Mexico Gas Protests Marred By Looting, Death

MEXICO CITY, Jan 6, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 06th Jan, 2017 ) - More looting and protests against a gasoline price increase erupted in Mexico on Thursday, a day after an officer was killed and hundreds of people were arrested.

Demonstrators blocked highways and service stations again as protests continued for a fifth day since the government hiked gasoline prices by 20.1 percent on January 1. On Wednesday, looting took place in several parts of the country, as people left stores with televisions, toys and clothes, and more thefts were seen on Thursday.

business leaders said some 1,000 shops and companies had been looted or vandalized while several stores closed out of fear of being next. Police have arrested more than 430 people in Mexico state, 106 in the capital Mexico City, and 135 in the eastern state of Veracruz.

Riot police dispersed a small protest with tear gas in the northern state of Coahuila on Thursday while 100 people marched in Mexico City. "I have grandchildren and I would be ashamed to know that I did nothing" against the price increase, said Emma Cabrera Albarran, a 58-year-old shopkeeper at the Mexico City protest.

A small group protested in front of a service station in Mexico City, shouting "Pena out!" in reference to President Enrique Pena Nieto. The police officer died in Mexico City on Wednesday after he was hit by a car while preventing a theft at a service station, the city police department said. Five other officers were injured elsewhere in Mexico City.