An already tense situation in the indigenous Wixárika territory of northern Jalisco looked set to explode this week after a respected community leader who fought valiantly to recover his people’s tribal lands was shot and killed along with his younger brother.
The murders, which authorities believe were carried out by a local criminal cell, have prompted calls from indigenous leaders for an armed “self-defense” force in the region.
Miguel Vázquez, a local teacher with studies in human rights and legal issues, was instrumental in successfully recovering a 184-hectare parcel of abandoned ranch near the town of Huajimic on behalf of the San Sebastián indigenous community. Under the Mexican government’s land restitution programs, he was actively engaged in trying to recover an additional 10,000 hectares that has mostly been in the hands of ranchers for the past century.
Vázquez’s activism made him unpopular, not only with ranchers but also with the Jalisco Nuevo Generacion Cartel. This violent drug trafficking and criminal organization entered the Huichol community about a year ago to “sell” protection to indigenous leaders, as well as “persuade” native farmers to plant poppies.
Vázquez was among those who made repeated calls for increased security and vigilance in the zone to counter the threat of violence have fallen on deaf ears, indigenous leaders say. Befire his death, he had commented on several occasions of the need to create a Huichol “community” police force.
Although there are several conflicting and confusing reports, it appears Vázquez was shot and killed by five men outside a hospital in Tuxpan de Bolaños on May 20. He had just come from checking on the condition of his brother, who a few hours earlier had been shot by the same group of men. A high-caliber weapon – favored by criminal organizations – was used in both killings, authorities said.
Subsequent investigations by the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office (FGR) led to a house, where a stash of weapons, drugs and cash was found, amid other indications of the existence of a crime cell.
Attorney General Eduardo Almaguer, who visited the region on Thursday, said many details of the case needed to be resolved. He said the mayor of Tuxpan de Bolaños, the municipal police chief and various police officers are all under investigation for possible “irregularities” prior to the shootings. It transpires that both brothers had become involved in a disturbance with the group of men in a Toyota Tacoma at a charreria (rodeo) event several hours before the shootings. Municipal police officers had remanded some of those who took part in the fracas into custody but subsequently allowed them to go free.
University of Guadalajara (UDG) Rector Tonatiuh Bravo Padilla condemned the slayings and called on the state government to step up its protection of indigenous communities.
In a press release, the Citizens Movement faction in the Jalisco Congress blamed the state government for failing to provide “guarantees of security to our indigenous peoples.”
The United Nations high commissioner in Mexico also called for a thorough investigation into the crime.
Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval has promised to closely follow the investigation.