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Police in the town of Tixtla in Mexico’s southern state of Guerrero were routed by a vigilante group on Monday (August 26) when they were attacked for allegedly being involved with organized criminals.
Reuters reports, “Armed with hunting rifles and wearing green khaki shirts, members of Tixtla’s ‘community police’ attacked police officers and confiscated their weapons in broad daylight as they took over the town’s municipal centre.
The same report continues:
Member of the vigilante group, Gonzalo Molina, accused officers and the local government of collaborating with criminals.
“We want society to know how the government is releasing this mafia, these crooks. Why? Because they’re in cahoots with crime. Today they are governing crime, organised crime. From the top to the bottom with the police,” he said.
According to local media, members of the vigilante group mobbed officers in a three-hour attack in broad daylight.
The vigilante group targeted police to demand the release of members of their self defence civilian group.
“We want to say that we want our colleagues freed, because they are violating the state’s law. We don’t want them to keep on violating the state’s law, we don’t want them to keep violating the constitution, we don’t want them to keep violating Law 771 that protects us,” added Molina.
Community police in the violence-ravaged state say they have taken up arms because police are often in cahoots with criminals, do nothing when crimes are reported and ask for bribes themselves.
However, members of vigilante groups have also been accused of being involved with criminals themselves.
(Source: Reuters)
