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Juárez Mayor Calls Artists’ Arrest a Mistake, Says He Ordered Their Release

The reversal underscores pressure over police handling of political street art.

Overview

  • Police in Ciudad Juárez detained two muralists and 13 others as they painted a satirical image of Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuéllar with pig features.
  • The mayor said he learned of the arrests by phone and told the public security chief to free everyone within hours.
  • Officials cited alcohol at the scene as the reason for detention, and the mayor later called the case minor and said a warning would have sufficed.
  • He acknowledged the public would assume he ordered the crackdown and pledged to respect future protests, though the mural was erased.
  • The episode, reported by El Heraldo de México, highlights ongoing tensions in Mexico over limits on free expression and police responses to political art.