On August 27, Mexican authorities said that community police forces are increasingly becoming targets of attacks by drug gangs.
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| Community police on duty in Michoacan state, Mexico. (Source: AP) |
Gunmen shot dead seven community police officers in the town of Cohuayana over the weekend, the chief prosecutor of the western Mexican state of Michoacan confirmed. The men died just days after being kidnapped and tortured in another town in Michoacan, before being freed on August 23.
As gang warfare has devastated rural Mexican towns, many have created community police forces as a form of self-defense. Members are recruited, mostly untrained, and are either volunteers or paid a small stipend to protect residents. Called “Kuárichas” in the Purepecha dialect, they have the legal authority to handle minor offenses in rural Mexico.
Community police forces have become more common in indigenous Mexican towns, which have a long history of organizing self-defense. They are more credible than the spontaneous anti-drug gang teams that emerged in Michoacan in 2013-2014 and quickly faded. But community police are no match for the firepower of gangs bent on taking over the town.
The attack in Coahuayana on August 24 was linked to a battle between drug gangs for control of the coastal area, which is a major route for cocaine trafficking, said López, the state prosecutor. “The attacks are linked to the intention of the criminal gangs to fight for territory and carry out illegal activities, mainly drug trafficking,” López stressed.
The town of Coahuayana, located on the Pacific coast near the neighboring state of Colima, has long attracted the attention of gangs. Criminals often use speedboats to transport cocaine from South America to the area, dropping floating packages with tracking devices for accomplices to collect and bring to shore.
According to Mr. López, the area on the coast of Michoacan and Colima is an ideal place to receive packages of cocaine from South America. The Mexican Navy has seized numerous packages of this hot cargo.
With no gang in Coahuayana claiming responsibility for the attack, the notorious Jalisco New Generation gang was immediately named as a suspect. The same criminal group is also suspected of being responsible for the kidnapping of seven community police officers on June 20, who were released three days later in the town of Purepecha in Tangamandapio, Michoacan.
Mexico has launched a large-scale operation, including helicopters, the army and state police, to search for the seven kidnapped people.
After escaping from the criminal den, officer Brayan Javier said he had been through “hell”. Another officer who was rescued, Mr. Luis Reyes, said the solidarity and strength of the Purepecha community gave the hostage rescue operation added momentum. “Thanks to the whole town and all the people of Purepecha, we are strong,” Mr. Reyes shared.
In recent months, the southern state of Chiapas, which has one of the highest proportions of indigenous Mexicans, has almost fallen into the hands of drug gangs, forcing some Chiapas residents to abandon their homes and flee to neighboring Guatemala.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/roi-ren-an-ninh-mexico-truoc-nan-bang-da-ng-ma-tuy-hoa-nh-ha-nh-284067.html
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