by Allanah Leahy – EM TV International, Port Moresby
The late Gisela Mota had only been Mayor of Mexico’s city of Temixco less than a day before she was killed by four gunmen in her home on Saturday morning.
In the wake of her death, the governor of Morelos, the state containing Temixco, gained control of police stations in over 15 towns.
Gisela Mota’s death is not uncommon news to Mexicans.
The country has seen over 100 deaths of mayors of Mexico’s towns and cities in the past 10 years.
Governor Ramirez, on Twitter, blamed Mota’s death on the Rojos gang, saying it is a warning to officials who have been pushing for a crackdown on local police forces.
“This incident, which took place in Temixco, is a message and a clear threat to the mayors who have recently taken office to not accept the police coordination scheme that we have supported and that is being built at a national level,” said the governor.
Mota had previously accepted Governor Ramirez’s plan to unite police forces under a single command.
According to reports, intruders had entered Mota’s home and tied her up and beat her, before shooting her in the head.
Morelos Governor Graco Ramirez took rapid action in the wake of death, which he blamed on drug cartels, financed by the drugs trade and sources of fear and unlawful control in many of Mexico’s local communities.
“Exercising the powers vested in me by Article 115 of the seventh Section of the Constitution of Mexico, I have decided to issue several decrees to maintain order and the operational coordination of police in 15 municipalities,” he said.
According to local reports, Mota’s group of killers was paid around K90,000 to do the assassination.
