Well-known leader of a civilian 'self-defense' group has been slain in southern Mexico

A well-known leader of a civilian “self-defense” group has been shot to death in southern Mexico

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press
October 17, 2023, 9:13 PM

MEXICO CITY -- Bruno Plácido, a well-known leader of a civilian “self-defense” group, was shot to death Tuesday in southern Mexico, eliminating one of the last true chiefs of the country's armed vigiliante movements that sprang up a decade ago.

Vigilante squads in other parts of southern and western Mexico still call themselves “self-defense” groups, but almost all are now infiltrated or funded by drug cartels.

Plácido was slain in the Guerrero state capital, Chilpancingo, said a state official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name. No suspects or motive was immediately announced. Chilpancingo has been the scene of turf battles among warring drug gangs.

Plácido rose to prominence in violence-plagued Guerrero in 2013 when he organized a rag-tag army of farmers to capture suspected gang members. His group held about 50 suspects for weeks in improvised jails, before handing them over to civilian prosecutors.

He organized hundreds of villagers armed with old hunting rifles, ancient pistols and small-bore shotguns to set up armed patrols and roadblocks in the township of Ayutla to defend their communities against crime. They said authorities had failed to bring peace and safety to the impoverished stretch of the Pacific coast east of Acapulco.

More:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/leader-civilian-defense-group-slain-southern-mexico-104060978



Bruno Plácido
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