It's a start. Maybe if it spreads they can take their country back?

NUEVO URECHO, Mexico (AP) — Extortion of avocado growers in western Mexico has gotten so bad that 500 vigilantes from a so-called “self-defense” group known as United Towns, or Pueblos Unidos, gathered Saturday and pledged to aid police.

The vigilantes gathered for a rally in the town of Nuevo Urecho, in the western state of Michoacan, armed with AR-15s and other rifles, as well as a motley collection of shotguns.

They said that drug cartels like the Viagras and the Jalisco cartel have been charging avocado growers ‘war taxes’ of about $1,000 per acre ($2,500 per hectare).

Tired of the extortion demands and kidnappings, growers and farmers formed the group in 2020, and it now claims to have almost 3,000 members.

https://newschannel20.com/news...pledge-to-aid-police

If the police won't protect you, it's your moral duty to protect yourself.

Defending yourself and your property is not vigilantism.

Ask them to show you their badges.

Gonna be a tough fight for them, battling both the cartels and the federales.

It worked for San Francisco in the 1850's. The vigilantes took over the entire city, ended the corruption, and after a while they declared victory, held a parade, and disbanded.

Later lawsuits by the corrupt politicians against the vigilantes were all defeated.

If our gov wanted to really end the b.s. of the cartels we would target their headquarters with cruise missiles and use drones to blow their vehicles off the roads. An aggressive six month operation could rid us the drugs, human trafficking, and terrorizing of the citizens in countries south of here. But, we have a bunch of wimps in our gov and there is too much money to be gifted by looking the other way. Ask me how I know going all the way back to Bush41.

quote:

Originally posted by bushpilot:
If our gov wanted to really end the b.s. of the cartels we would target their headquarters with cruise missiles and use drones to blow their vehicles off the roads.

Send cruise missiles into Mexico, eh? Brilliant idea.

Magnificent Seven 2021!!! Peasants will fight.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Gonna be a tough fight for them, battling both the cartels and the federales.

Kinda like here ~ good guys aka the people/local-police vs criminals/media/government/FBI

They have our sympathies but not likely enough support.
Even if they have some success in their local area, another stronger cartel will fill the vacuum. They can't let that happen and also want the extra power and money.
Sadly, they may have some limited success, but will eventually get wiped out.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Ask them to show you their badges.

The cartels are extremely well armed. I can see them exterminating these people to set an example.
They are very brave, though.

I'm not, in any way, belittling this movement and I wish these people the best. They are facing crime and corruption up close and personal, which directly impacts their lives.

But the simple truth is that this isn't the first time that an armed uprising of the locals has stood up to the Cartels and the Federales, and while they had some early successes, the competing personalities and corruption within their groups, in some cases members crossing over to act as representative agents of the Federales, and in some cases members of the defense group joining the Cartels led to disorganization and disillusioned members, and eventually these movements collapse.

Watch the excellent documentary Cartel Land which documents the U.S./ Mexican border drug war, on both sides of the border, as an example of an armed uprising that had some early successes, but eventually failed.

IMDB- Cartel Land

I truly wish these people well and hope that the "United" part of their name is true.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Gonna be a tough fight for them, battling both the cartels and the federales.

Kinda like here ~ good guys aka the people/local-police vs criminals/media/government/FBI

You know what makes a third world cesspool? Corruption and/or moral decay. Mexico is a cesspool because key elements of their government and law enforcement have been corrupt for generations to the extent that officials/agents are presumed corrupt until proven otherwise. We are witnessing the gradual decay of our agencies via corruption from the top and with scattered elements throughout. Most are not corrupt, but enough are. We are headed to third world suffering.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Ask them to show you their badges.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Magnificent Seven 2021!!! Peasants will fight.

I like how you think. Filming actual operations for a movie would pay for the operation.

This has happened before down there. I saw a documentary about a vigilante group that was fighting the Knight's Templar cartel. What ends up happening is that the cartels use their money to bribe, infiltrate, and break up the vigilante groups.

A cartel named after Viagra?

If this fight lasts more than 4 hours, you may need to contact a physician.

They have to beat the Federales, first