Deadly Assaults on Mexico's Indigenous Community Police as
Cartel Violence Escalates
Mexico's Indigenous and community police forces are facing
increasingly deadly attacks from powerful drug cartels. On Monday, authorities
confirmed that gunmen affiliated with cartels brutally killed seven community
police members in Coahuayana, a town in Michoacan. This tragedy occurred just
days after another group of seven community police officers was kidnapped and
tortured by cartel members in a different Michoacan town, only to be released
after enduring what one victim described as "hell."
In response to cartel turf wars that have devastated rural
areas across Mexico, many towns have turned to community police—volunteers or
minimally paid locals who take up arms to defend their communities. These
forces, particularly prevalent in Indigenous regions with a long history of
self-defense, are more trusted than the short-lived "self-defense"
groups that rose and fell in Michoacan between 2013 and 2014. Despite their
dedication, community guards are heavily outgunned by the cartels.
State prosecutor Adrián López linked the Coahuayana attack
to cartel battles over the control of coastal routes used for drug smuggling.
The town's proximity to the Pacific coast makes it a strategic location for
cartels, particularly for receiving cocaine shipments from South America.
Although no cartel was officially identified as responsible for the killings,
suspicion fell on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a dominant force in the
region.
The same cartel is also believed to be behind the kidnapping
of seven "Kuárichas," traditional officers in the Purepecha
Indigenous town of Tangamandapio. The abducted officers were released after a
massive search operation, but their ordeal underscores the intense pressure
Indigenous communities face from organized crime.
Despite the resilience of Indigenous communities, the
ongoing cartel violence poses a severe threat to their safety and autonomy. In
regions like Chiapas, cartel influence has forced some residents to flee,
raising concerns about the future of these communities.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel's reach extends beyond
Mexico, targeting American citizens through sophisticated fraud schemes. Recent
U.S. sanctions have highlighted the cartel's involvement in multi-million
dollar scams that have defrauded hundreds of Americans, adding another layer of
complexity to the ongoing battle against cartel violence.
