Mexico official arrested over election candidate murder

A Mexican official working in the Senate has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the murder of a mayoral candidate during a bloody election campaign last year, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Jose Manuel del Rio, technical secretary of a political coordination body, was detained in connection with the June 4 murder of Remigio Tovar, who was running for mayor in the eastern state of Veracruz.

Tovar was shot dead two days before the local and legislative polls -- one of dozens of politicians murdered during a violent election season.

His campaign manager, named by the authorities as Omar "N," was arrested for allegedly conspiring to kill the mayoral hopeful in order to take his place.

Running for office in the Latin American nation -- particularly at the local level -- can have deadly consequences due to violence linked to corruption and the multibillion-dollar narcotics trade.

Del Rio previously served two terms in the lower house of Congress and was also a local mayor in Veracruz, a flashpoint in turf wars between Mexico's rival drug cartels.

He is considered close to Ricardo Monreal, a ruling party senator seen as one of the potential contenders to succeed Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

In a video posted on social media, Monreal denounced the arrest as an "abuse of power" and defended Del Rio's "prestige and good reputation."

According to the consultancy firm Etellekt, 102 politicians were killed across Mexico in the months leading up to the June elections.