Hundreds Arrested for Looting Across Mexico Amid Fuel Price Hike PressTV
go to original January 5, 2017

Mexico: Mass protests over hike in gas price (DW News)

Update: 4 Dead, More Than 700 Arrested Amid Gas Price Protests in Mexico (Associated Press)

Mexican authorities say they have arrested hundreds of people for looting stores across Mexico amid unrest over a sharp increase in gasoline prices.

According to a statement by the National Association of Self-Service and Department Stores, so far 79 shops have been looted and access to over 170 others have been blocked, mainly in the state of Mexico, where the capital is located, the central state of Hidalgo, and the western state of Michoacan.

According to a late Wednesday statement by the government of the state of Mexico, police detained more than 200 people for “various acts of vandalism and thefts at shops” in six municipalities, including the capital, Mexico City, where at least 20 people were nabbed.

People run with products from a store that was looted during a protest related to a 20-percent gasoline price increase, in the port of Veracruz, Mexico (Agence France-Presse)

It added that some of the individuals taken into custody were arrested while they were at the stores, attempting to commit thefts and acts of vandalism “under the pretext of protesting the liberalization of the price of gasoline.”

Public anger was aroused when the Mexican government ended regulated prices for gasoline and diesel and increased their prices over the weekend by up to 20 percent, which is considered unjustified by some people in the oil-rich country.

People pick up toys as they loot a store during a protest in the port of Veracruz (Agence France-Presse)

According to federal police, some 20 new protests occurred across the country on Wednesday. Angry Mexicans have so far blocked a dozen fuel stations in the country, prompting the state-run oil firm Pemex to warn that the blockades had resulted in a critical situation in at least three states.

Read the rest at PressTV

Related: Looters Storm Wal-Mart, Chedraui Stores in Mexico on Gas Prices (Bloomberg | Quint)

Related: Mexico City Authorities Deploy 9,000 Police Officers at Gas Price Protests (Sputnik)

Related: Man Forced to March Naked Through Mexico Town After He’s Caught Looting During Gas Price Protests (Raw Story)

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!