Thread: Mexico police swarm riot town, free hostages

Is this what our nation is heading towards?? Is this what we can expect if strict immigration reform is passed into law???

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlene ... O-RIOT.xml

SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, Mexico (Reuters) - Over 1,000 riot police firing tear gas flooded into a town at the edge of Mexico City on Thursday to hunt for agents taken hostage in a riot sparked by flower traders that left at least one dead.

National television images showed police clad in body armor sweeping into the frequently fractious farming town of San Salvador Atenco, 15 miles north of Mexico City, and hauling off bleeding protesters.

Violence exploded in the area on Wednesday when police arrested roadside traders suspected of illegally selling flowers. Dozens more were arrested later in the day.

A 14-year-old boy was killed in the rioting and some reports, denied by the government, say a police officer also lost his life.

Fifty police officers were injured, 11 seriously, state Gov. Enrique Pena Nieto said, and dozens were arrested.

During the chaos, angry demonstrators cornered 11 policemen and took them hostage. The protesters released several of the men in the early hours of Thursday morning but some reports said up to six of them had not been found yet.

Link to photos at http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-124915.html#124915

Here's an article with more information.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/3840860.html

May 4, 2006, 1:18PM

Police, protesters clash in town outside Mexico City


SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, Mexico — Hundreds of federal, state and city police officers fired tear gas and crashed through human barricades to take control of this rebellious town early today, hours after protesters severely beat several authorities and took six agents hostage.

The police made it to the central plaza in front of city hall about 7 a.m. local time (1200 GMT), Mexican news media reported.

International television broadcasts showed officers repeatedly beating protesters, including some who already had been taken into custody.

An Associated Press photographer sustained bruises on his head and body after being clubbed Wednesday by a group of police officers who were trying to keep him from taking pictures. He was not seriously injured, however. Police also beat and tackled at least one cameraman from the Mexican Televisa network.

Mexican presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar confirmed that police had taken control and said all police hostages had been released.

Authorities detained 117 people, including key community leader Ignacio del Valle, said Humberto Benitez, Secretary General of the State of Mexico, which borders Mexico City on three sides.

Del Valle and a fellow resident of San Salvador Atenco were charged with the February kidnapping of a state official, said Carlos Mota, spokesman for the Mexico State Superior Court. Mota said del Valle was likely to face charges related to Wednesday's violence as well, although no specific charges had been presented yet.

Officials said area highways had been reopened after being blocked all day Wednesday during the clashes, which began when inhabitants attacked police in response to the arrest of several of their companions at a market in the nearby town of Texcoco.

Shortly before midnight Wednesday, radical community leaders in San Salvador Atenco called Red Cross officials to a small clinic near the center of town and released the six state and federal police officers they had seized hours earlier. Organizers said it was a gesture of goodwill since all of the former hostages were injured — having been beaten and some sliced with machetes.

A 14-year-old Atenco resident was killed during the pitched battles that happened throughout the day, but circumstances surrounding the death were unclear, Benitez said.

Benitez and a spokesman for the Federal Preventative Police said Thursday that a federal police agent was beaten to death. Hours later, however, Mexico state Gov. Enrique Pena Nieto called television newscasts to say the officer remained hospitalized in grave condition. Benitez on Thursday said he could not confirm the officer's death.

Television images from helicopters overhead showed residents repeatedly punching and kicking the semiconscious officer in a beating that continued even after he had been put inside an ambulance that was taken over by local residents.

Mexican media reported that at least three dozen police officers were injured, though federal and state police spokesmen could not agree on an exact number. Pena Nieto told Televisa, Mexico's largest network, that as many as 50 officers were wounded, but that only about 12 sustained serious injuries.

Rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos said that the Zapatista Liberation Army of southern Mexico will go on red alert to support Atenco residents.

Marcos made the comments in Mexico City, where he was addressing supporters as part of his so-called "other campaign," in which he is touring Mexico, talking to different dissident and community groups in the run-up to the July presidential election.

