On Tuesday, January 11, Mayor Benjamin Lopez Palacios, of Xoxocotla, in Morelos, Mexico, was fatally shot in his residence. He had only been in office for 10 days.
A gang/criminal organization, that has not been identified, is said to have claimed responsibility for the assassination. They also said that more killings of people in political offices will occur.
Reports noted that three men went to the home to receive help for a fake project when they shot the mayor.
Lopez Palacios, who had taken office on January 1, died at the scene.
A motive is unknown at this time. However, the gang did name Governor Cuauhtemoc Blanco, of Morelos, for his supposed connection to criminal organizations. They hung a sign, outside of a cemetery, and called him out.
“…Keep playing around, and you’re gong to run out of mayors,” it read it Spanish.
In July 2020, a political official stepped down after fearing that the Blanco administration was making bad choices.
Last week, a leaked picture showed Blanco, a soccer star, as well, posing with three members of the cartel, in 2018. This was right after Blanco had won the gubernatorial election.
No one has been arrested in the matter.
