Macabre discovery of the corpse of the mayor of Veracruz: she was kidnapped and murdered | the Chronicle

The corpse of Florisel Rios, the mayor of the Mexican municipality of Jamapa in Veracruz, kidnapped and allegedly murdered by a criminal group, was found on Wednesday, the government of this violent state in eastern Mexico said.

“We have received the sad news, confirmed, of the murder of the mayor of the commune of Jamapa”said the governor of Veracruz, Cuitláhuac García, in a video posted on social networks.

Ríos was kidnapped by a commando, who then left her remains in the community of Ixcoalco, in the municipality of Medellín de Bravo. The agency reported that “he deployed operational actions in the commune of Jamapa and its surroundings” for the crime of Ríos, according to a statement.

The official’s body was found in a location in the Gulf of Mexico coastal area that police are currently monitoring by air and land, the secretariat added.

Ríos became mayor of Jamapa in 2018 as a candidate for an alliance between the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the Left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). His term ended in 2021.

García recalled that in 2019 another mayor of the opposition, Maricela Vallejo, from the municipality of Mixtla de Altamirano, she was murdered with her husband in the central area of ​​Veracruz.

“We will find those responsible”said the governor of Veracruz, the scene of increasing violence due to conflicts between the Jalisco Nueva Generación and Los Zetas cartel cells.

Since December 2006, when the government of the day launched a military anti-drug operation, until last August, more than 296,000 murders have been recorded in Mexico, according to official figures.

The authorities do not specify how many of these deaths are linked to the fight of criminal gangs. The murder of Flores reflects the context of Mexico, sixth most violent country in the world with 29.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, as indicated in a report by the organization Impunidad Cero published the day before.

Mexico broke its all-time high in 2019 with more than 34,608 intentional homicides, in addition to 1,012 victims of femicide, murders of women due to gender-based or gender-based violence.

Politicians have not been exempt from such violence, since during the 2018 electoral process there were 774 attacks against politicians and 429 against unelected officials, according to a report by the Senate Institute Belisario Domínguez.

“Among these events, 152 politicians were killed, of which 48 (were) pre-candidates and candidates for elected office. In addition to the 371 officials murdered.”, the detailed report.