Hundreds of armed vigilantes have taken control of a town on a major highway in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, "arresting" local police officers and searching homes after a vigilante leader was killed, the Associated Press reported. Several also opened fire on a car of mexican tourists headed to the beach a few days before Easter..
Members of the area's self-described "community police" say more than 1,500 members of the force were stopping traffic Wednesday at checkpoints in the town of Tierra Colorado, which sits on the highway connecting Mexico City to Acapulco, officials said.
These men arrested 12 police and the former director of public security in the town after a leader of the state's vigilante movement was skilled on Monday. A tourist heading to the beach with relatives was slightly wounded on Tuesday after they refused to stop at a roadblock and vigilantes fired shots at their car, officials said.
The vigilantes have accused the ex-security director of participating in the killing of their leader Guadalupe Quinones Carbajal. His body was reportedly dumped in a nearby town. It was reported that the groups seized several high-powered rifles from his car.
"We have besieged the municipality, because here criminals operate with impunity in broad daylight, in view of municipal authorities. We have detained the director of public security because he is involved with criminals and he knows who killed our commander," said Bruno Placido Valerio, a spokesman for the vigilante group told the press.
The groups say their mission is to fight violence, kidnappings and extortions, which have been carried out by drug cartels. Concerns have surfaced that they are certainly violating the law, as well, and violating human rights of the various people they have detained. They are also seen as complicit with noted criminals.
Officials have largely tolerated vigilante groups due to their lack of ability to maintain or enforce public safety in rural areas.
