CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, (Reuters) – Suspected drug  gang members killed the mayor of a ranching town in northern  Mexico yesterday in a revenge attack for a mass arrest of  hitmen that already sparked the murder of an American Mormon.

Gunmen shot dead Hector Meixueiro in his SUV as he drove to  work in Namiquipa, Chihuahua state, in the latest brazen  killing to challenge President Felipe Calderon’s army-led  clampdown on drug cartel violence.  The killing came the same day that drug gangs hung banners  in the nearby border city of Ciudad Juarez blaming Meixueiro  and the state attorney general for the arrest of 25 cartel  hitmen last month.

Breakaway Mormon leader and anti-crime activist Benjamin  LeBaron was murdered last week in Chihuahua for his alleged  part in capturing the criminals, generating a wave of outrage  among his Mexican-American community.
Last year, drug gangs killed the town treasurer in  Namiquipa and kidnapped its police chief, who is still missing.  Local media said the pair were targeted as revenge for other  drug gang arrests in the area.