Puebla governor cites security risks in interim mayor selections
El Diario de Chihuahua reported that Puebla Gov. Alejandro Armenta said women should not be appointed to interim posts in communities facing organized crime. The report said seven mayors have been detained during his first two years in office and another is a fugitive, while allegations against officials include corruption, criminal association and weapons-related offenses. Armenta also defended deleting a video after apologizing for comparing local potholes with damage from the Israel-Palestine war.
Puebla Gov. Alejandro Armenta says women should not be sent to municipalities facing organized crime
According to El Diario de Chihuahua, Puebla Gov. Alejandro Armenta said women should not be appointed to interim municipal posts in Acatlán, Esperanza and Tepeyahualco because the communities face criminal groups. Armenta was discussing Congress’s decision to select men with prior municipal experience after the mayors of those towns were detained over alleged links to criminal organizations. He described sending a woman to Tepeyahualco or Esperanza as a risk, citing vehicle theft and dismantling operations and the presence of Los Rojos, which the report described as operating between Oaxaca and Puebla.
The newspaper reported that seven mayors have been detained during Armenta’s first two years in office and that another mayor is a fugitive. The cases include three brothers who served as mayors in Ciudad Serdán, Tlachichuca and San Nicolás Buenos Aires, as well as mayors from Esperanza, Cuautempan, San Juan Tianguismanalco and Tepeyahualco. The report said the officials faced allegations including concealment, corruption, health-related crimes, criminal association, weapons possession and possession of ammunition reserved for the armed forces. These remain allegations or prosecution claims, not findings of guilt.
El Diario de Chihuahua also reported that Armenta defended deleting a video in which he apologized for comparing potholes in San Salvador Huixcolotla with damage caused by the Israel-Palestine war. He said he had not mocked the situation, while acknowledging in the deleted video that the comparison was an error and apologizing to the people of Palestine.