Indigenous People Create Their Own Community Police Forces in Guerrero teleSUR
go to original June 13, 2016

Community police leader Nestora Salgado talks about having been jailed in Mexico (teleSUR)

In response to a rise in crime over a territorial dispute between rival organized crime groups, Indigenous people from the community of San Jeronimo de Palantla have created a community police force.

According the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, the first action of the newly constituted force was to detain 15 people accused of being involved in the deaths of 13 people. One person was reported killed during the operation.

San Jeronimo de Palantla is a small community of about 300 people, located in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero. It has lately experienced a surge in violence, reportedly over a dispute between Los Ardillos and Los Rojos, two organized crime groups operating in the area.

Many communities have opted to create community police forces due to mistrust of local, state, and federal police forces, which are often accused of collaborating with organized crime.

The Mexican state frowns on these groups, though sometimes it tolerates them. Meanwhile, some organized crime groups have pretended to be community police groups in order to mask their killings.

Read the rest at teleSUR

Photo: Notisistema.com

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