The Narco Erasure of Indigenous Mexican Life

In early May, an armed group of around 2,000 men attacked Nahua communities in the mountains of Guerrero state, Mexico. They shot at residents, used drones to bomb their homes, then turned to setting crops and community buildings on fire. They attacked four towns in all — Acahuehuetán, Alcozacán, Tula and Xicotlán — with the result that the latter two have been completely abandoned. 

Photo Essay After Resisting Narco Groups, Mexican Indigenous Towns Are Being Erased

Similar scenes are taking place across Mexico, where organized criminal groups have stepped up attacks on Indigenous towns with the goal of expanding their territorial control.

The organized crime group known as Los Ardillos aims to expand its control of Guerrero, which is home to a number of valuable deposits of gold, lithium and abundant fresh water supplies. It is also the site of key drug-trafficking routes, and organized Indigenous communities are seen as an obstacle to those. Since Los Ardillos have gained impunity with corrupt local and state authorities, the Nahua towns in the region have organized community-elected self-defense forces. 

While organized crime groups often seek to control communities through co-option — funding festivals and providing basic living supplies — they have little patience with towns that resist them. Since forming in the early 2000s, Los Ardillos have diversified away from opium into extortion, transportation and the theft of farm animals.