The Zapatistas staged a brief armed uprising in southernmost Chiapas state in January 1994 to demand Indian rights. Since then, the movement has been aimed more at propaganda than at armed rebellion.

Atenco, 15 miles (25 kilometers) northeast of Mexico City, was once planned as the site of a new international airport.

But farmers claiming the government was offering them too little for their land staged a violent protest in July 2002, taking 15 police officers and state officials hostage to demand the release of residents jailed during the protest.

The standoff lasted several days and President Vicente Fox eventually canceled plans to build an airport there.

http://today.reuters.com

Mexican florists riot, one dead, police held
Thu May 4, 2006 12:29 AM ET


By Daniel Aguilar

SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, Mexico (Reuters) - A protest by flower vendors erupted into a clash between machete-wielding peasants and riot police on Wednesday, leaving one person dead and several held hostage.

Fifty police officers were injured, 11 seriously, state Gov. Enrique Pena Nieto said, and about 100 people were arrested.

Angry demonstrators from the town of San Salvador Atenco, 15 miles north of Mexico City, cornered 11 policemen and were holding them hostage at nightfall, officials said. The demonstrators refused to release the policemen unless protesters who were arrested earlier in the riot were freed.

Mobs of protesters burned tires on a main road and lobbed stones and gasoline bombs at some 400 policemen. Television pictures showed rioters kicking and stamping on two apparently unconscious policemen.

Trouble broke out in the notoriously fractious farming town when police arrested roadside flower traders suspected of illegally selling flowers. Dozens more were arrested later in the day.

As night fell on San Salvador Atenco, protesters armed with gasoline bombs manned roadblocks and said they would not negotiate or release the police hostages until three flower sellers arrested earlier in the day were set free.

"We will keep mobilizing," said protest leader America del Valle. "In order for there to be the right conditions for dialogue they have to release the prisoners first and withdraw the police."

POLICE BEATEN WITH STICKS

The mob dragged at least one policeman off, seemingly to take him hostage, and local media reported that a number of wounded policemen were hospitalized, some of them with head wounds from having been beaten with sticks.

A 14-year-old boy was killed in the rioting, witnesses said.

Media reports said the protesters took guns from captured policemen and locked the men in a patrol car, as roadblocks caused chaos with local traffic.

It was the latest outbreak of violence to hit Mexico as the country approaches a July 2 presidential election. A surge in drug cartel bloodshed has spread to coastal resorts like Acapulco and two people were killed in April when armed police tried to break up a steelworkers strike.

San Salvador Atenco is known for its machete-armed peasants, who five years ago blocked President Vicente Fox's plan to build a new airport there with a standoff that lasted several days.

Zapatista rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos, who headed a brief but bloody uprising in the Indian dominated southern state of Chiapas in 1994, said his guerrilla army was on red-alert following the clashes.

Leftist Marcos, who is on a tour of Mexico City, has hardened his political stance in recent days, calling for the overthrow of government and vowing to expel foreign capital from the country.

Television images on Wednesday showed some protesters shouting pro-Zapatista slogans.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... -headlines

Machete-Wielding Rioters Subdued Outside of Mexico City
By Sam Enriquez and Carlos Martinez
Times Staff Writer

5:26 PM PDT, May 4, 2006

SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, Mexico — Thousands of riot police stormed the town square early Thursday to subdue machete-wielding protesters who had beaten two officers into unconsciousness, dragging them through the streets in attacks televised nationwide.

The violence that began early Wednesday in this rural town on the outskirts of Mexico City was a bloodier reprise of a 2002 rebellion that kicked out the elected local government and established self-rule after a dispute sparked by President Vicente Fox's plan to put an airport nearby.

The televised scenes of police helpless to save their colleagues or to subdue rioters were another embarrassment for Fox. They also offered a backdrop for Subcomandante Marcos, the leader of Zapatista rebels in southern Mexico, who was in the capital to denounce the July 2 presidential election and call for the overthrow of the federal government, regardless of the winner.

