Mexican mayor murdered days after starting job

Mexican mayor murdered days after starting job

Alejandro Arcos speaks to a crowd in a picture posted on Facebook on Sunday, hours before his murder

The mayor of a Mexican city plagued by drug violence has been murdered less than a week after taking office.

Alejandro Arcos was found dead on Sunday in Chilpancingo, a city of around 280,000 people in the southwestern state of Guerrero. He had been mayor for six days.

Evelyn Salgado, the state governor, said the city was in mourning over a murder that "fills us with indignation". His death came three days after the city government's new secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot dead.

Authorities have not released details of the investigation, or suspects. However, Guerrero is one of the worst-affected states for drug violence and drug cartels have murdered dozens of politicians across the country.

Authorities confirmed Arcos's murder after unverified social media images showed what appeared to be his remains.

Arcos's social media posts show that he had spent his days in office supervising disaster relief efforts following Hurricane John last month, which caused severe flooding.

Pictures were posted to his Facebook account in the hours before his death of meetings with relief workers and residents.