Kidnapped for 22 days, villagers recount how cartels control communities in Mexico

In El Balcón, a remote village in Mexico’s Guerrero state, eight villagers were kidnapped and held captive by drug cartels for 22 days. The villagers, who numbered 136, were approached by armed men who marked them as part of the community through a system of calling them “squirrels” and limiting their food rations. They were subjected to interrogations, threats, and beatings, and held in an overcrowded house, often blindfolded while eating.

The attackers claimed to be part of the cartel La Familia and demanded control over the village’s resources, which included logging. The community, a model of sustainable forestry, resisted collaboration with the cartels and alerted authorities, who soon deployed military forces to protect the area. The hostages, confined to small and cramped trucks, feared their fates were sealed with every journey.

Eventually, the elderly man’s grandson was released, but the rest remained held captive. Only one villager managed to escape the ordeal.