By In a tragic incident that underscores the ongoing violence against politicians in Mexico, Salvador Villalba Flores, the mayor-elect of Copala, a small municipality near the crime-ridden resort city of Acapulco, was assassinated early Monday. Local prosecutors confirmed that Villalba was shot dead while traveling on a highway, making him the latest victim in a series of attacks targeting politicians in the country.
Villalba, a retired Navy captain, was set to take office in October in Copala, a town of approximately 4,000 residents located about 80 miles southeast of Acapulco. Prosecutors in Guerrero state have launched an investigation into the murder but have not provided further details.
According to local newspaper El Sur de Guerrero, Villalba was usually protected by National Guard escorts but was traveling alone to Mexico City when he was killed. The outlet reported that the mayor-elect was “taken off the bus he was traveling on when it stopped near San Pedro las Playas” and shot.
Local media also revealed that Villalba had decided to run for mayor after his friend, a candidate, was murdered in June 2023, highlighting the ongoing violence against political figures in the region.
Villalba’s assassination comes in the wake of Mexico’s general election on June 2, which saw leftist Claudia Sheinbaum elected as the country’s first woman president by an overwhelming majority. The election also included votes for members of Congress, several state governors, and numerous local officials, totaling more than 20,000 positions.
Since the beginning of Mexico’s campaign season last September, more than two dozen political candidates have been killed, according to Data Civica, a non-governmental organization. Earlier this month, a local councilwoman in Guerrero was gunned down as she was leaving her home, just days after the mayor of a town in western Mexico and her bodyguard were killed outside a gym, mere hours after Sheinbaum’s presidential victory.
Acapulco, once a popular destination for the rich and famous, has lost its appeal in recent years as foreign tourists have been deterred by the bloodshed that has made it one of the world’s most violent cities. In June alone, five people were killed in an armed attack in Acapulco, just three days after 10 other bodies were found in the resort city.
Guerrero, one of the states most affected by drug cartel violence due to its location along Mexico’s Pacific coast, recorded 1,890 murders in 2023. The ongoing violence in the region is part of a larger crisis in Mexico, where more than 450,000 people have been murdered, and thousands have gone missing since the government deployed the army to combat drug trafficking in 2006.
The assassination of Salvador Villalba Flores serves as a grim reminder of the dangers faced by politicians and public servants in Mexico, and the urgent need to address the pervasive violence that continues to plague the country.
