The People of Guerrero, Mexico, Have Taken Justice Into Their Own Hands
above: Militia members in Cuautepec, Guerrero, where they gathered to take an oath to defend their communities against organized crime. Photos by Carlos Alvarez Montero.
On January 5 in El Potrero, a small town in the Mexican state of Guerrero, a man named Eusebio Garc&iacute;a Alvarado was kidnapped by a local criminal syndicate. Kidnappings are fairly common in Guerrero&mdash;the state, just south of Mexico City, is one of the poorest in the country and the site of some of the worst violence in the ongoing battle between the drug cartels and Mexican authorities. Guerrero&rsquo;s largest city, Acapulco, is known to Americans as a tourist hot spot. It&rsquo;s also currently the second most dangerous city in the world, according to a study released by a Mexican think tank in February.
Eusebio&rsquo;s kidnapping, though, was exceptional. He served as the town commissioner of Rancho Nuevo and was a member of 