Police say 5 people died in Mexico from drinking a poison potion in a Santeria ‘power’ ritual

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Police in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca say five people have died after drinking a poison potion in a Santeria ‘power’ ritual. The Oaxaca state police chief said Wednesday that four men and one woman died after drinking a mix of substances he did not specify. He said they were involved in Santeria, a faith that began in Cuba when African slaves blended Yoruba spiritual beliefs with Roman Catholic traditions. Police chief Iván García Alvarez said the victims mixed the potion themselves and drank it “to acquire some certain kind of powers.” The case is being investigated as a group suicide.