A woman was savagely beaten to death on Thursday by a mob in Taxco, a popular tourist destination in Mexico, on suspicion of kidnapping and killing a small child.
The mob went on the rampage only hours before the city’s well-known Holy Week procession.
8-Year-Old’s Body Found After Disappearance
After an 8-year-old child vanished on Wednesday, a mob was assembled. Early on Thursday, her body was discovered on a road outside of the city.
A woman and a guy were seen on security camera footage putting what looked to be the girl’s body—a bundle—into a taxi.
On Thursday, the crowd encircled the woman’s home and made threats to drag her outside. The woman was taken into the bed of a police pickup truck by the police, who then watched, seemingly unfazed by the throng, as the mob dragged her out of the truck and onto the street, where they kicked, stomped, and otherwise battered her until she lay partially naked and unresponsive.
Subsequently, the police removed her and left the pavement marred by blood. The woman’s death from injuries was later confirmed by the state prosecutors’ office in Guerrero.
Mario Figueroa, the mayor of Taxco, expressed his sympathy with the locals’ indignation at the murder.
According to Figueroa, police had removed the woman and two men, who had been beaten by the mob, as a total of three victims.
Although The Associated Press only saw the woman being assaulted, footage from the site appeared to show that they had also been beaten.
The two males were hospitalized, according to the office of state prosecutors. On their condition, there was no immediate information available.
Figueroa bemoaned in a statement released shortly after the incident that he was receiving no assistance from the state government for his small and outnumbered municipal police force.
“Unfortunately, we have not received any assistance or responses as of yet,” Figueroa stated.
In the historic silver-mining town, the centuries-old religious procession on Good Friday eve transpired as scheduled on Thursday night.
Crowds flocked to Taxco’s colonial streets to witness men in hoods strolling while brandishing whips or bearing heavy bundles of thorns across their bare shoulders in a penitent gesture meant to mimic Jesus Christ’s suffering on the cross.
However, the violent outburst earlier in the day clouded the already solemn parade that brings thousands of people to the little village.
Numerous attendees wore little white mourning ribbons.
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Mob Violence in Rural Mexico
In rural Mexico, mob violence are not uncommon. In the central state of Puebla in 2018, a vengeful mob set two men on fire. The following day, a man and a woman were pulled from their car, beaten, and set ablaze in the nearby state of Hidalgo.
A few criminal gangs vying for control of the area sent threats to private taxi and van drivers, who went on strike for several days in late January, affecting Taxco. Police had to give individuals rides in the back of their patrol cars because the situation was so dire.
Simultaneously, two detectives’ bullet-riddled bodies were discovered outside of Taxco. According to the local media, their bodies bore marks of torture.
Figueroa’s own armored vehicle was fired upon by gunmen riding motorcycles in February.
Drug cartels and gangs frequently prey on the local populace in Taxco and throughout the state of Guerrero, demanding security money from business owners, cab drivers, and bus drivers. Those who refuse to pay are killed.
Despite the possibility that the violence would worsen, locals declared they had had enough.
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