A town in southern Mexico is reportedly being terrorised by drug cartels and criminals after a children's nursery lottery syndicate won 20 million pesos ($950,000; £710,000) in a prize draw.
The small nursery has just over 20 pupils, and parents had been put in charge of deciding how and where the money will be spent. However, shortly after the win was announced, the threats and intimidation against the parents and the wider town began.
Rejecting the threats, the parents spent money on a new roof for the nursery and the rest of the money on improving the local village.
Among those threatening the parents are a drug cartel called Los Petules, who attempted to force the parents to buy guns for the gang. Los Petules wished to obtain the weaponry in order to carry out an attack on a rival gang in another town.
As a result of the intimidation and the refusal to part with their winnings, the parents have now fled the town and are said to be homeless. They fled shortly after one man was shot at by a gang member and women and children were physically intimidated.
One refugee from the village said:
"[We have lost our] cattle, our homes, refrigerators, our corn and bean harvests, our chickens".
While police and the Mexican authorities are aware of the situation, they have done little to combat it and internal corruption is rife. The villagers now say that they will not be able to return to their homes at all until the group is disarmed.
Mexico remains one of the most violent countries in the world, despite a huge crackdown on the drug cartels that traffic drugs into the United States. In 2020, a total of 43,265 homicides were registered in Mexico, meaning that the murder rate is far in excess of most other countries. Widespread lawlessness has been concentrated in some Mexican states, but no region of the country is left untouched by the violence.
[Based on reporting by: BBC]
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