San Francisco Frontiers - 'Never going back': Cartel attack decimates Mexican Indigenous town

The attack in early May on the small, impoverished settlement in the coastal state of Guerrero was attributed to the drug cartel Los Ardillos, who analysts say were aiming solely to intimidate locals.

The violent incident drove residents away and killed at least three people, according to local defense groups, although there is no official count.

An explosion had blasted a tin roof apart, and shattered glass coated the barren room underneath, AFP journalists observed.

The view through the cracked window showed shell casings scattered across the dusty street.

Maria Cabrera covered her tear-stained face with a blanket as she recalled everything she lost.

"Ashes, it's all ashes," the 74‑year‑old craftswoman told AFP.

"They burned my work as if I weren't capable of working. Here I am out on the street like a dog with no owner."

- 'Shattered' -

The attack displaced Cabrera and around 100 others to the nearby town of Alcozacan.

In the small hilltop community, mostly women wearing traditional Nahua shawls must queue for bags of milk, tortilla flour, canned goods and toilet paper.

Police forces stand by, but locals claim the official presence has done little to help them, and no arrests have occurred.

This week, a family home in Alcozacan became a makeshift chapel so that Tula residents could hold funerals for their dead, all of whom were members of a community defense group.

"They fought as hard as they could to defend the people," said Sixto Mendoza of CIPOG-EZ, the local self-defense group standing up to Los Ardillos.

"We demand justice."

A procession of incense and flowers wound up a nearby mountain to a colorful cemetery at the summit, where music from a local band intertwined with the afternoon breeze.

One of the deceased's girlfriends, who requested anonymity, told AFP she felt "shattered."

"We had barely gotten together. I didn't have much time with him," said the 16-year-old, who also lost her uncle.

- 'Never going back' -

In Tula, a wounded goat wandered through fragments of roof on the ground, while chickens and dogs roamed the streets in search of food.

"There's no one here," Prisco Rodriguez of CIPOG-EZ said as he recorded a video of the area, assessing the damage as he walked around.

The cartel's aim was to "subdue those who submit and kill those who don't," he said.

"Once they move in, they start charging you a fee (a bribe) for everything, even just for existing."

"There are many communities that are experiencing this situation," but "everyone has to keep quiet," he added.

Los Ardillos have no plans to settle in Tula, and are more interested in destroying towns that support CIPOG-EZ, according to security analyst David Saucedo.

"So that it no longer has anywhere to heal its wounds, resupply with provisions, get water, rest or hide," he said.

Attacks have increased because Los Ardillos "are in a position to expand," he added.

The horror left its mark on Cabrera.

"I am never going back," she said.

B.Turner--SFF