Mexican mayor: police involved in deadly kidnap bid

A Mexican mayor accused officers from his own police force Wednesday of trying to kidnap him in a gang-ordered attack that left eight people dead, including a child and a pregnant woman. Inde Mayor Ernesto Nunez told reporters that he lodged a complaint against municipal and Durango state police officers, accusing them of involvement in Sunday's kidnapping attempt alongside mafia hitmen. "We already knew that all municipal police were corrupt, and state police can be corrupt too," he said. Nunez, whose town of 4,800 people is located in the northwestern state of Durango, said his family, workers and veterinarians were in his ranch when the gunmen fired several rounds and lobbed grenades at it. "A red truck arrived and they started screaming at us. After that, we only heard gunshots," the mayor said, adding that he managed to flee with his brother, two sons and two nephews. Nunez said six relatives and friends were shot dead while a pregnant woman and a child were burned to death when a grenade sparked a fire in the ranch. The state prosecutor had indicated on Monday that six people were killed in a shootout when state police intervened in an attempt to kidnap the mayor. Mexican mayors have become frequent targets of crime groups with at least six killed in 2011, and 15 in 2010. On Friday, a former mayor who had survived two assassination attempts during her 2008-2010 term was found dead in the western state of Michoacan. Durango has recently experienced a surge of drug-related violence as the Zetas crime group moves in on turf that had long been dominated by the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel.