Volkswacht Bodensee - Mob lynches five alleged thieves in quake-hit Guatemalan town

The incident occurred on Thursday night in Santa Maria de Jesus, the municipality worst affected by the tremors of up to 5.7 magnitude, which began on Tuesday.

"Residents detained five people who were beaten and lynched because they were accused of being thieves," police spokesman Cesar Mateo said.

The men were accused of using the cover of darkness to break into homes following the earthquakes, which led people to sleep in shelters or with relatives, he told AFP.

"While it's true that robbery is illegal, lynching is also a crime," Mateo said.

Vigilante violence is common in Guatemala in response to impunity exploited by criminals.

Videos circulating on social media showed a man being beaten on the ground by residents and then set on fire with gasoline.

Santa Maria de Jesus, home to an Indigenous Mayan community, had no power and access roads were cut off by landslides, prompting the government to fly in humanitarian aid.

Around half of all buildings in the municipality of 27,000 residents had some kind of damage, according to mayor Mario Perez.

Between 2008 and 2020, vigilante justice left 361 people dead and 1,396 injured in the Central American country, according to Mutual Support Group, a local civil society organization.

K.Hofmann--VB