Mexican Mayor Stoned to Death

The bodies of the mayor of Tancitaro, Mexico, and an his aide were found Monday after both were stoned to death—the fifth city official to be killed in Mexico since mid-August. The bodies of Mayor Gustavo Sanchez and city adviser Rafael Equihua were discovered in an abandoned pickup truck near the city of Uruapan, and the attorney general said they were investigating possible motives. Tancitaro is home to only 26,000 people, but soldiers have destroyed more than 20 methamphetamine labs in the past year and several police officers have been killed by suspected gang members. The city council chief, Gonzalo Paz, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed last year, and in December 2009, the mayor and several other city officials resigned after being threatened. Also Monday, five gunmen and a marine were killed in a shootout in Coahuayana, a city on the Pacific coast.