A new mayor takes office in southern Mexico after his predecessor was beheaded

Associated Press

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico (AP) — A new mayor has been sworn in a city in southern Mexico where his predecessor was killed and beheaded less than a week after taking office. Gustavo Alarcón, a doctor, had been elected as an alternate on the same ticket as Alejandro Arcos in elections in June. Arcos took office on Oct. 1 in the violence-wracked city of Chilpancingo, the capital of the southern state of Guerrero. But his beheaded body was found Sunday. Alarcón took the oath of office with a minimal security detail of a handful of police officers Thursday.  Two rival drug gangs are fighting to control the city.