Inhabitants of the Avocado Region Take Up Arms to Protect Their Municipalities
ARIO DE ROSALES, MEXICO - JULY 04: Members of Pueblos Unidos, armed, guard a checkpoint to prevent the entry of criminal groups on July 4, 2021 in Ario de Rosales, Mexico. Pueblos Unidos is an armed organization created in August of 2020 as a response to the violence, threatens, and extortion against producers of the 'avocado area' in the Mexican state of Michoacan. The civil organization groups together around 5,000 members who are farmers and day laborers that dedicate one day per week to be part of the brigades which take care of many barricades set up to prevent the access of drug cartel members in four different municipalities (Ario de Rosales, Salvador Escalante, Nuevo Urecho and Taretan). Although inhabitants of the area have demand security to the government, the situation is complicated as extortion grows and insecurity prevails. Photo by Cristopher Rogel Blanquet/Getty Images

A new wave of bloodshed threatens the country, even avocado farmers in Mexico vowed to defend their orchards from gangs sowing terror in Mexico.

Armed with assault rifles and other firearms, a convoy of vigilantes quietly traveled along a road in western Mexico. The masked men were traveling between plantations and maintaining checkpoints in Ario de Rosales in Michoacan state, an area which is the scene of a bloody cartel turf war.

According to France 24, one of the self-defense groups in the region, Pueblos Unidos, claimed that the group had 700 members who were fighting to protect their land. One of the group's members shared that before they started patrolling the area, residents lived in fear, afraid of the possibility of kidnapping, extortion, and even the stealing of their product avocados.

Moreover, the member who spoke on the condition of anonymity, emphasized that there is a need for them to be armed to defend themselves. The members also wore a badge that read 'Down with injustice, no more death.'

Also, the member also stated that in the past, criminals came into their property and did whatever they wanted to them, but when they were already armed in longer happened.

However, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stated that he opposed the establishment of such self-defense groups. The Mexican President also shared that the phenomenon which could be traced back from 2013 was allegedly used by criminals as their front.

Meanwhile, the comments of Lopez Obrador were not well received in Ario de Rosales. Another Pueblos Unidos member stated that the president should "get his shoes dirty" to discover the reality of life in the area polluted by the Jalisco New Generation and Los Viagras cartels.

Even the police and military feared the criminals because the gangs also have their own high-powered guns. The police were also allegedly paid by the cartels to do nothing, another vigilante who gave his name as Martin confirmed.

It was estimated that there were around 50 self-defense groups in Mexico. The authorities mentioned that they have seen intensifying violence in recent months especially in areas in Michoacan and the northern Mexican states of Zacatecas and Tamaulipas.

On the other hand, in the first five months of 2021, Mexico registered 14,243 murders, and the bloodshed has shown no sign of stopping since then. On June 19, alleged Gulf Cartel' members shot dead 15 individuals who were described by the government as innocent victims in the border city of Reynosa in Tamaulipas.

Hugs not Bullets

Authorities said that four attackers were killed by the police during the incident. One hitman who was arrested revealed that the massacre sought to 'heat up the plaza.' The hit man said that it was just a form of random killings to divert the attention of the authorities away from other areas.

Despite the escalation in violence, Lopez Obrador repeatedly refused to declare war on the cartels. The Mexican president argued that the policy did not work and failed in the past. Instead of going against the cartels, Lopez Obrador maintained a strategy of "hugs not bullets." The Mexican president stated that he wanted to focus on fighting crime at its roots by attacking poverty and inequality.

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Written by Jess Smith

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