A couple of hundred armed men descended on a town in the mountains of Mexico's southern Chiapas state, burned vehicles and at least ওa dozen homes, vandalised the town hall and abducted 21 people, authorities reported Tuesday.
Officials blamed a newly formed vigilante group called "El Machete,” which announced its existence only a week earlier, pledging to fi🎶ght the incursion of drug cartels in the largely Indigenous mountain communities of Chiapas.
On Monday afternoon, masked men carrying ♛rifles spread out through the town of Pantelh൲o, moving street by street in search of alleged criminals, authorities said. The action caused a panic in the community as the men set fire to some homes.
P꧙edro Gómez, a local activist, said at least three vehicles and a dozen homes were burned.
The vigilantes, who appear to include members of the Tzotzil Indigenous group, ꦕare calling themselves a “self-defense force,” a phenomenon sꦍeen for years in some western Mexican states.
An official in the Chiapas state prosecutor⭕'s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said an investigation into the events had been opened. The official said the gunmen belonged to El Machete.
The 21 abducted residents were taken to San José Buena Vista Tercero, the community where t🌳he vigilante group is allegedly based. The official said the gunmen were apparently looking for members of another group called “Los Herreras.”
After El Machete announced its presence earlier this month, Pꦉresident Andrés Manuel López Obrador said he would not accept the presence of the so-called self-defense forces.
