Mexico: Mayor Assassinated In Town Hall Massacre

Gunmen have shot dead the mayor of a small town in western Mexico, and at least 17 others, officials say. Police say gunmen stormed the San Miguel Totolapan town hall at 14:00 (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday. Photos online show it riddled with bullet holes. Mayor Conrado Mendoza Almeda’s left-wing PRD party condemned

his “cowardly” assassination and demanded justice. The attack has been blamed on the Los Tequileros criminal gang, which is linked to a powerful drug cartel. Police officers and council workers were also killed in the massacre, with graphic images of bloodied bodies lying on the ground circulating on social media.

Townhall riddled with bullet holes

Mr Mendoza Almeda’s father, former mayor Juan Mendoza Acosta, was also killed in his home before the attack moved to the town hall. A highway in the state of Guerrero, where San Miguel Totolapan lies, was reportedly briefly blocked by large vehicles to prevent security forces from getting into the city. 

Various groups battle for control of the lucrative drug routes north along the Pacific corridor, our correspondent adds. In a preliminary report seen by local media, Guerrero’s attorney general said that as well as the 18 people who were killed, three others were wounded. Following the attack, the defence ministry said it was

deploying army and navy units to the area to find the gunmen. Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado Pineda tweeted to say she deeply regretted the deaths. Shortly before the attack, alleged members of Los Tequileros released a video on social networks announcing its return to the region, where they had been

fighting a rival drug gang. The criminal group devastated Guerrero between 2015 and 2017  and was known for threatening mayors of the region until its leader Raybel Jacobo de Almonte was assassinated. De Almonte was known as El Tequilero "the Tequila Drinker" and his gang took their name from him.