MEXICO CITY — Authorities in Oaxaca state said residents of a remote mountain community likely beat five people to death and burned their bodies, marking another case of vigilante attacks in southern Mexico.
State prosecutors and the National Guard arrived Tuesday in Llano Amarillo, Santa Maria Texcatitlan, to investigate the disappearance of five individuals. They discovered a burned vehicle containing the remains of the missing people, according to the Oaxaca state prosecutor’s office.
Vigilante Attacks Believed to Have Occurred Monday
Investigators believe the attack occurred on Monday, though forensic teams are still working to confirm the identities of the victims. Preliminary reports suggest the victims had traveled to the mountainous community, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the state capital, to collect a high-interest loan from a local woman.
Vigilante Violence in Remote Areas
Incidents of mob justice, where residents take the law into their own hands, have occurred sporadically in Mexico, especially in isolated communities with limited government presence.
In March, a man who worked as a clown was killed and burned in another Oaxacan town after being accused of abusing a child. Last year, a woman was killed by a mob in Taxco, Guerrero, after being accused of involvement in a child’s kidnapping and murder.
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Human Rights Concerns
A 2019 report by the National Human Rights Commission, the most recent available, described such killings as the most extreme manifestation of distrust in authorities and the widespread impunity in Mexico. The report documented 271 vigilante killings in 2018 alone, emphasizing the persistent challenge these incidents pose for law enforcement.
