An enraged crowd in Mexico killed the accused killer of an eight-year-old child, a woman, in a famous tourist resort in the country’s south, which has been plagued by organised crime.
Residents in Taxco, a town in Guerrero state southwest of Mexico City known for its silver jewellery factories and Spanish colonial architecture, barricaded one of its main streets on Thursday after the child’s body was discovered on a highway.
The state prosecutor’s office stated that the minor’s killing was being investigated as a suspected femicide (hate crime), and the lynching as a qualified murder. According to Mexican media, a relative stated that the girl’s family got anonymous phone calls demanding a ransom after she went missing on Wednesday.
Camera footage
Previously, security camera footage captured the suspects reportedly placing a black bag in the trunk of a car, raising fears that it held the girl’s body.
In the aftermath, an angry throng gathered outside the house where the woman and two men were held, demanding justice. The mob pulled out the accused and thrashed them with sticks while no arrest warrants were issued. The woman died, and the two men were taken to a local hospital.
Efforts taken by the U.S. government
Following an increase in violence, the United States prohibited government personnel from visiting the city, which is around 170 km from Mexico City. Kidnapping and murder are regular in Mexico, but the majority of victims are adult males, thus the girl’s death is especially horrific.
Lynchings of suspected criminals are common, and analysts attribute this to a general sense of impunity in the crime-ridden country.
