Leftist leader, relatives slain in southern Mexico

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico – A regional leftist leader was killed and burned along with his wife, 94-year-old mother-in-law and driver, officials in southern Mexico said Sunday.

Guerrero state security official Roberto Alvarez Heredia said Sunday the deaths of 50-year-old Ranferi Hernandez Acevedo and those with him have been “totally confirmed.”

The bodies were found Saturday night along a road in the township of Ahuacuotzingo in a desperately impoverished part of Guerrero disputed by drug gangs. Officials had no immediate suspects.

Hernandez Acevedo was a founding member of Mexico’s main leftist party, Democratic Revolution, and had been the party’s leader for the state. While serving as a state legislator, he fled into exile for a time after clashing with a governor.

Hernandez Acevedo, who also led an independent leftist movement, broke away from Democratic Revolution in 2015 and has been a key supporter of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has led many early presidential polls ahead of the 2018 presidential election.