Entire Mexican Town's Police Force Arrested

A Mexican political candidate has been murdered, and those suspected of being involved include the town's entire local police force. Federal police officers arrested all 27 police officers in Ocampo, Michoacan state, early Sunday, along with Oscar Gonzalez Garcia, the town's public security secretary, the BBC reports. Their arrests follow the murder of 64-year-old mayoral candidate Fernando Angeles Suarez, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen Thursday. Suarez—a local businessman whose friends say he was running for office because he strongly opposed corruption—is among three political candidates killed in Michoacan and more than 120 killed across Mexico in the exceptionally violent run-up to the July 1 general elections.

Suarez "couldn't stand seeing so much poverty, inequality, and corruption and so he decided to run," one of his friends told local media. Telesur reports that that after Suarez and his wife were shot dead outside a hotel, federal police tried to arrest Garcia, the public security secretary, on Saturday, but were blocked by the 27 officers under his command. Federal police returned the next day with reinforcements to make the arrests. Few other arrests have been made in connection with the killing of other candidates. (More Mexico stories.)