Actually, that headline is a tad misleading. The spread of Mexico’s “autodefensas” is not due to the citizen militia’s physical proximity to each another. Rather it’s down to synchronous suffering: tens of thousands of Mexicans living under the constant threat of torture, rape, mutilation, extortion and murder who armed themselves and rose up against the cartels and their police and military enablers. We’ve reported on the “vigilantes” progress in Michoacan, where a sudden and predictable influx of federal troops has created an fragile peace in the beleaguered territory. We now have word of a similar situation developing to Michoacan’s south, in Guerrero. The LA Times reports that . . .
autodefensa groups are now active in more than half of the 81 municipalities in Guerrero, a state of 3.5 million people, according to Mexico’s human rights commission. Guerrero is perhaps best known outside the country as home to the now-faded beach resort city of Acapulco, but it has suffered as much as Michoacan, if not more, from enduring poverty, weak or corrupt local governments and the deeply embedded presence of feuding cartels.
In the last few weeks, concern over the state’s stability has increased with the arrival of the armed vigilantes on the outskirts of the troubled capital, and their open deliberations over whether to proceed to the center of government power . . .
“It hasn’t had the same attention as Michoacan, but Guerrero is in a very grave situation,” said Jorge Chabat, a professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching. If the situation worsens, Chabat said, “it could create a sense that Peña Nieto doesn’t control anything.”
If that’s not an armed revolution, I don’t know what is. And here’s the thing: there’s no way Mexico’s President is going to let this insurrection go on forever. He will attempt to make his peace with its leaders – as is the way with corrupt leaders – and then, when that doesn’t work, attempt to crush the autodefensas like a bug. With the cartels’ help, presumably.
In the dusty community of Tierra Colorada, just outside the capital, autodefensa member Neftali Villagomez Hernandez, 66, told The Times that vigilantes would reject coming under federal control because they don’t think the government really wants to take the fight to the narcos.
“Here, we’re going to continue on the way we are,” he said. “A self-defense, citizens’ system of security.”
And they wouldn’t have had a hope in Hell without “illegal” guns, some of which were smuggled into Mexico from the United States, many of which they secreted away during the Mexican government’s gun control regime.
Every moral person should support this revolution.
I agree – and thank you for keeping our attention on it, Robert. The papers give it inadequate coverage.
Like, any. At least around here.
Yeah, maybe we should send their illegals back to fight in the revolution. Sure beats giving them amnesty..
Ed Abbey had it right. He said every illegal caught (and you MUST catch them) crossing our border should be given an assault rifle and a backpack of ammunition, and sent back into Mexico to fix their own goddamn country. This was in the late sixties/early seventies. They’d have fixed it by now if his idea had been followed.
Now we need to give Americans assault rifles, to fix our OWN country.
“… every illegal caught … crossing our border should be given an assault rifle and a backpack of ammunition, and sent back into Mexico to fix their own goddamn country.”
Wow, that is really profound … and I believe a really good idea.
Thought we tried that already? No way our leaders would ‘lose’ a few thousand rifles, and hand them off to the wrong guys.. …again.
Maybe we should then send all of our illegals to help fight…you know, all those Americans whose participation, either through dealing or purchase, have supported the cartels and the hell they’ve brought to the citizens in Mexico. In far too many ways, this is a hell too many of our own lawbreakers have hand in funding (including, but certainly not limited to Fast & Furious).
Stop with the Nationalism B.S. Their cause is our cause, because its about civil rights – rights that transcend race and nationality.
So you might spend a little less time thoughtlessly pounding away at your keyboard, and maybe a bit more time praying/hoping that they succeed, so that when this country goes to shit, that you might have some sympathetic neighboring country to flee with your family to.
+1
+2 ! BPAR, KYPD.
Hell yeah! ! Stand with them, they are free men taking back what is rightfully their’s, what’s more American than that?
Do you think their situation just happened to them? It got that way using their own votes (see also: CA, MA, NJ, etc). And when they come here legally, most of them keep voting for the same people they’re fleeing in Mexico.
