Probe into Mexico mayor’s murder leads to mass grave
Mourners carry the coffin of slain mayor of Temixco, Gisela Mota, to the cemetery in Pueblo Viejo, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016. AP Photo
CUERNAVACA, Mexico—The investigation into the murder of a mayor in central Mexico has led police to a clandestine grave containing five other bodies, authorities said Tuesday.
The burial spot was found in the community of Alpuyeca following the killing of Temixco Mayor Gisela Mota, who was murdered on Saturday, just one day after taking office.
READ: Mexico mayor slain a day after taking office
“As a result of this regrettable event in Temixco, an investigative process was triggered that led us to make another discovery,” Matias Quiroz Medina, a senior Morelos state government official, told reporters.
Three people—a 32-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy—who were detained right after the mayor’s murder were formally charged with homicide on Tuesday. Two other suspects were killed in a shootout with police on Saturday.
Officials did not say whether the grave had any direct links to Mota’s murder.
Authorities suspect that the drug gang known as Los Rojos killed Mota, 33, because she backed a plan to place state and municipal police into a unified command structure.
The United Nations agencies for human and women’s rights condemned Mota’s killing, calling it a “grave crime” that also “disrupts the political rights of women” guaranteed by Mexico’s constitution.
READ: UN condemns Mexico mayor’s murder
In a joint statement, they urged the authorities to find the perpetrators, investigate the crime by taking the victim’s gender into account and make sure politicians, notably women, are protected.
While Mexico has made great strides toward equality between men and women in Congress, the participation of women in mayoral offices “is still insufficient,” the statement said.
The communique was signed by the Mexico branches of UN Women, which is dedicated to gender equality, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
