Tancítaro is a municipality

Municipalities of Mexico

Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in Mexico . There are 2,438 municipalities in Mexico, making the average municipality population 45,616...

 in the western part of the Mexican

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 state of Michoacán

Michoacán

Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...

. The municipality has an area of 717.65 square kilometres (1.21% of the surface of the state) and is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Peribán

Peribán

Peribán is a municipality located in the western part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The municipality has an area of 331.87 square kilometres and is bordered to the north by the municipality of Los Reyes, to the east by Uruapan, to the southeast by Tancítaro, to the south by Buenavista, and to...

 and Uruapan

Uruapan

Uruapan is a city and municipality in the west-central part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The city is the municipal seat of the municipality...

, to the east by Nuevo Parangaricutiro, to southeast by Parácuaro

Parácuaro

Parácuaro is a municipality of Michoacán, Mexico. It is a Chichimeca word for "Place where has it own sticks for one roof".-History:In the PreHispanic era, Parácuaro is thought to have been inhabited by Nahuas and later conquered by the chief Tarasco Utucuma.During the colonial period, the Spanish...

, to the south by Apatzingán

Apatzingán

Apatzingán is a city and its surrounding municipality. It's located in the hot Tierra Caliente valley, in the west-central part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The city is the fourth-largest in Michoacán , with a 2005 census population of 93,180 persons...

, and to the southwest by Buenavista

Buenavista, Michoacán

Buenavista is a municipality located in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It is located at 19º12 North en 102º35’ West. There are about 38,036 inhabitants. According to the census of 2005, there were 68 people speaking the native language....

. The municipality had a population of 26,089 inhabitants according to the 2005 census. Its municipal seat is the city of the same name.

Municipal Police Force disbanded

Due to its increase in criminal activity in the area, its 60 man police force was disbanded in December 2009. According to city officials the Army

Mexican Army

The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...

 and State Police will be responsible for public security.

Mayor Gustavo Santoro and an aide were found dead September 27, 2010. It is believed they had been murdered by stoning

Stoning

Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...

.