Armed men set fire to the Benemérito de las Américas mayor’s office in the Selva region, a few hours before Juan Gómez Morales, alias Juan Changarro, took office, which he is running for a second time, but this time for the Chiapas Unido party.
Authorities reported that on Sunday night, armed men aboard several trucks arrived at the mayor’s office to break down the doors of some offices, spray gasoline and set fire to furniture, electronic devices and documents that were in various areas of the building.
The men took their vehicles and immediately fled the scene, without the Municipal Police, Army and National Guard being able to stop them. Witnesses reported that the unknown men fled towards the border with Guatemala.
On May 3, Juan Changarro survived an ambush by an armed group, when he was returning from visiting a community on the border with Guatemala. During the attack, his son Jonathan Gómez Jerónimo, alias Jimmy, 25 years old, and the fifth councilman Mauro Hernández lost their lives, but another 18 people were injured.
The candidate had visited the community of Nuevo Veracruz, close to the border with Guatemala, but when the vehicles of his campaign team were heading towards the municipal capital, an armed group attacked them at around 5:00 p.m. on May 3.
This time, witnesses reported that they were afraid to approach to put out the flames in the presidency, because the armed men could appear.
The outgoing mayor Isaías Tomás Soriano Ramos, alias El Chayo, leaves office on September 30.
The municipality of Benemérito de las América was created on July 28, 1999, in the territory of the municipality of Ocosingo, then the largest in Mexico.
Source: eluniversal