Leftist former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is locked in a tight battle with Felipe Calderon, of the conservative National Action Party, to succeed Fox, who is barred from reelection. Former ruling party candidate Roberto Madrazo is a distant third.

A 14-year-old boy, identified as Javier Cortes Santiago, was reported killed and dozens more were injured in confrontations that began Wednesday when authorities kicked out flower vendors from their usual spot in a nearby city.

Rioters first blocked a stretch of federal highway here about 14 miles northeast of Mexico City, turning back police with rocks, Molotov cocktails and large firework rockets.

By Wednesday afternoon, two officers had been trapped by the crowds, and TV helicopter news crews broadcast beatings that mirrored the attack on truck driver Reginald Denny during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

One Mexican officer lay prone for several minutes as groups of men took turns kicking and beating him until they apparently tired. He was then stripped of his protective gear and dragged down the street for others to strike.

An ambulance finally reached the man but it had been commandeered by rioters, who loaded the officer inside and drove in circles, stopping occasionally to greet cheering townspeople. Another badly beaten officer was loaded into the back of a red pickup truck and slowly driven around town for display.

Authorities have been unable to confirm the condition of the two men, amid rumors that one had died of his injuries.

"We're going to analyze the videos and find those responsible," Humberto Benitez, secretary general of the state of Mexico, said Thursday. "We're not going to let the delinquents take over."

After clearing the town center using tear gas Thursday morning, state and federal police began a door-to-door search, arresting 208 people, including alleged leader Ignacio del Valle, who was taken to the La Palma maximum security prison, authorities said. A dozen officers held by rioters were released or found.

"We're supporting the florists and we just wanted them to be able to sell their flowers," said Del Valle's son, Ulises del Valle, in a phone interview broadcast by Televisa. "They tried to kick them out, so in support we blocked the highway."

Ulises del Valle said protesters beat the officers because "the town is so angry it is difficult to control."

State and authorities believe the flap over flower sellers in nearby Texcoco was a pretext for violence by town rebels belonging to the Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra. Rioters lobbed gasoline bombs Wednesday from crates of prepared Molotov cocktails.

"It's no coincidence," said Gov. Enrique Peña Nieto of the state of Mexico. "It was a planned and intended action."

Townspeople kidnapped five state officials last month after the state secretary of education failed to show up for a meeting to hear their grievances. They released the hostages in a deal with state police, who dropped charges.

"We let this problem grow for years," said Benitez, of the governor's office.

Like the Zapatista rebels in the southern state of Chiapas in 1994, this town of 17,000 residents sprang free of government control in July 2002, motivated by land disputes. Corn and bean farmers angry over the government's plan to buy their land cheaply for a new airport took over public offices and held hostage 15 state and local officials.

For five days, the Fox administration was virtually paralyzed before agreeing to grant amnesty in exchange for the release of the hostages. Two months later, the president abandoned plans for the new airport. Fox was ridiculed for being defeated by farmers with machetes.

The humiliation didn't end there. After winning their battle with Fox, protesters led by Del Valle quickly declared the town independent and kicked out the police, the mayor and all government officers.

A year later, in July 2003, several hundred townspeople angry over being abandoned by the official government staged a protest in front of federal offices in Mexico City. They complained of assaults, petty crime and drug trafficking under rebel rule.

Government returned to San Salvador Atenco a month later, when rebels returned control of municipal offices in exchange for amnesty. They returned briefly in December 2003 and tried to block the installation of the town's newly elected mayor, starting a melee that injured about 20 people.

When flower farmers in nearby Texcoco were told this week by municipal authorities they could no longer sell their goods on sidewalks outside the market, they asked Del Valle for help, reported La Jornada newspaper.

Del Valle arrived early Wednesday to find police waiting for the flower farmers; the two groups started fighting, authorities said. Del Valle and the farmers retreated to a house in Texcoco and began calling supporters in San Salvador Atenco.

Within a couple hours, a crowd was blocking the highway and the violence began.

