Guerrero Officials Help Broker Hostage Swap Between Vigilantes and Local Gang Rafa Fernandez De Castro - Fusion
go to original December 16, 2016

“Look… son, if you have The Engineer please release him… if you have him I trust that you’ll release him… please do it,” the elderly woman says in her video message. (Quadratin Guerrero)

Mexico’s weak rule of law was on full display in the southern state of Guerrero this week when local government authorities allegedly helped broker a hostage exchange between a vigilante group and a drug gang.

The incident started last Sunday, when a local vigilante leader known as “The Engineer” was abducted by a drug gang in the town of San Miguel Totolapan. The vigilante group sought revenge by kidnapping the mother of the drug kingpin, known as El Tequilero (The Tequila Maker), along with additional hostages accused of acting in cahoots with his gang.

The vigilante group then taped a video message of the kingpin’s mother pleading with her drug boss son to release The Engineer in exchange for her own freedom. The video was given to local journalists and published on Mexican social media.

“Look… son, if you have The Engineer please release him… if you have him I trust that you’ll release him… please do it,” the elderly woman says in her video message.

Read the rest at Fusion

Related: Mexican State Acts as 'Mediator' in Return of Drug Boss's Kidnapped Mother (Associated Press)

Related: Vigilantes in South Mexico Free 20 Captives After Standoff (Associated Press)

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