A man died at the General Hospital of the South, in the municipality of San Pablo del Monte, Tlaxcala, after being lynched in Santa Cruz Quilehtla, where residents accused him of attempting to rob passengers on a public transport vehicle.
According to official information, the events occurred between the night of Monday, March 23, and the early morning of Tuesday, March 24, when the 911 Emergency Service received an initial report of a fight on 16 de Septiembre Street. However, upon arrival, municipal police officers confirmed that it was a mob attack against a man approximately 30 years old.
According to reports, the man, who has not yet been identified, was detained by a crowd after being accused of attempting a robbery on a bus traveling the Acuamanala-Quilehtla-Zacatelco route. The mob severely beat him and even attempted to set him on fire with gasoline.
Because only two municipal police officers were on the scene as first responders, state authorities activated the anti-lynching protocol to control the situation. Security personnel managed to rescue the man alive and rushed him to the hospital; however, he died hours later from his injuries.
Read also: Attacks on Mexican schools: a recap of the cases that have marked the country; violence that alarms classrooms
The Secretary of Citizen Security, Alberto Perea Marrufo, reported that this case is the first completed lynching in Tlaxcala in the first quarter of 2026. He specified that, during the same period, seven attempted lynchings have been recorded.
Furthermore, he maintained that the police action adhered to the current protocol for preventing and confronting attempted lynchings, and attributed the fatal outcome to the conditions under which the events unfolded and the reaction of the crowd.
“The moment the alleged perpetrator tried to steal, people immediately began to beat him; that is, the protocol was implemented, and everyone should have been ready in less than five minutes, and that’s what happened,” he commented.
“When dialogue began with the people—because there were about 100 people gathered there—by the time the municipal authorities, who were the first responders, arrived, the person had already been beaten,” he added.
Read also: After 29 years of absence, Chiapas Zoo exhibits harpy eagle specimen; first phase of improvement and remodeling work inaugurated
For its part, the Tlaxcala State Human Rights Commission (CEDHT) opened a complaint file to investigate possible human rights violations stemming from the case. It stated that these types of acts constitute a serious violation of the right to life and personal integrity.
“Lynchings are illegal acts that undermine the rule of law and create a climate of violence and impunity that must be eradicated,” he stated in a press release.
He also urged authorities at all three levels of government to effectively activate, within their respective jurisdictions, the Protocol for Action in Cases of Attempted Lynchings and to strengthen mechanisms for immediate response to citizen complaints in order to prevent institutional gaps that generate distrust and encourage violent collective reactions.
Source: eluniversal
