Mexico authorities find 11 bodies in violent Guerrero state, investigating as homicides

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Authorities in Guerrero, one of Mexico’s most violent states, said Thursday they found the remains of 11 people in the capital Chilpancingo, marking what appears to be another grisly homicide weeks after the city’s mayor was murdered and decapitated.

The bodies were nine men and two women, with two minors among the dead, and their identities were still unknown, the office of Guerrero’s attorney general said in a statement.

A citizen had reported an abandoned van to authorities on Wednesday night, leading them to find the bodies. The killings were being investigated as homicides, the statement said.

In October, the mayor of Chilpancingo, 43-year-old Alejandro Arcos, was killed six days after taking office. Photos depicting his decapitated head on the roof of his pick-up trick circulated in local media and on Whatsapp, shocking the country and presenting one of the first major challenges to new President Claudia Sheinbaum’s pledge to reduce violent crime.

Sheinbaum, who presented her security plan days after Arcos’ killing, said she will continue to offer social support for young people as alternatives to organized crime, an approach also used by her mentor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. She also aims to improve intelligence sharing and coordination among government organizations and a beefed-up National Guard.

There have been 2,638 homicides in Mexico since Sheinbaum was sworn into office on October 1, according to pollster TResearch’s analysis of government data.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz, writing by Cassandra Garrison, Editing by William Maclean)