22 Mexico police officers arrested over six civilian deaths
The Mexican government has charged 22 municipal police officers with murder for their alleged involvement in the shooting of six civilians, authorities say.
The six police officers may be also found guilty of “forced disappearance” following the kidnapping of dozens of people in the Guerrero State last week, state prosecutor Iñaki Blanco said of the Tuesday indictment.
On September 26, six people, including a woman, lost their lives when police opened fire on them during two separate incidents in the southern Mexican town of Iguala in the Guerrero State.
In an attempt to justify their deaths, however, the detained police officers said the deceased individuals were carrying weapons.
Following the attacks, 57 students went missing after municipal police and unidentified gunmen opened fire on a convoy of buses in Iguala.
So far, 14 of the 57 students reported missing have been located, authorities said.
The incidents mark the latest in a series of violence in the Guerrero State.
On Sunday, a political party leader was assassinated in the resort city of Acapulco, and at least five people were murdered in one of the city’s poor barrios on Monday.
The criminal gang, Guerreros Unidos, operates in Iguala city. The group was formed after the Beltrán Leyva drug cartel broke up in 2010.
Beltran Leyva was a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime organization, responsible for narcotics transportation and distribution.
Such criminal gangs often exercise significant control over authorities in their territories, particularly municipal police.
Nearly 80,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since former President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive against Mexico’s drug cartels in December 2006.
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