Two more candidates killed in Mexico in run-up to July 1 elections

Fernando Angeles Juarez, shot dead leaving his hotel Posada del Bosque in the state of Michoacan on Thursday morning, is the 121st candidate to be killed.

Two mayoral candidates in Mexico have been killed in less than 24 hours, bringing to at least 18 the number of candidates slain so far in campaigns leading up to the July 1 elections.

An independent mayoral candidate was gunned down in the conflict-ridden rural town of Aguililla in the western state of Michoacan on Wednesday. Michoacan Gov. Silvano Aureoles vowed to catch those responsible for killing candidate Omar Gomez Lucatero.

Aguililla is an extensive but sparsely populated mountain township where drug gangs and vigilantes have been active.

Fernando Angeles Juarez, the mayoral candidate for the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, was killed early Thursday in Ocampo, also in Michoacan.

The party said issued a statement saying that he was assassinated, and it called on the government to provide protection for people running for office.

Gomez was running as an independent candidate after he left the PRI. He became the mayor of Aguililla shortly afterward in 2014 when Jose Cruz Valencia was arrested and had to leave office

Angeles and Gomez are the latest victims of attacks against local politicians running for office in the upcoming elections. Similar attacks recently killed Alejandro Chavez Zavala, who was running for mayor of Taretan, and Miguel Amezcua Manzo, aspiring town councilor of Santiago Tangamandapio, both in Michoacan state.

Omar Gomez Lucatero was the 120th politician murdered in Mexico since September 2017. Photo | EFE

Chavez and his wife, Mary Dimas, were shot by an unknown assailant driving a black Ford Lobo while leaving the city following a campaign event. Alejandro's brother, Julio Chavez Zavala, took his place in the presidential race.

According to consulting firm Etellekt, there have been 121 murders and 400 attacks against politicians since September 2017. Out of the murdered, 29 were precandidates and 16 candidates, and 80 of them belonged to opposition parties. The rest were mayors, former mayors, militants, social leaders, councilors or representatives.

The same firm also recorded 351 murders against non-elected government officers.

Comments

Curfew imposed in wana after ‘Taliban’ attack PTM,s Leaders

10 PTM activists, including Wazir’s cousin, injured in the attack PakistanToday : At least 10 people were injured and two suspected Taliban militants were killed in an attack on activists of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), including Ali Wazir and his cousin, in Wana, leading to curfew being imposed in the area. The injured were shifted to Agency Headquarter Hospital Wana for medical treatment where they were declared to be out of danger. According to reports, differences between the two parties developed on Saturday when pro-government militant leader Ain Ullah Wazir forcefully snatched caps from PTM activists and set them on fire. Following the incident, Ali Wazir had condemned the act and called for a sit-in protest from Monday. The militants retaliated and attacked the Mirzalam Khan Wazir Market and the nearby petrol pump, owned by Ali Wazir. However, before the attack, they went to Ali Wazir’s home, armed with guns, and asked him to leave the area of quit PTM....

Russia's says Syria chemical weapons attack was free Plane

Monitor Desk: The U.S. has blood and urine samples from the area the U.S. has blood and urine samples from the area that have tested positive for chemical weapons, according to two American officials.at have tested positive for chemical weapons, according to two American officials. Russia said Friday it had “irrefutable” evidence that the deadly Syria chemical weapons attack that has prompted the U.S. to consider airstrikes was fabricated. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference that there was a “very alarming atmosphere” over the issue and likened plans for a military response to failed action in Libya. “God forbid any other military gambles will be taken in Syria,” he said. Related Lavrov cited "irrefutable data that [this] was yet another staged event and staging was done … by the special services of one of the countries at the forefront of the anti-Russia campaign." His comments come after President Donald Trump called last Saturday’s attack...

China finds no radiation issues after North Korea bomb test

A North Korean state handout shows Kim Jong-un in a test facility China has concluded that radiation levels remain normal in the provinces near the North Korean border after the reclusive state conducted a powerful nuclear test last week, sparking concerns of residual environmental damage. China's Ministry of Environmental Protection announced last night it was ending its emergency radiation monitoring in response to the blast last week, which North Korea claimed was the successful detonation of a hydrogen bomb. "A comprehensive assessment has concluded that this DPRK nuclear test has caused no environmental impact on China," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website, using the initials of the North's official name. "After eight days of continuous monitoring, no abnormal results were shown." More than 1,000 aerosol, air, iodine, water and sediment samples were taken at monitoring stations in northeast Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaon...

Diplomatic Cross

Search This Blog