[drusilladimitria]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ug-cartel.html

Mexican vigilante gunmen disarm local POLICE so they can rid town of feared Knights Templar drug cartel
Residents living in fear of violent criminal gangs in south-west Mexico are taking matters into their own hands
Yesterday 600 vigilantes seized control of town of Paracuaro in Michoacan state in bloody battle that left one dead
Convoy of 'autodefensas', or self-defence groups, drove into the town controlled by drugs gang in blacked-out SUVs
They took back control from the Cabelleros Templarios (Knights Templar) gang which terrorised local residents
In neighbouring Guerrero state, vigilante group the Public Safety System marched in honour of first anniversary

Hundreds of armed vigilantes stormed a Mexican town and arrested federal police in the latest bloody battle between residents, criminal gangs, and the police locals say are in league with the gang members.
Around 600 members of local 'autodefensas', or self-defence groups, stormed Paracuaro in the troubled Michoacan state yesterday in an attempt to seize control of the town back from the feared Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar) drug cartel.
The battle was the latest in a long-running war between the drugs gang in Mexico's south-west and local residents who say state and federal police are not protecting them.
Small groups of local vigilantes took up arms and joined forces to storm Paracuaro, headquarters of the Knights Templar gang, where they arrested police officers and seized control of the town in a blaze of gunfire.
They drove into the town in black armoured vehicles shouting 'Don't be frightened, we are vigilantes', before expelling drugs traffickers, whom they accuse of kidnapping people and bribing them to make money. Several gun battles were reported, leaving at least one dead.
Police officers, whom the vigilantes accuse of being in league with the cash-rich drug gangs, were rounded up by machine-gun toting locals, along with others suspected of associating with gang members, and a checkpoint was set up at the entrance to Paracuaro.
Insecurity dominates the lives of millions of Mexicans, for whom taking the law into their own hands has become the only option. Drugs cartels make millions of dollars producing and selling drugs, so the land where they produce opium poppies and marijuana is highly prized and often fought over.

Detained: Local vigilantes arrested police in Paracuaro in south-west Mexico yesterday as they seized back control of the town from the Knights Templar drugs gang



Burnt out: Traffic on the highway outside Paracuaro came to a standstill yesterday after a bus was set alight, allegedly by gang members



Police officers are forced to surrender their weapons to armed vigilantes in Paracuaro yesterday after the group seized control



Local vigilantes armed themselves to take control of Paracuaro back - they accuse police of being in league with the gangs and say they have to protect themselves

[Faline]

Viva la Mexico

[Johnny Wadd]

Good for them,wonder how long it will last.

[drusilladimitria]

Not long, I'm sure. They probably just made way for a new cartel to move in unopposed.

[ak74]

I always thought the Knights Templar were vigilantes.

[Kanda444]

im just gonna say it first... this is exactly why the whole gun control issue was so emotional for people in the US.... because shit like this still does and can happen anywhere. there are situations where civilians may need to take control when their town is in peril and the police force is failing... and this would be hard to do without firearms.


also, amazing example of the use of sensationalism by the media here:

Yesterday 600 vigilantes seized control of town of Paracuaro in Michoacan state in [a] bloody battle that left one dead

"bloody battle" now equals one guy dead

[Shadedwill]

@Ak: Maybe they started that way
@Kanda: Right?! I kinda chuckled at the "bloody battle, 1 dead part too".

[invertigo]

This isn't going to last long. While the media may proclaim these guys vigilantes, the Government sees them as terrorists.
Waco and Ruby Ridge come to mind.
Gone are the days of overthrowing the government with brute force alone. If modern guerrilla warfare is going to have any chance of success it must adapt to the digital age.
Hopefully these guys don't get their asses flattened by a tank.

[azdesertsnake01]

There are several good points to be made here. First is gun control. Anti gun people always say more laws and less guns. Well, mexico has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. Just getting caught crossing the border from the U.S. with a single bullet in your pocket or vehicle can get you a life sentence in a mexican prison. And I assure you, that is not like staying at a 5 star hotel! To say nothing of getting caught with an actual gun.

So basically these vigilantes are risking life sentences just for having these guns, let alone arresting police, etc. So they are really taking a chance doing what's right.

The cartels don't care about gun laws there. They own most of the cops. The only ones that obey the gun laws are the honest citizens who are the ones paying for all of this corruption. In other words, gun laws suck. Mexico definitely proves the point of "if guns were outlawed, only outlaws would have guns".

Another good point, is that this is what can happen when the public finally gets sick of shit. I have said in the U.S. for the past 20 years that if everyone just stood up and demanded something be done, it would be done. We don't have to do it with firearms here, just stand together and do NOT let the politicians bullshit you and back you down. Right now with the NSA, the American public can end that once and for all. Just stand together.

I've also said all of my life that true change is NOT made at the voting booth. Voting is nothing more than what the government allows you to do in order to make you feel like you are changing something. This is so you won't do something that actually does change things.

Always remember, if voting made a difference, it would be made illegal by the government! Lol.

[Kanda444]

Originally Posted by invertigo ↗

This isn't going to last long. While the media may proclaim these guys vigilantes, the Government sees them as terrorists.
Waco and Ruby Ridge come to mind.
Gone are the days of overthrowing the government with brute force alone. If modern guerrilla warfare is going to have any chance of success it must adapt to the digital age.
Hopefully these guys don't get their asses flattened by tank.

i dont think that's necessarily true... i mean, obviously they cant do it alone but the point would be to start conflict and pray for aid.....

think along the same lines as the NATO intervention that got rid of Gaddafi... that kind of help. again, it's not likely but possible.