Federal authorities rushed Monday to head off a mini-civil war in the "hot land" of Mexico's Michoacan state, urging rural vigilantes to lay down their arms and go home rather than attempt to seize a city of 90,000 that has become a stronghold of a drug cartel calling itself the Knights Templar.
The armed peasant groups emerged last year to fight off the cartel, which had metastasized throughout the southwestern state, coordinating the lucrative methamphetamine trade and extortion rackets and wielding significant control over the major container port of Lazaro Cardenas. Until recently, the self-defense groups had been largely tolerated, if not encouraged, by President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration, which had allowed them to staff some roadblocks alongside federal police and soldiers.
But in the last week, the groups have taken control of a number of communities surrounding the city of Apatzingan. Their leaders declared that their goal was to drive the cartel out of the city for good.
Read the article: The Los Angeles Times
Mexico: Armed citizens won't give up fight against drug cartel
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Monday, April 22, 2024
On Friday, ATF provided the unpleasant surprise of yet another rulemaking to implement the noxious Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
Monday, April 22, 2024
Along with “assault weapon” bans, so-called “high capacity” magazine restrictions are a cornerstone of modern gun control.
Sunday, April 21, 2024
After holding late-night votes until close to midnight on Saturday, April 20th, the Colorado House passed three anti-gun bills on their third reading, including liability insurance mandates, an 11% excise tax, and a state-level permitting systems for FFL's.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) has announced a legal victory in a high-profile governance matter brought by the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (DCAG).
Monday, April 1, 2024
NRA Members Among the Largest Class Protected from Draconian Rule