The mayor was reportedly beheaded days after taking office in Mexico amid widespread violence

The mayor of a city in southern Mexico was killed less than a week after taking office, authorities said Sunday, in the latest attack on politicians in the violence-hit Latin American country.

The killing of Chilpancingo mayor Alejandro Arcos “makes us angry,” Guerrero state governor Evelyn Salgado said on social media, without giving further details on the circumstances.

Local media reported that Arcos was beheaded, but there has been no official confirmation.

Reuters reported that images circulating on WhatsApp showed a severed head on top of what appeared to be Arcos’ car, but the news organization could not independently confirm the authenticity of the images.

Arcos was elected in June representing an opposition coalition that included the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which condemned his killing as a “cowardly crime” and called for justice.

“Enough of violence and impunity! The people of Guerrero do not deserve to live in fear,” said X.

His killing came days after another city official, Francisco Tapia, was killed, according to PRI president Alejandro Moreno.

“They were in office for less than a week. Young and honest officials who wanted progress for their community,” Moreno told X.

Guerrero, one of Mexico’s poorest states, has endured years of violence related to stone wars between gangs fighting to control drug production and human trafficking.

Last year, 1,890 murders were recorded in the state, which is home to a city by the sea. Acapulcothe playground of the rich and famous is now plagued by crime. Guerrero is among six states in Mexico that the US State Department is advising Americans to avoid altogether, citing crime and violence.

Across Mexico, more than 450,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced in the violence since the government sent in troops to fight drug trafficking in 2006.

Politicians, especially at the local level, always become a victim of bloodshed related to corruption and the multi-billion dollar drug trade.

Dealing with the violence that makes murders and kidnappings a daily occurrence in Mexico is among the biggest challenges it faces. Claudia Sheinbaum, The first female president of Mexico.

Sheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City who was sworn in on October 1, has pledged to stick to his predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s “hugs, not bullets” strategy of using social policy to fight crime at its roots.

He has to present his security plan on Tuesday.

At least 24 politicians were killed during the violent polls leading up to the June election in which the main ruling party won by a landslide, according to official figures.

In June, at least three politicians were killed in Guerrero. Acacio Floresrepresentative of Malinaltepec, was killed a few days after the incident the killing of Salvador Villalba Floresanother mayor of Guerrero district elected on June 2. Earlier in the month, the area a female councillor he was shot while leaving his home in Guerrero.

His killing happened a few days after the mayor of the city in western Mexico and his bodyguards killed outside the gymhours after Sheinbaum won the presidency.