Thread: Guatemala vigilantes kill 5th suspect in 3 days

Guatemala vigilantes kill 5th suspect in 3 days

By The Associated Press
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 7:31 p.m.

GUATEMALA CITY — A mob beat a suspected criminal to death Sunday and threatened to burn three women who were with the victim, authorities said Sunday. It was Guatemala's fifth vigilante killing in three days.

Hours later, police rescued three men being threatened by an angry crowd in another part of this poor Central American country, where people frequently take justice into their own hands in remote areas.

The National Civil Police said the latest deadly attack occurred in Panahachel, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) east of the capital, where a mob fatally beat a man thought to be a criminal.

The crowd also doused gasoline on three women accompanying the victim and threatened to set them on fire, but the women were rescued by police officers, officials said. Officers had to fend the crowd off for an hour as it tried to get the women back and burned four patrol cars.

Sunday night, some 800 people tried to kill three men suspected of being criminals in San Antonio Suchitepequez, about 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of the capital, but police were able to rescue the men.

It was the third straight day of mob violence.

On Friday, a crow in northwestern Huehuetenango burned three men alive because they were suspected of kidnapping and killing a young woman, authorities said.

On Saturday, villagers in the eastern indigenous community of Las Pozas also burned a man alive after accusing him of robbing and killing an elderly man.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009 ... in-3-days/

I wonder how often the village criminal seeks asylum.

Dixie

I wonder if they have Hate Crime Laws?

This is done in rural areas of El Salvador all the time. It has always been like that. Many of the small villages dont have their own police department. So the people do the job. When there is a problem, they just get up a posse and take care of business. No trial. But they dont just go after people willy nilly. It is usually that there was a witness to the crime(s)....or the person is a known criminal. If they are not sure who committed the crime or more than one person could have done it, they are not likely to just go and start killing people. It sounds harsh, but if you dont really have a police department...you cant just wait on the National Police to come in. There would be chaos. Someone has to keep the order. But in El Salvador they dont usually burn people like that. It is usually that they just turn up dead somewhere....shot or stabbed. And everyone knows the person was a criminal so it is not really investigated.

These animals are coming over the Mexican border every day.

Originally Posted by butterbean

These animals are coming over the Mexican border every day.

Thats right. One componenet is that in those small towns, if someone comes under suspicion and they think they are in danger of justice, they will leave the town. They cant function there anymore. Sometimes they go to the city, but even there they may be under suspicion as many rural villagers go to the city to get some supplies. Word gets around fast. SO THEY MAY LEAVE THE COUNTRY ENTIRELY AND MANY TIMES THEY GO TO THE USA. Nice eh?