18 people killed in Mexico attack

Gunmen killed the mayor and 17 others in a small town in southern Mexico. The attack took place on Wednesday (local time) in San Miguel Totolapan, as confirmed in the evening by the Attorney General of the State of Guerrero, Sandra Valdovino, on the television station Milenio. Local crime syndicate Los Tequileros was likely behind the attack, as several newspapers reported. The background to the crime initially remained murky.

In a video posted on social media, alleged members of the group claimed to have returned to the city of 24,000 to conduct their criminal business. After the crime, the attackers blocked the access roads to the city hall with buses and trucks for hours to prevent the passage of security forces. The facade of the town hall had several bullet holes.

Among the victims were the mayor’s father, two bodyguards and the director of the municipal police. “The cruel attacks on the mayor and city council officials will not go unpunished,” Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado wrote on Twitter.

Mexico is experiencing a spiral of violence. Drug cartels and other criminal groups are numerous, often linked to corrupt politicians and security forces, and vie for control of territory. Last year, an average of 94 murders were recorded per day in the US country of about 126 million people.