2nd Amendment: Mexico legalizes vigilanties to fight against the drug cartels

[key2thecup]

Papa Smurf's army: Mexico turns vigilantes into police force to battle murderous drug cartel

Members of the local Self-Protection Police wearing the uniforms of the new rural police, parade in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan State, Mexico, on May 10, 2014. (AFP Photo / Ronaldo Schemidt)

Thousands of Mexican vigilantes are signing up to become part of a new rural police force. The government decided to bring the 20,000-strong “self-defense” group under state control amid worries it could turn into a powerful military force.

The regional government of the western Mexican state of Michoacan began to hand out blue uniforms and assault rifles to vigilantes Saturday. They will form part of a nascent rural police organization that will support the Armed Forces in the fight against organized crime in the region.

Around 3,300 vigilantes out of an estimated 20,000 were sworn in during mass ceremonies Saturday by the local government. The leader of the vigilantes, Estanislao Beltran, nicknamed “Papa Smurf” by his compatriots because of his long white beard, said their fight against the cartels had just begun.

Estanislao Beltran (L), aka "Papa Pitufo" (Papa Smurf in English), leader of the local self-protection police, wearing his new uniform of the rural police, receives an AR-15 assault rifle from the Commissioner for Development and Security of Michoacan, Alfredo Castillo, in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan State, Mexico, on May 10, 2014.(AFP Photo / Ronaldo Schemidt)

“We are not illegal,” Beltran told AFP, after putting on his new uniform. With this change “we are part of the government,” he added.

After Saturday’s ceremonies, authorities said there will be time over the course of the next few days for more vigilantes to sign up.

“I am proud to wear this uniform,” said Artur Barragan, a 35-year-old truck driver who was previously a vigilante. “Finally we are going to bring an end to this battle.”

Hundreds of assault rifles to be delivered to the newly created rural police are pictured in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan State, Mexico, on May 10, 2014. (AFP Photo / Ronaldo Schemidt)

Anyone caught illegally bearing arms from now on in the state of Michoacan will be arrested, the authorities said Saturday. The local government has grudgingly tolerated vigilantism in Michoacan over the past year, with locals claiming they are forced to take up arms to defend themselves against local drug cartels.

Previously, the vigilantes had been part of a “self-defense” group that was created in February 2013 to combat the infamous Knights Templar drug cartel which has terrorized the region since 2010. However, the vigilante movement became a source of concern for the Mexican government after two of its previous leaders were accused of murder.

The self-defense force’s council dismissed one of the group’s founders, and the spokesman for the movement, Jose Mireles, on Thursday. It was decided he could not continue in the group after it was revealed he was involved in the killing of five civilians.

In addition, another founder of the group, Hipolito Mora, was arrested in connection with the murder of two other vigilantes. Earlier this week, Mora admitted on local radio that the vigilante organization had been infiltrated by organized crime.

Security in the state of Michoacan has been one of the top priorities for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto following his election in 2012. His government has deployed thousands of troops in the region to combat the activities of the Knights Templar cartel. Currently, security forces are seeking to apprehend the head of the cartel, Servando Gomez, or “The Teacher,” as he is also known.

The war against drugs has left parts of Mexico almost completely lawless with up to 120,000 people killed, according to some estimates.

Police officers of the Michoacan state write down the registration numbers of the weapons to be delivered to the newly created rural police, in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan State, Mexico, on May 10, 2014. (AFP Photo / Ronaldo Schemidt)

http://rt.com/news/158168-self-defense-mexico-vigilantes/

Grassroots Militia: Citizens of Mexico Rediscover Their God Given Rights

It’s incredible what human beings will put up with before asserting themselves. The vast majority of people on this planet live in conditions far below what we have attained in the West. In part, it’s a testament to the human spirit that we are capable of enduring scarce food, contaminated water, and rampant disease throughout much of the world. What happens though, when your standard of living is being actively destroyed by other humans who are nothing more than vile thugs? What is the breaking point for the average person?

Image: Mexican Vigilantes (Wiki Commons).

Around this time last year, residents of the Mexican state of Michoacan stood up for their rights and livelihoods, against the corruption of their government, and the extortion of the Knights Templar drug cartel. After arming themselves with whatever weapons they could find, including hunting rifles and slingshots, the untrained citizens banded together into small militias and started arresting or killing anyone associated with the gang. So far they have successfully driven out the cartel from their homes, something the government had long failed to do. So what were the conditions that drove these people to finally stand up for themselves? According to the Washington Post article linked above:

The final straw for one of the founding leaders of the movement, Doctor Jose Morales, was particularly harrowing:

“The area’s lime growers, for example, were taxed by metrics that included acreage, limes harvested and crates packed. The meager wages of the lime pickers were also taxed, along with the bus fares that they paid to get to the groves. Gang members taxed sacks of corn and the tortillas made from them. A man installing a floor in his house soon had a gang member at his door, demanding a fee. A man who ran a restaurant said the cartel began taking a cut of the coins in his jukebox.”

Since then, these grassroots militias have successfully taken back their communities, and are now well organized and well armed with weapons confiscated from the cartels. The government, likely embarrassed by the bold success of the movement, has decided to demobilize the militias by demanding they register their weapons, and join a new rural police force.

“They kidnapped my sisters. They tried to kill my wife and my children. And when they started going into the schools and taking the baby girls, 11-year-olds, 12-year-olds, that was my breaking point.”

