Last Wednesday, I mentioned that Juan Hernández Fabián, the mayor of San Sebastián Huehuetenango, had been shot to death by unknown gunmen. On Friday, El Periodico reported that police investigators raised the possibility that political motivations might have been behind his murder.
Several political competitors were unhappy with community work carried out by the mayor's office. After the initial audit came back clean, they asked the authorities to audit the projects a second time. These political competitors had a meeting scheduled with other community members and auditors on the day that Mayor Hernández was killed. However, they cancelled the meeting earlier in the day giving rise to speculation that they knew something was in the works. I haven't found any additional details about the killings in any of the major media since earlier in the week so I don't really know if anything has changed.
According to UNE, Hernández had not reported any acts of intimidation. However, there authorities are most likely taking another look at his son's murder. His son was murdered in December 2009 while on vacation.
Since January 2008, fifteen crimes have been committed against mayors and other government employees.
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