[imagesource:gencraftai]

It seems vigilante justice is not just a South African issue after a group of farmers turned on the drug cartels that were extorting ‘protection fees’ from them, killing 10 cartel hitmen with machetes.

The Mexican villagers claim they “basically had no choice but to die fighting, or die from hunger.” The fightback claimed 14 lives.

According to Mexican officials, 10 of those killed in Mexico state were members of the La Familia Michoacana cartel, while the remainder were ordinary farmers. Among the dead was “Comandante Payaso” (Commander Clown), the reputed leader of La Familia in the region responsible for the increase in the extortion cost.

Extortion is a major criminal market in Mexico and a means for criminal groups to make money from violence and territorial domination.

On the afternoon of December 8, members of La Familia Michoacana confronted a group of farmers in the small rural village of Texcaltitlán about an increase in the ‘extortion levy’. The farmers were already paying the criminals a Mexican peso per square metre (about R1.12). According to local news sites, the cartel now wanted double the price, but the farmers had had enough and chose violence.

“We had a very bad year of harvests and we barely made enough money to pay the original extortion fee. With this increase, we basically had no choice but to die fighting or die from hunger.”

In a grisly video that circulated on social media, residents and members of the drug gang can be seen arriving at the local football pitch where they had arranged to meet to deliver the extortion money. A small group of people is seen in the footage, fully equipped with AK-47s and armoured vests. Some even wore fake Mexican military uniforms.

After a few minutes of conversation, someone in the group fires a shot, and all hell breaks loose. The farmers, armed with shotguns, machetes, and sticks, started chasing the cartel members, with some killed with guns, while others were macheted to death.

In another video, seven burnt victims are seen inside two white pickup trucks, presumably belonging to the La Familia Michoacana cartel.

Another farmer said that they had told the Mexican army that this was going to happen because they were not going to pay anymore. “We asked for their backup but no-one showed up.”

Commander Clown, one of the cartel victims, has long been on the radar of law police. “He was a primary target for us due to his involvement in the criminal organisation.” Andrés Andrade, Mexico State’s chief of police said. “We had several investigations going on to find him.” Problem solved it would seem.

According to officials, La Familia Michoacana is a Mexican drug gang that was created in the late 1980s in the Mexican central state of Michoacán.

A previous clash between La Familia Michoacana and police went viral after a pet spider monkey was found among the deceased following the shootout. The monkey was dressed in a hoodie and had a tactical vest on.

Seems like the cartel had a sense of humour, except Commander Clown is not laughing anymore.

[source:vice]