While some folks have gone along with the registration and joined the newly sanctioned force, many members of the movement have refused to comply. They fear, as many Americans do, that registration will lead to confiscation. If they lose their weapons, the cartels will likely return with a vengeance against the unarmed populace. The movement has now rifted between those siding with Doctor Mireles, who wants this armed and decentralized movement to spread across Mexico, and those joining the government’s token police force. Time will tell how all of this will pan out, but it’s a pretty fantastic start for a country with some of the strictest gun laws in the Western hemisphere.

Here we have ordinary people, publicly brandishing weapons that could easily earn them a lengthy prison sentence. By banding together and refusing to comply, the government’s only recourse to avoid embarrassment was to put them on the payroll and beg them to go quietly. I can’t help but notice a correlation with the Cliven Bundy situation on our side of the border. It turns out that when small groups of people arm themselves together, and take a purely self-defensive stance against the government, the authorities are helpless and dumbfounded. They don’t know how to approach the situation without making themselves look like desperate tyrants. The best they can do is retreat from these courageous people or hire them.

What a delightful and precarious situation for the gun grabbers. They thought they could separate us from our natural right to defend ourselves. But when the defenseless reach their breaking point, they can take back their rights against any odds. These people have stood their ground against their incompetent government, and the brutality of the drug cartels. So far they’ve won. Lets hope it continues to play out this way for years to come.

http://www.thedailysheeple.com/citizens-of-mexico-rediscover-their-god-given-rights_052014

[Keslerific]

Thats awesome

[TheRussianRocket.]

Great move by Mexico. The cartels have been ruining the environment and safety of the general public for decades now and seems police weren't doing much too. The people are taking action fed up with it and it's just great.

Public have actually been fighting them for quite some time now and I guess today it was legalized for them to do so. Power to the people. If the police aren't doing their best, giving the people the option to take a stand is next best thing.

[EoH]

So let me get this straight, you join and get free fire arms?

[key2thecup]

[key2thecup]

Apparently this was in a certain province fighting against the Knights Templar cartel & they have rooted them out, and now the Gov't want's them to disband........ I think the seed has been planted amongst the Mexican citizens though now and this will keep growing.

[DefCon1]

If they legalize marijuana and other drugs in Canada and US, none of this would happen. The drug cartels would all go back to panhandling or maybe find something else that is illegal in other countries to export.

[Mr.53]

Mexico is turning into a war zone because of this stupid war on drugs. Can we end this already?

[I.Am.Ironman]

If they legalize marijuana and other drugs in Canada and US, none of this would happen. The drug cartels would all go back to panhandling or maybe find something else that is illegal in other countries to export.

Definitely agree. I forget which country it is in Europe (Switzerland, Iceland, or Luxembourg -- not sure), but they don't have any drugs deemed 'illegal'. The result was/is that drug use amoung citizens is amoung the lowest in the world.

That's an interesting article; the fiasco in Mexico has surely gotten out of hand. The police aren't doing anything about it because they are being paid off... those who aren't getting paid aren't willing to get shot because of it -- grossly generalized but true.

EDIT: the country I was referring to turns out to be Portugal. They implemented the policy in 2001 and have seen decreases in citizen drug use, aids, increase in sought out treatment etc.. Here is the wiki page if interested

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_Portugal

[theminister]

Definitely agree. I forget which country it is in Europe (Switzerland, Iceland, or Luxembourg -- not sure), but they don't have any drugs deemed 'illegal'. The result was/is that drug use amoung citizens is amoung the lowest in the world.

That's an interesting article; the fiasco in Mexico has surely gotten out of hand. The police aren't doing anything about it because they are being paid off... those who aren't getting paid aren't willing to get shot because of it -- grossly generalized but true.

Portugal

[Tre Mac]

Do they get to keep the proceeds?

[AbbyNucksFan]

so... the cartel is called "Templar Knights" and the leader is "the teacher" I think someone was watching too much Da Vinci Code

[Otis]

Portugal

Brilliant country.

[DefCon1]

so... the cartel is called "Templar Knights" and the leader is "the teacher" I think someone was watching too much Da Vinci Code

Nah...He was watching Walter White in Breaking Bad.

[theminister]

Brilliant country.

You're Azorean, right, OTTS?

Portugal did it out of necessity, really. They are not a wealthy country and have the most 3rd world conditions in some parts of the country in all of Western Europe.

As they say, necessity can be the mother of invention. I just wish other countries didn't try and bankrupt themselves to figure this out.

[Rick Grimes]

I can't wait...

[Otis]

You're Azorean, right, OTTS?

Portugal did it out of necessity, really. They are not a wealthy country and have the most 3rd world conditions in some parts of the country in all of Western Europe.

As they say, necessity can be the mother of invention. I just wish other countries didn't try and bankrupt themselves to figure this out.

Yup.

And agreed completely.

[Offensive Threat]

The concern is that the cartels will infiltrate the rural police just like they have at every level of Government. The group will be harder to stop as they are defending their homes and families so cant be bought off so easily but the cartels arent the kind to just give up easy.

Plus, if the cartels are forced to find other ways to make money they will turn to kidnapping, extortion etc.

[Ghostsof1915]

Reminds me of...

[RUPERTKBD]

I can't wait...

Ola, I'm Batmang...