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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2006 
Protesters in Oaxaca Release 4 Hostages
 Rebecca Romero - Associated Press
| | Men carry the coffin of Jose Jimenez, who was killed during a protest, in Oaxaca City, Mexico, Friday, Aug. 11, 2006. Jimenez was killed Thursday Aug. 10 during a protest in support of the striking teachers in Oaxaca. (AP/Pablo Spencer) |
Protesters held four people hostage for hours Friday, charging they were linked to a fatal shooting of a demonstrator during protests that have have besieged Oaxaca since June.
The Federal Agency of Intelligence said protesters later released the hostages to its agents at a local television station that had been seized by the protesters.
The protesters want the four charged in the death of Jose Jimenez, 50, who was killed late Thursday during an Oaxaca People's Assembly march calling for the resignation of Gov. Ulises Ruiz.
The leftist OPA, which has accused the governor of using force to repress dissent and rigging the 2004 election to win office, alleged Ruiz was behind the shooting. The governor denied the allegations and condemned the violence.
Tensions in Oaxaca have been on the rise since June, when state police attacked a demonstration of striking teachers occupying the historic central plaza and demanding a wage increase.
Since then, thousands of teachers, unionists and leftists have camped out in the plaza, spray-painting buildings with revolutionary slogans, smashing hotel windows and erecting makeshift barricades. Most businesses remain closed.
Meanwhile, authorities arrested Erangelio Mendoza Gonzalez, a top teachers' union leader thought to be the driving force behind the demonstrations.
Protest organizer Enrique Rueda Pacheco said Gonzalez was being held on federal charges of blocking public access and taking over city buses. Federal authorities confirmed the arrest but did not provide details.
The U.S. Embassy warned U.S. citizens to steer clear of the protests, citing the possibility of further violence in the city popular with tourists for its cobbled streets, markets and cuisine.
On Wednesday, gunmen killed three people, including a 12-year-old boy, on a road about 150 miles from Oaxaca. The three had been heading to protests in the city, but police said they did not know if the attack was linked to the demonstrations. |
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