I hope they sort their mess out, but it’ll require more than just getting rid of the current bad guys. It’ll require getting rid of their burning desire to keep voting for them. And while they’re at it, it might be nice if they stopped voting for presidents who tell America that our 2nd Amendment is the cause of their problems, while doing nothing to stop the flow of criminals and drugs into our country.
Skip all this subsidized college tuition stuff. Give them vouchers for Gunsite or Asymmetric Solutions and a bus ticket to their true home.
Any government who doesn’t consider your life worth protecting by disarming you only wants you as a slave and they fear your intentions after theirs are plainly manifest. Mexico is the same way and the United States government would do away with all guns if they could. God Bless the 2nd Amendment and Anti-Federalists who insisted it be written down. Kill the bad guys. http://assaultriflebrotherhood.com/2014/04/28/vigilantes-of-michoacan/
why are they referred to as vigilantes, surely they are a well regulated militia?
They don’t have enough M240s and AT4s to count as “well regulated”.
not sure they need them, when the phrase was first recorded black powder muzzle loaders were good to go, so in fire power terms, if a Govt linked to a Cartel pisses off 100% of its citizens there’s enough to get it done.
“Every moral person should support this revolution.”
Sorry I can’t ! We (USA) have our own issues and problems to deal with before we (GOD helps US) arrive at the same state of evolution they seem to have come to.
Whats the old saying “you’ve made your bed now lie in it”! They (population) could have possibly gotten a hold of this decades (x10) ago perhaps.. “Stitch in time saves nine”. Oh and enforce the Borders! Moderators have fun..
Moderators have fun..
Don’t be silly. The moderators would never take down any comment as (unintentionally) funny as yours.
FLAME DELETED What does supporting a Mexican Revolution do to abrogate our fighting our own?
“every illegal caught (and you MUST catch them) crossing our border should be given an assault rifle and a backpack of ammunition, and sent back into Mexico to fix their own goddamn country.”
Dang William I was just about to wholeheartedly agree with your previous post. And “They will have another revolucion before we have our second” which I in my post was implying.
Lets not forget the 12-20 milliion here auto defense forces already here that could be home defending.
Actually Denny, supporting the Mexican peoples’ actions speaks in support of our own actions should such actions ever become necessary. For that reason alone we should support them … with our words of encouragement and recognition of their right to defend themselves at the very least.
Remember, absolutely nothing stops the same thing from happening in the U.S.
Persuading realistic argument. Thank you Sir.
“Remember, absolutely nothing stops the same thing from happening in the U.S.”
Again! Known, agreed, and potentially possibility sooner perhaps than later. Time can only tell. GOD help us all.
I hadn’t seen anything of late and was wondering. Keep up the reporting. Inquiring minds want to know.
Mexicans show los Americanos the way. We should be ashamed of ourselves. They will have another revolucion before we have our second.
Third. The first worked out pretty well. The second, not so much.
4th, if you consider 1812 to be the Second War of American Independence. Just sayin.
I’ve heard that before, and I’m iffy on it. Sure, it legitimatized us as a nation in front of the world more than the actual Revolution did. But we did technically exist going into 1812…..so I’m not completely sold on the second revolution thing.
Are you referencing the failed insurrections like the Whisky rebellion or the war of 1812?
“Here, we’re going to continue on the way we are, A self-defense, citizens’ system of security.” — a Mexican citizen
The beauty of a citizen’s system of security is that it is next to impossible to corrupt it … because everyone would have to be corrupt for that to happen.
Correction: The state of Guerrero is south of Michoacan, not to the north.
True that.
The two states together form almost half of the border of the State of Mexico (yes, there is the country of Mexico, and the State of Mexico (Estado de Mexico). The State of Mexico in turn almost completely surrounds the Distrito Federal, their analogue to DC, which contains Mexico City. (I am pulling all of this off a map, so I am sure I am making spelling mistakes etc.)
Given the way Michoacan and Guerrero are configured, I can easily imagine this spreading to Estado de Mexico, at which point the Mexican government will be in deep, deep, doo doo.
Corruption, and the Hell that accompanies it, either springs from a concentration of wealth (to unelected people) or a dictatorship (whether localized or national). Neither Mexico nor the U.S. are prone to dictatorships, but both are totally vulnerable to the corruption that often accompanies concentration of wealth.
Osama Bin Laden was able to wreak havoc because he sat on a pile of tens of millions of dollars. The drug cartels in Mexico are wreaking havoc because they sit on a pile of tens of BILLIONS of dollars. A few individuals and especially some corporations in the U.S. are sitting on 100s of millions and even BILLIONS of dollars. The very same thing could happen here.
A conniving person with a billion dollars to throw around can bribe a lot of government officials. And if there are situations where bribes are insufficient to accomplish some objective, such a person can afford to pay a “professional” to go to the next level. And nothing, absolutely nothing, stops any such obscenely wealthy conniving person from engaging in such tactics. That is why we must keep and bear arms and never give up that right.
I guess it true: when seconds count, the Federales are hours away having tequila with the Bandidos.
That shouldn’t have made be laugh, but it did.
Old ford truck, vw thing, old ford truck,old Chevy truck … Waitwut?
Poor mans gun trucks. God bless them for having the stones to ride. that crap into war. I hope some of our illegals are channeling some of their dollars into funds for equipment and supplies.
Rangers and w/t specials I get completely but a vw thing? how do you even get parts? Props for originality; definitely not what i would have expected in a rebel convoy … anywhere.
Just guessing here, but vw beetles were being made new in Mexico till just recently. How many parts are interchangeble between the 2 vw products?
Maybe it’s just, you know, his thing?
Don’t underestimate the Thing,it worked out ok for the Nazis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubelwagen
VW Things, or ‘Safaris’ as they are known in the rest of the world, were made in the VW plant at Puebla. All of the Things in the US came from there. Underneath that stylish body, a Thing uses beetle running gear, so parts are no problem. Mexico is still covered in air cooled VWs, as they made them there until into the 2000’s. Things were used extensively as taxis in some resort towns in Mexico, and can still be found there in large quantities.
I’d be a lot happier about riding into battle on an old VW than I would be about riding into battle with a break action, single shot shotgun… but props to these folks, if they’re actions are what they appear to be on the surface.
Only the Police and Military should have guns and not people you say? Next time anyone spews that knowledge of nothing talk to you, tell them about this situation.
I was just thinking the same exact thing.
I think it’s clear that’s why the situation is being covered on this site.
The press covers the Taliban and al Qaeda, but the monstrously corrupt government and need for citizen self-defense in our own backyard? Nada.
“We” have been propping up and re-financing PRI-led governments for many decades, making the payoffs as needed. More than a few political and investor big-wigs in the US are complicit in the system that is currently falling apart. Count on the US to help behind the scenes with some serious-looking cartel-busting for a few months, to aid the PRI. They’re even going after Sinaloa now. Now that’s theater!
they will give the lame but but but well among civilized countries comeback.
Thanks for following up on this story. When it comes to the media in this country, Libya – front page, Syria – front page, Mexico – “crickets”.
Might as well put them on the list too:
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2014/02/18/venezuelan-government-says-quiet-day-today-as-they-arrest-opposition-leader/#more-77086
I believe that most of the guns being smuggled into Mexico are .22 rifles and single shot shotguns. They are bought in the U.S. at garage sales or flea markets or from “grey” market sources, because uncle Juan told his nephew, working in Los Estados, that he needed a gun on the farm, so his nephew Jose, smuggled it down to him.
That is the bulk of the guns being smuggled into Mexico, and lots of those were made before 1968, without any serial numbers.
It is easier to get shotgun ammunition now, than it is to get .22 ammo!
This was bound to happen sooner or later. The animals have had a free reign for far too long and the bad on gun ownership only accelerated the problem.
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