and a clear threat for the mayors who recently took office to not accept the police coordination scheme that we have supported and that is being built at a national level,” Ramírez told a news conference.

Morelos has around 30 municipalities and about half have not ratified the single command.

The governor, who attended Mota’s funeral, declared three days of mourning in the state and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff.

Ramírez has clashed with the new mayor of Cuernavaca, former Mexico football star Cuauhtemoc Blanco, over the single command.

Blanco has decided to suspend the scheme, saying crime has risen despite its existence and proposing to beef up the municipal force instead.

Several mayors have been murdered in Mexico in recent years amid a bloody drug war that has cost tens of thousands of lives in the past decade.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Aims to Close Paternity Leave Gap with Bold New Proposal

A new bill in Costa Rica aims to give fathers in the private sector a full month of paid paternity leave, matching the benefit...

Celso Gamboa Allegedly Ran Drug Ring with Costa Rican Government Ties

Celso Gamboa, once Costa Rica’s Security Minister and a Supreme Court judge, now faces extradition to the U.S. for leading a major cocaine trafficking...

Costa Rica’s San Lucas Island Sees Kilos of Trash Removed in Cleanup

Twenty-five volunteers hauled 381 kilos of trash—mostly plastic bottles and tires—off Cocos Beach on Costa Rica’s San Lucas Island. The cleanup, set in the...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...

Costa Rica Joins U.S. Global Entry, Easing Travel for Tourists

Costa Rica took a big step forward, by officially joining the U.S. Global Entry program, a move set to make travel smoother for Costa...

2025 Gold Cup: Honduras Advances After Dramatic Shootout, Mexico Ends Goal Drought

Honduras, with a surprising and dramatic penalty shootout victory over Panama, and Mexico, with a lackluster win against Saudi Arabia, advanced Saturday to the...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica