- And just like with Batman from the comic books, the cops don’t like him.
From the darkness of the night, he strikes against no-good hoodlums. As morning arrives, the police find the criminals neatly wrapped in a package at their doorstep.
The Batman of Lagos de Moreno has protected justice once again.
This isn’t some DC comic spinoff. A real-life vigilante is hunting down petty criminals in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
On multiple occasions, cops have found would-be motorcycle thieves tightly duct-taped to lampposts. The vehicles they’ve attempted to steal have been left conveniently nearby for easy recovery.
Due to the incidents being so similar to how the famous superhero presents criminals to the police (at least in the more classic stories), the unknown vigilante has received fitting nicknames on social media. These include the aforementioned Batman of Lagos de Moreno and the Dark Knight of Jalisco.
However, much like actual Batman, his Mexican counterpart isn’t celebrated as a hero. The police are after him and treating the taped-up thieves as victims, as vigilante justice isn’t exactly playing it by the book.
The Taped Crusader
Instead of Gotham, the Mexican Batman appears to be based around the city of Lagos de Moreno in the central Mexican state of Jalisco. The first time he struck was on June 13, 2026.
On that day, locals found a man duct-taped to a lamppost, with the word “thief” written on his forehead. According to reports from local media, a motorcycle the man had allegedly attempted to steal was nearby.
Since then, four additional suspected thieves have been found, similarly strapped to lampposts. In each case, the Taped Crusader left a supposedly stolen motorcycle sitting at their feet as proof of their crimes.
Some of the caught thieves also had their mouths taped shut, suggesting that they may have gotten too noisy for the vigilante’s comfort. Additionally, some showed signs of physical violence. Others still had signs placed around them warning others of a similar fate if they continue on the path of crime.
However, it’s unknown whether the vigilante arrests are the work of a single Dark Knight or whether Lagos de Moreno has a whole round table of them prowling the night.
Strangely, the caught motorcycle thieves have not said whether the Mexican Batman is a single person or a vigilante team. That raises multiple questions about how they were able to overpower and tape the suspected thieves to lampposts.
Divided Opinions
In comic books, Batman has few friends in Gotham’s law enforcement departments (at least in the beginning of his career). It seems his counterpart south of the border is facing a similar situation.
Despite the people caught supposedly being thieves, the police are not treating them as such. Instead, they’re currently treated as crime victims themselves (although the cops are also looking into the motorcycle theft allegations).
According to Juan Pablo Hernandez, the State of Jalisco’s secretary of public safety, the police are actively investigating the incidents and trying to locate Mexican Batman (or Batmen). After all, vigilante justice is illegal.
Hernandez has cautioned the public that no one should take the law into their own hands, no matter how good their intentions may be.
That might be easier said than done in Jalisco, however. Crime has been getting more rampant in the state, and many members of the public are growing frustrated with inadequate policing. It’s likely that this frustration is also what created Mexican Batman.
The cases, which have been widely publicized in local media, have divided public opinion. Many people condemn the Dark Knight of Jalisco, arguing that law enforcement should be left to the police.
Others, however, support him/them. They point out that the police have been unable to stem the rising tide of crime and that Mexican Batman is only doing what many people would like to do themselves.
We can only hope the situation gets resolved before anyone is seriously hurt. Oh, and that a Mexican Joker doesn’t pop up to challenge this Batman.