Mexico: Monkey with a protective vest among the dead in the shooting

Enlarge image

Police officers in the Mexican community of Texcaltitlán

Photo: Madla Hartz/EPA

A spider monkey wearing a protective vest was killed in a shootout between suspected criminals and police in Mexico.

The monkey with a long prehensile tail was probably the pet of one of the eleven criminals killed, local media reported on Friday, citing the Attorney General of the State of Mexico.

The monkey was wearing a camouflage hoodie and a baby diaper, according to photos posted in Mexican media.

It was said to have been found next to its owner, who had also been shot.

These primates, which live in Mexico and Central America, are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Members of Mexican drug cartels often keep exotic animals.

The fact that they are now even being equipped with protective vests is a sign of how brutal the drug war is raging in Mexico.

Last year, an average of more than 90 murders per day were registered in the Latin American country with around 126 million inhabitants.

Almost 99,000 people are believed to have disappeared.

Many acts of violence are never solved.

Much of the violence is at the hands of cartels and gangs involved in drug smuggling, racketeering and gas theft.

Many of them have ties to politicians and security forces.

Security forces say they were attacked in a village in the Texcaltitlán municipality on Tuesday.

According to local media reports, police officers in the central Mexican town wanted to arrest a member of the Familia Michoacana cartel who was wanted with an arrest warrant.

They were greeted with shots.

Ten people were arrested, including a 15-year-old boy.

wit/dpa/Reuters