Mexico: Ex-Mayor Murdered in National Wave of Violence

By teleSUR

04 January 18

Over eight politicians have died over the last week as Mexican police struggle to control the wave of violence.

exican police report that the murders of former Mixquiahuala Mayor Miguel Angel Licona and his son on Wednesday were not connected to any political issues.

Authorities were notified of the gruesome double homicide after an anonymous caller tipped police off to a disturbance in the victims’ home in the state of Hidalgo. Investigators have ruled out any political connections to the deaths and are continuing various lines of inquiry.

The deaths of the 72-year-old politician and his 39-year-old son come at a time of extreme violence against politicians as the murders added to a list of eight other politicians killed over the past week in a rising trend of violence across the nation.

The level of violence propelled against politicians has grown at an alarming rate in past months, targeting congressmen, candidates and former governors, among others.

Most recently, Democratic Revolution Party member Sabino Mejia Rodriguez, who worked as the director of Civil Protection of Santiago Ixcuintla in Nayarit, was reportedly shot in his home on Tuesday night. Another incident involved the death of a deputy who was gunned down in Jalisco, a state infamous for its rising gang and drug-related violence.

The upcoming elections provide an additional layer of tension with 3,407 public offices are up for renewal and over 600 candidates rallying for federal positions ahead of Mexico’s July presidential elections.

Recent reports from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System show that the past 12 months have been the most violent in the past two decades, with an overwhelming 23,101 homicides transpiring from January to November.