Gunmen slay Indian activist in violent Oaxaca

MEXICO CITY

Assailants shot dead an Indian activist in Mexico's conflict-ridden state of Oaxaca, police said today. It was not clear if the killing was connected to months of political violence in the historic state capital that has left at least nine people dead.

The bullet-ridden corpse of Raul Marcia Perez was found Friday on a road near the Mixtec Indian community of Agua Fria about 120 miles north of Oaxaca city, state police said in a news release. He had been shot earlier in the day, it said.

Marcia Perez was the leader of a local Indian group and columnist in a community newspaper.

Many Indian groups from the region have participated in demonstrations against Oaxaca Gov. Ulises Ruiz, who is accused of thuggery and corruption. The protesters took over the center of Oaxaca for five months until thousands of federal police drove them out the city in clashes in October and November.

On Friday, federal police raided the offices of the Oaxaca state police force and seized their guns to determine whether any were used in shootings against demonstrators.

Most of the nine victims of the Oaxaca violence have been protesters who were shot by armed gangs, and activists blame local police for many of those killings.

Oaxaca police director Manuel Moreno said Saturday that the seizure of their guns was illegal as the federal police had failed to follow the correct procedure.

Protesters plan to march into the center of Oaxaca on Sunday to demand the resignation of Ruiz and the freedom of more than 200 people who have been arrested on demonstrations and transferred to prisons across Mexico.