Mexico City, Mexico – A mayor from Mexico’s Guerrero state, who was beheaded by a local drug gang on October 6, was allegedly killed for refusing to include gang members in his cabinet – which was said to have already been infiltrated by the criminal group – according to state authorities.
News of the assassination of Mayor Alejandro Arcos Catalán was reported just six days after he was sworn in as mayor of Chilpancingo, the state capital, following a string of assassinations of close officials of his all-too-brief administration.
Read more: Brutal beheading of Mexican mayor highlights cartels’ brazenness to control politicians
On November 12, the Guerrero Prosecutor’s Office reported the arrest of Germán Reyes Reyes, a former soldier who served as the current chief of security in Chilpancingo, for allegedly ordering the kidnapping and killing of Catalan.
While Reyes has denied his involvement in Catalan’s brutal murder, the prosecution has reported that Reyes is part of a local criminal gang known as “Los Ardillos” and ordered Catalan’s beheading after the mayor refused to include more Ardillos in the government. his. .
The case against Reyes
During his first hearing on November 12, reporters present in the courtroom reported that the charges against Reyes were based on a single witness who reported overhearing a conversation between gang members discussing the kidnapping and killing of Catalan.
Cándido Pila Domitilo, a local merchant, was reportedly kidnapped by gang members on October 27. During his kidnapping, Domitilo stated that he had heard that Reyes had ordered the killing of Catalan because he refused to obey Ardillo’s order to give government positions to gang members.
While the criminals released Domitilo that same day, the 45-year-old immediately ran to the Chilpancingo police department, where he reported his abduction and the conversation he overheard.
Domitilo’s testimony is the only evidence presented by the prosecution linking Reyes to the murder and the Ardillos criminal group. However, this key witness was found dead on November 6 after neighbors complained of a foul smell coming from his apartment.
Although Reyes pleads not guilty, the Prosecutor’s Office has placed him in custody, while the district judge has set November 18 as the date when it will be verified whether Reyes will be investigated for the murder.
Guerrero, a coastal state based in eastern Mexico, is a focal point of the country’s political violence, where criminal groups, emboldened by staggering impunity, are relentlessly seeking to control the state government through violence or corruption.
