Assailants shot dead an Indian activist in Mexico's conflict-ridden state of Oaxaca, police said Saturday. It was not clear if the killing was connected to months of political violence in the historic state capital that has left at least nine people dead.
The bullet-riddled corpse of Raul Marcia Perez was found Friday on a road near the Mixtec Indian community of Agua Fria north of Oaxaca city.
Marcia Perez was the leader of a local Indian group and columnist in a community newspaper.
Many Indian groups from the region have held demonstrations against Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, whom they accuse of thuggery and corruption. The protesters took over the center of Oaxaca for five months until thousands of federal police drove them out in November.
On Friday, federal police raided the offices of the Oaxaca state police force and seized their guns to determine whether any were used in shootings against demonstrators.
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Most of the nine victims of the Oaxaca violence have been protesters who were shot by armed gangs, and activists blame local police for many of those killings. Oaxaca police director Manuel Moreno said that the seizure of their guns was illegal as the federal officers did not follow the correct procedure.
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