A Mexican mayoral candidate kidnapped while attending a weekend funeral was found shot to death on Monday.
 

Ricardo Reyes Zalmudio had been campaigning to be president of the San Dimas municipality in northwest Mexico. His body was found near Tayoltita, the municipality’s main city, the BBC reported.

Durango state, where Zalmudio was abducted, has been seriously affected by the drug violence that has damaged Mexico in recent years. Officials believe organized crime was involved in his killing.

Organized crime in Durango is believed to be dominated by the Sinaloa cartel. Several candidates have been killed in different parts of Mexico in the run-up to July 7 elections.

Last week, the leader of the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party in Oaxaca, was found dead last week with gunshot wounds.
 

Two candidates in Sinaloa state, which borders Durango, dropped out of the election after a member of their coalition was killed.