Mexican mayor shot dead within hours of taking office

Several gunmen burst into the home of a newly elected Mexican mayor and shot her dead on Saturday, just hours into her tenure, police said.

Gisela Mota, 33, a left-of-centre former member of Congress, was gunned down barely 24 hours after taking her oath of office in the city of Temixco, which is about 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the capital Mexico City.

Temixco is plagued by organised crime and rampant drug trafficking – problems the slain mayor had vowed to help clean up.

The government of central Morelos state said that two of the suspected gunmen had been killed and one was in custody.

Morelos has been one of the Mexican states most affected by drug violence plaguing the country, including kidnappings and murders.

More than 100,000 people have been killed or gone missing in a nearly a decade of drug violence nationwide.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December 2012, has pledged to reduce the murders, kidnappings and extortion haunting Mexicans.

- AFP