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MEXICO CITY – Thousands of protesters upset by arresting two suspected drug cartel members, laid siege to a state capital in southern Mexico, fought police and National Guard troops, took government officials hostage and sped through the gates of parliament in an armored vehicle.
The violence in Chilpancingo, the capital of southern Guerrero state, presented an unusually fierce challenge to the government from an organized crime group. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has sought to break the US-backed “war on drugs” by introducing social programs to poach people from drug trafficking gangs. But the protesters’ ability to paralyze the city of about 300,000 underscores the pervasive influence of criminal gangs in many parts of the country.
Two suspected leaders of Los Ardillos – the Squirrels – were arrested by state police last week and charged with drug and weapons offenses on Monday. This triggered the massive march of residents of the villages around Chilpancingo. Los Ardillos is one of 16 Guerrero crime groups fighting over drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, according to Defense Ministry documents cited by the daily Milenio. The state is a top producer of opium poppies, the main ingredient in heroin.
After more than 24 hours of chaos, the Guerrero state government, led by López Obrador’s Morena party, defused the violence on Tuesday afternoon. The protesters freed 13 hostages – state police, national guardsmen and civilian government officials – and ended their blockade of the toll road from Mexico City to the tourist resort of Acapulco.
Images of thousands of protesters gathering in the Guerrero state capital stunned even Mexicans used to the extreme violence of organized crime groups. News organizations estimated that between 2,000 and 5,000 people from Los Ardillos-controlled communities swarmed Chilpancingo on Monday. Protesters seized a state police armored security vehicle known as the “Rhino” and rammed it through the gates outside the state legislature as government officials fled in a panic.
Security forces threw tear gas canisters at the protesters, who were armed with rocks, sticks and machetes. But the 500 police officers and national guardsmen had to withdraw.
It was reported that no one was killed. But the images were reminiscent of the 2019 occupation of the northwestern city of Culiacan by gunmen after authorities tried to arrest Ovidio Guzmán López, the son of famed drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán.
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“Nowadays, criminals don’t just benefit from it a terrifying arsenal, but a terrifying ability to get people onto the streets and confront the security forces,” the left-leaning daily La Jornada wrote in an editorial. It accused federal and state authorities of giving up the impoverished region, allowing criminal groups to “create a social base”.
Mexico’s Public Safety Minister Rosa Icela Rodríguez said Tuesday that the demonstration was led by members of Los Ardillos. Officials said some villagers may have been forced to attend. López Obrador said the government opted for a cautious response to avoid bloodshed. “If you [the crime organization] Threaten and force you to attend, act with prudence and caution,” he urged residents in a televised address on Tuesday morning. “Don’t confront the leaders of these groups, stay calm, but don’t let them manipulate you.”
But the siege showed how powerful criminal groups have become in many parts of Mexico, where some have significant followings.
“What was special about it was the scale of it all,” said Falko Ernst, Mexico analyst at the International Crisis Group. The protesters “not only took over an entire city, government facilities and a major highway in Mexico, they also took officials hostage.”
State authorities said in talks with the protesters they had obtained the release of the hostages in exchange for public works projects.
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Chilpancingo Mayor Norma Otilia Hernández is grappling with a scandal surrounding her alleged ties to organized crime figures. Mexican media recently aired a video of her having breakfast with an alleged Los Ardillos leader at a restaurant, apparently after taking office in 2021. Last month, authorities found the remains of seven people – including five male heads – outside a church in Chilpancingo in the trunk of a car.
Included with the remains was a note addressed to the mayor: “I’m still waiting for the second breakfast you promised me when you came to see me.”
The mayor, a member of the president’s party, has asked the attorney general to investigate the video. “There was no deal with criminals,” she told reporters.
Gabriela Martínez contributed to this report.
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