Four municipal police officers, including the subdirector of security for Igualapa, were shot dead on Friday when their official truck was ambushed on the Acapulco–Pinotepa Nacional highway in Guerrero’s Costa Chica region, according to state authorities. The officers had just left a regional security meeting. Guerrero’s deputy secretary of political development said the attack may have been aimed at Mayor Alfredo González Nicolás, who was elsewhere in the municipality and was not injured. Hours earlier in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, motorcycle-borne gunmen killed Humberto Piza Pérez, secretary of Section 19 of the Public Servants Union that represents municipal sanitation workers. The Guerrero Attorney-General’s Office opened separate investigations into both shootings, and security forces from the navy, National Guard and state police were deployed to secure the crime scenes. The twin attacks underscore persistent violence against local officials in southern Mexico. On 15 June, Lilia Gema García Soto, mayor of San Mateo Piñas in neighbouring Oaxaca state, was shot dead inside her office after armed men stormed the municipal building, leaving another official dead and two police officers wounded. Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara has vowed to prevent impunity, while Guerrero authorities say they are pursuing those responsible for Friday’s killings.