A recently elected mayor is shot dead in southern Mexico

MEXICO CITY – A recently elected mayor was shot dead Monday in southern Mexico’s Guerrero state, local authorities said.

Salvador Villalva Flores was traveling on a bus when he was fatally shot in the head in the town of San Pedro las Playas, according to the Guerrero state prosecutor’s office. The beach town is nearly two hours up the coast from Copala, where Villalva was elected mayor on June 2.

No further details about the shooting were released. Guerrero is home to numerous criminal organizations fighting for control of the territory.

According to the human rights organization Data Civica, at least 34 political candidates were killed across Mexico in the run-up to and after the June 2 election.