Mexico: 2 mayoral candidates killed, 17 slain in total [Video]

MEXICO CITY –

Two mayoral candidates in Mexico were found dead Friday, bringing to 17 the number of contenders slain in the lead-up to the June 2 election.

One candidate was killed Friday in the northern Mexico border state of Tamaulipas. Noe Ramos Ferretiz was running for a coalition of the opposition National Action Party and Institutional Revolutionary Party, which had governed Mexico until 2000. He was running for re-election as mayor of the city of Ciudad Mante.

Another mayoral candidate in the southern state of Oaxaca was found dead a day after he was reported missing. Alberto Garcia was running for mayor of the Oaxaca town of San Jose Independencia.

Oaxaca state prosecutors said Garcia was found dead, apparently beaten to death, on an island in a reservoir near the town. In the past, drug gangs have been active in the area.

The June 2 national elections that are shaping up to …