Residents Take Up Arms Against Criminals

By: Manuel Vázquez | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Amecameca, Mexico October 26, 2015— Residents from three locations located in the volcano area took security into their own hands in their communities; carrying out armed guard duty.

Residents of Santa Isabel Chalma and San Francisco Zentlalpan, villages belonging to the municipality of Amecameca, and San Antonio Tlaltecahuacán, of the municipality of Tlalmanalco, have carried out guard duty since last week along the main entrances of the communities in order to keep out assailants.

(Valor: Amecameca is a municipality located between Mexico City and the Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanos.)

In Santa Isabel Chalma, armed with shotguns, machetes, and farm tools, villagers roam the streets and placed checkpoints in order to detect the presence of assailants and suspicious people.

They warned that justice will be done with the first thief that they arrest and rejected the order of the director of the municipal police of Amecameca to suspend their vigilance.

“We’ll do it as long as necessary, until we catch a thief or put an end to so many assaults on the streets, we’ve had it up to here, the assailants don’t respect anyone in the village,” said José, a 53 year old farmer and one of the leaders of the movement.

In San Antonio Tlaltecahuacán, the neighbors of the warnings passed the events and from Friday, October 23, night guards began armed with weapons and tools that they used in the fields in order to confront criminals.

On Friday night, around 30 neighbors set up checkpoints on the main entrance, where the highest number of assaults has taken place against men and women returning or leaving their jobs and school.

In San Francisco Zentlalpan, more than 100 residents of the community of San Francisco Zentlalpan met last Saturday in order to organize against the increasing state of insecurity.

Robberies, assaults, and car thefts are crimes that people have suffered through at the hands of individuals aboard a white Tsuru.

Last Wednesday, a university student who came from the Federal District and was walking down the street Progreso, at the entrance of the village, was caught by a subject on a motorcycle who signaled him to stop and behind the motorcycle was a white Tsuru.  Three individuals stepped out leaving a man and a woman inside.

The individuals who carry out the attacks have not been identified by their victims since they wear balaclavas and carry guns.  The residents affected hand over their belongings for fear of being hurt and run away from the place.

German Guzmán Segura, who is the second delegate from the village, said that the people are tired of the insecurity and the authorities do nothing about it, for example in recent days, electricians from the Federal Commission of Electricity cut power to several lamps that illuminate the stop at the entrance of the village.

Braulio Martínez, who is the director of the municipal police, attended the meeting that was organized by the neighbors.  He promised to leave a permanent patrol vehicle for the municipality and the village of Aldea de los Reyes and that he would send a patrol vehicle for support while carrying out patrols along the main streets.

Neighbors didn’t comply with what the director offered them; they decided to start organizing for patrols in various parts of the municipality to protect the people.

“Any bastard who is caught stealing is going to be lynched,” said the neighbors.

Update:

A day after the first article was published, at 8:42 today, Tuesday, October 27, 2015, three assailants who were going to be lynched were “rescued”.  The residents managed to trap three assailants who were responsible for the assassination of a youth who sold videogames.  The police arrived and one of the assailants managed to escape.  Residents were furious at the police for rescuing the assailants so they burned one of their patrol cars.

Sources: Milenio, AFondoEdoMex

Categories: Autodefensas, Drug War, mexico