Mexico mob lynches man over social media accusations

A mob in Mexico attacked a young political advisor and then set him on fire over child trafficking accusations shared on chat groups, local authorities said Sunday.

Daniel Picazo, 31, was lynched by a crowd of 200 people in the central state of Puebla after accusations that a suspected child kidnapper had entered the town were widely shared on telephone messaging groups, municipal authorities said.

Police attempted to rescue Picazo and placed him inside a patrol car but the mob forced him out and into a sports field where he was beaten, doused with gasoline, and set on fire while still alive.

“This is not justice, but barbarism,” the municipality of Huachinango, which administers the town of Papatlazolco where the lynching took place. The competent authorities are already investigating what happened to determine responsibility,” police said in a statement.

Picazo’s body was recovered after the mob left the area.

Until March 2022, he served as an advisor at the legislative Chamber of Deputies, the institution confirmed on social media while condemning the lynching.

Mob justice is not uncommon in parts of Mexico, particularly in more remote areas where police are slow to arrive.

One of the most dramatic cases occurred in 2019, also in Puebla, when seven men were beaten and burned alive.  (AFP)