Fed up by state police who they say do nothing to protect local forests, a group of indigenous townspeople in Cheran, Mexico, on Wednesday temporarily locked 16 police officers in an office in order to call attention to their plight, according to Fox News.
The police officers arrived in Cheran to follow up on an attack earlier in the day during which eight people were killed. Michoacan state Gov. Fausto Vallejo said he would meet with the residents on Friday.
The indigenous residents are related to the Purepecha people. Last year, the residents began arming themselves and started combating illegal loggers. On Wednesday, the loggers, believed to be related to the drug cartel La Familia, ambushed the townspeople using automatic rifles.
The Purepecha, according to Fox News, rely on the forests for log cabins, medicine and collecting resin.
