Mexican towns form vigilante force
2013-01-17 08:59
Tecoanapa - Two rural communities in southwestern Mexico have formed their
own vigilante police forces, detaining 44 suspected criminals and announcing
that they will mete out their own justice.
Hundreds of civilians armed with rifles, pistols and machetes decided to
provide security for the communities of Tecoanapa and Ayutla de los Libre in
the state of Guerrero, saying gangs were committing robberies, kidnappings and
murder.
The 44 suspects will be judged by the "community police and a general
assembly of all the towns", Mauro Rosario Ayodoro, head of a union of
local communities, told reporters on Wednesday.
"We won't hand any of them [suspects] to any government entity. Their
rehabilitation will be handled in the communities," he said. "The
verdicts will come from there. Those who committed crimes will pay for it, and
those who didn't will be freed."
The vigilante force has put up checkpoints on roads and conducts night
watches in the towns.
Classes have been suspended for fear that schools could be targeted by gangs.
Civilians in other Mexican towns have taken up arms in recent years,
complaining that corrupt municipal police forces were failing to protect them.
Guerrero, home to the Pacific resort town of Acapulco, has been one of the
states hardest hit by Mexico's drug violence, which has left more than 70 000
people killed across the country since 2006.
