Mexico catches gang leader; mayor, 4 others shot to death

MEXICO CITY -- A mayor, a town councilman, two other town employees and a local resident were shot to death Saturday in the conflict-ridden indigenous town of San Juan Chamula, in southern Mexico.

San Juan Chamula is known for its colorful religious practices mixing Catholic and indigenous traditions. But it has also been a hotbed of conflict between Catholics and Protestants.

Prosecutors in southern Chiapas state said a crowd of about 35 people demanded to speak with the mayor in the town square Saturday morning about funding for public works. As they were taking their problems to Mayor Domingo Lopez Gonzalez shots rang out, killing him and the other four.

A dozen people were wounded in the shooting, which did not appear to have any religious motivation.

A few days earlier, a crowd of about 300 residents of San Juan Chamula broke up a protest blockade on a major highway near the town.

Prosecutors said Friday they had arrested 11 people for that attack, and adding that some were part of a gang involved in illegal logging and extortion.

In an unrelated incident in Acapulco on Friday, the leader of a gang blamed for killing taxi drivers and low-level drug dealers in that resort city was arrested. Prosecutors in Guerrero state said five others were also arrested in the raid.

Prosecutors said the gang was known for its "extreme violence" and was engaged in a turf battle for Acapulco. It said the gang had left 28 threatening or violent messages, often linked to murders.

The office did not name the gang or give the full name of the suspect. But local media identified him by his nickname as "El Ruso," and said the gang was linked to the Beltran Leyva cartel.