( CNN ) -- The mayor of a small town in the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico was found shot dead Tuesday , apparently among the latest victims in the fight against organized crime in the region . Hector Ariel Meixueiro Munoz , 53 , was mayor of Namiquipa , a small town in the state of Chihuahua . The body of Hector Ariel Meixueiro Munoz , 53 , mayor of Namiquipa , was found inside his SUV on the side of a road on the outskirts of the rural town of 20,000 , said Eduardo Esparza , spokesman for the attorney general in the state of Chihuahua . `` He was on his way to work in the morning , '' said Esparza . `` We are still trying to confirm if there was a police escort with him at the time . '' The incident has put other officials in the region on alert . Ciudad Juarez Mayor Jose Reyes Ferriz told CNN during a phone interview that death threats are common in his town on the other side of the Rio Grande from El Paso , Texas . `` It 's very sad , '' he said . `` This mayor was fighting crime , he had received several threats , but he was brave . Several of the mayors have received threats and we take them seriously . '' Reyes Ferriz said the mayors of the state 's large cities have the resources to take sufficient precautions , but for the mayors of smaller towns like Namiquipa , such security is a luxury they often can not afford . The mayor of Juarez and his family are protected by a 24-hour security detail and are driven in bulletproof vehicles . `` Sadly , this has become part of the process in the fight to regain security in the cities , '' Reyes Ferriz said . Asked whether he feared for his life or those of his family , he would not say . `` All the fears of a public servant are private , '' he answered .
Reyes Ferriz , Tuesday , was mayor of Mexico in northern Chihuahua . Fellow mayor : He `` was fighting crime , he had received several threats '' Unlike mayors of bigger cities , mayors of smaller towns often ca n't afford security . The incident has put other officials state of Namiquipa on alert .