The World - News from Feb. 18, 1986

The police chief of Oaxaca, Mexico, and two high-ranking aids were fired after 17 police officers were killed on an operation in a remote area, another city official said. Maj. Juan Cruz Lamales of the Oaxaca fire department charged that the three men led a force of 150 federal and state officers into a village last week, then fled before a gun battle broke out. The police reportedly intended to settle a land dispute among peasants. However, the area is known for its marijuana production, and some residents said the 17 men were tortured and killed by drug traffickers.