In Huachinango, Mexico, a mob has accused a former parliamentary adviser of kidnapping children. The approximately 200 participants douse the 31-year-old with petrol and set him on fire. This year alone, dozens of people have been lynched in the country.
A mob burned a man alive in Mexico. “This is not justice, it’s barbarism,” said the municipal government of Huachinango in the state of Puebla. The crowd had accused the victim – a former adviser to the Mexican parliament – of wanting to kidnap children.
Police officers had tried to get the 31-year-old to safety in a patrol car – but the man was pulled out of the car and the approximately 200 participants prevented the police officers from coming to his aid. The mob dragged the victim to the sports field, doused him with gasoline and set him on fire. The man’s van was also burned.
Authorities were only able to recover the man’s cremated remains after the mob dispersed. According to the municipal administration, local residents had banded together over messages in messenger groups that said an alleged criminal wanted to kidnap children in the city.
According to the Mexican parliament, the man killed had worked there as a consultant until March. It condemned the murder, as did the conservative National Action Party (PAN), for whose MPs the man had mainly worked. Lynchings are not uncommon in Mexico. So far this year, 43 people have been killed and 173 injured, according to the National Human Rights Commission.
