Eduardo Catarino Dircio, a lawyer representing the left-wing Morena party, allegedly has been murdered by police, the party reported, bringing the death toll of people from the party to 17.

Eduardo Catarino Dircio was shot and killed in Tixtla, in the violence-ridden state of Guerrero. Catarino was a lawyer for Morena, the up-and-coming progressive party headed by one of Mexico’s most well-known politicians, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is currently president.

The party stated that Catarino had taken shelter inside his home with his family after a shooting took place on the street when state police forces entered his home and executed him in front of his wife and children, placing an AK-47 rifle next to him.

«These acts of violence are part of the terror strategy of local and federal governments to intimidate Morena’s progress in the different states ahead of the federal election of 2018. We will not be intimidated and persist in our peaceful struggle,» the party stated.

Source: Telesur