Late Thursday afternoon, state and federal police had left town, but the smell of tear gas lingered in the central plaza.

A woman who has sold tortas there for years was willing to give her assessment of the rebel movement but not her name.

"Ignacio del Valle has been a problematic guerrilla leader," she said. "Since he was 18 he's been trying to protect the poor. The problem is he only thinks in terms of violence."

Cecilia Sanchez of the Times' Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.

Originally Posted by kev

I Over 1,000 riot police firing tear gas flooded into a town at the edge of Mexico City on Thursday to hunt for agents taken hostage in a riot sparked by flower traders that left at least one dead.


Violence exploded in the area on Wednesday when police arrested roadside traders suspected of illegally selling flowers. Dozens more were arrested later in the day.

During the chaos, angry demonstrators cornered 11 policemen and took them hostage. The protesters released several of the men in the early hours of Thursday morning but some reports said up to six of them had not been found yet.

sparked by flower traders? Mexico can arrest people for illegally selling flowers in their own country, but we can't enforce immigration laws?


how long will it be before these protesters start taking hostages?

added to homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article-1199-thread-1-0.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nati ... nworld-hed

Cops crush riot in Mexican town
Officers were beaten in televised attacks

By Sam Enriquez and Carlos Martinez, Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times.Cecilia Sanchez of the Times' Mexico City bureau contributed
Published May 5, 2006


SAN SALVADOR ATENCO, Mexico -- Thousands of riot police stormed the town square here early Thursday to subdue machete-wielding protesters who had beaten two officers unconscious, dragging them through the streets in attacks televised nationwide.

The violence that began early Wednesday in this rural town on the outskirts of Mexico City was a bloodier reprise of a 2002 rebellion that kicked out the elected local government and established self-rule after a dispute sparked by President Vicente Fox's plan to put an airport nearby.

The televised scenes of police helpless to save their colleagues or to subdue rioters were another embarrassment for Fox. They also offered a backdrop for Subcomandante Marcos, the leader of Zapatista rebels in southern Mexico, who was in the capital to denounce the July 2 presidential election and call for the overthrow of the federal government, regardless of the winner.

Leftist former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is locked in a tight battle with Felipe Calderon of the conservative National Action Party to succeed Fox, who is barred from re-election. Roberto Madrazo, candidate of the one-time ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, is a distant third.

A 14-year-old boy was reported killed and dozens more injured in confrontations that began Wednesday when authorities kicked out flower vendors from their usual spot in a nearby city.

Rioters first blocked a stretch of federal highway about 14 miles northeast of Mexico City, turning back police with rocks, Molotov cocktails and large fireworks rockets.

By Wednesday afternoon, two officers had been trapped by crowds, and television helicopter news crews broadcast beatings that mirrored the attack on truck driver Reginald Denny during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

One Mexican officer lay prone for several minutes as groups of men took turns kicking and beating him until they apparently tired. He was then stripped of his protective gear and dragged down the street for others to strike.

An ambulance finally reached the man, but it had been commandeered by rioters, who loaded the officer inside and drove in circles, stopping occasionally to greet cheering townspeople. Another badly beaten officer was loaded into the back of a red pickup truck and slowly driven around town for display.

Authorities have been unable to confirm the condition of the two men amid rumors that one had died of his injuries.

"We're going to analyze the videos and find those responsible," Humberto Benitez, secretary general of Mexico state, said Thursday. "We're not going to let the delinquents take over."

After clearing the town center using tear gas Thursday morning, state and federal police began a door-to-door search, arresting 208 people, including alleged leader Ignacio del Valle, who was taken to La Palma maximum-security prison, authorities said. A dozen officers held by rioters were released or found.

San Salvador Atenco, a town of 17,000 residents, declared autonomy from the government in September 2002, two months after farmers seized hostages and launched a five-day standoff that forced the government to back off plans for a new airport there. The farmers had objected to officials' plans to buy the farmers' land cheaply for the airport project.