Arrests As Mayor Shot Dead After Swearing In

  

Gisela Mota

Gisela Mota had vowed to clean up her city's crime problem but was murdered the day after she took office in Temixco.

Three people, including a child, have been arrested after a woman was shot dead just hours after being sworn in as mayor of a gang-troubled Mexican city.

Gisela Mota, a 33-year-old federal congresswoman, took office as mayor of Temixco on New Year's Day.

But the following morning, she was assassinated in her home, according to the Morelos State Public Security Commission.

Governor Graco Ramirez blamed organised crime gangs for the killing, adding that he had ordered security measures for all of the state's mayors.

Ramon Castro, a Roman Catholic bishop who celebrated Mass at Ms Mota's home on Sunday, said one "theory" for her murder "could be that it was a warning to other mayors: if you don't co-operate with organised crime, look what will happen to you".

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   Gallery: Mayor Gunned Down A Day After Being Sworn In
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   Gallery: Mayor Gunned Down A Day After Being Sworn In

Temixco, with a population of 100,000 people, once drew tourists to its pretty colonial centre, gardens and jacaranda-decked streets.
But it is also on Mexico's main drug route between Mexico City (55 miles away) and the country's murder capital of Acapulco and has been plagued by extortion gangs and drug cartels - problems Ms Mota had vowed to clean up.
Ms Mota's centre-left Democratic Revolution Party described her as "a strong and brave woman who, on taking office as mayor, declared that her fight against crime would be frontal and direct".
After her murder, two suspects were killed in fighting with police and three others - a 32-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man and a minor - were arrested.
In December 2014, a state politician and mayoral candidate was kidnapped in Temixco but later rescued.
Seven people, including the 24-year-old son of poet Javier Sicilia, were found dead in the city in March 2011 after reportedly getting into an argument with men who turned out to be from one of the drug cartels.
The Association of Local Authorities of Mexico, which represents the country's mayors, said nearly 100 mayors have been killed across Mexico over the past decade, "principally at the hands of organised crime".