TTAG tipsters have been sending me links to stories about the growing number of civilian militias forming south of the border. They do so to highlight the fact that Mexicans are fighting back against corruption and cartel carnage by exercising their constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Only Mexico’s “Second Amendment” isn’t like ours. Article 10 was amended in 1971, after anti-government riots engulfed the country. It reads as follows . . .
The inhabitants of the United Mexican States have the right keep to arms in their homes, for security and legitimate defense, with the exception of those prohibited by federal law and those reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard. Federal law will determine the cases, conditions, requirements, and places in which the carrying of arms will be authorized to the inhabitants.
So, unlike the U.S. Constitution which protects citizens’ natural or human right to armed self-defense against federal (and, post McDonald, state and local) infringement, the Mexican government grants the right to keep and bear arms. Or, of course, not.
Big on the “not.”
Civilian disarmament has enabled monstrous cruelty from the Mexican army, local and state police, and the cartels—players so heavily intertwined that citing them separately is to make a distinction without a difference.
It’s no wonder that brutalized Mexicans caught in the crossfire have taken it upon themselves to tool-up to protect their lives and livelihoods. It’s also no wonder that the government is moving to disarm them.
To wit: this story from excelsior.com.mx [Google translation]:
Tuxtla Gutierrez, February 22. – Civil groups self in Chiapas will be disarmed by the Army General Raul warned David Guillen Altúzar, commander of the military garrison of San Cristobal de las Casas.
In an interview set up roadblocks on citizens in various states, primarily in Guerrero, the general said “(those groups) will have to be disarmed. “The law applies to firearms, as stipulated for all Mexicans. ”
Excelsior reported yesterday that residents of Ayutla, Guerrero, first staged a shootout at a roadblock who installed, which killed a suspect. Since it began operations, the civilian police have killed three people . . .
The Mexican army proceed to disarm civilian groups seeking to defend its territory against crime, said General Raúl David Guillén Altúzar, garrison commander in San Cristobal de las Casas.
“It has to be the political authority which must come to calm down those groups that have chosen to take up arms to defend themselves,” he said.
Thus the Mexican Army “has chosen to mount military checkpoints in order to build confidence among the population, however, detect a group of armed civil law applies firearms and explosives.”
“Building confidence” by disarming law-abiding citizens seeking to protect themselves against criminals and their own government. Sound familiar? If not now . . .
If the Mexican police really want to take guns away from civilians, they should be setting up roadblocks in front of the ATF.
Our beloved AG might get Furious real Fast!
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/
When I cross the Border from USA to Mexico there is a B I G sign :
NO GUNS
NO AMUNITION
(Unless your name is Erick Holder)
“Legitimate defense”
If it’s a case of illegitimate defense the body has a way of shutting that whole thing down.
heh
As I read it, three people have been killed by the miltias, right? I wish there was more information on the circumstances surrounding these killings. Justifiable homicide or wanton abuse of power?
All Too Familiar!
Perhaps they will find some of those non-existant F&F guns, NOT!
Let the Mexican police and military disarm the cartels first. Just as the American government should concentrate on disarming criminals first. Once they’ve accomplished that there will be no need to disarm citizens. Unless of course the G has other motives for disarming us.
Never happen. The cartels RUN Mexico.
If the U.S. ended the WoD, legalized drugs, etc., it would kill off a massive chunk of cartel funding…
It would also eliminate a huge amount of the inner city violence associated with the drug trade that is being used as an excuse to disarm Americans.
and it would kill off a large quantity of the gun related violence in this country *gasp
you mean…the solution is….
yup. that simple.
Lo siento mucho, Senor… llame la policia… sabe “hell freezes over”?
The Mexican government has moved against local village self-defense (aka ‘vigilantes’) in Chiapas State first because that state has been in open rebellion off and on for decades. Its population, largely indigenous with Native American identity, feels oppressed by the mestizos and ‘Spaniards.’ The state will react more slowly to the new village police in places like Ayutla, Guerrero State, because of the lack of recent rebellion there and the obviously greater cartel presence. U.S.-based investors played a large part in encouraging disarmament of civilians in Mexico. Surprise. It backfired when the peasants gained a source of cash-flow (drugs) with which to finance weapons and buy police and judges. Unsurprisingly, it was the worst element of Mexico which took advantage of the new road to armament. The very rich turned the rock of their constitution into a swamp. Now they are sinking in it.
I like your last three lines there.
Quite typical of governments everywhere: “We can’t protect you, so we’re not going to let you protect yourself, because that would make us look weak and ineffective.”
One wonders why they can’t simply focus that extra effort on actual criminals and their organisations….
Anarcho-tyranny. Disarm the law-abiding because you can’t control the criminal element.
So the cartels do whatever they want, the police and army are use- and helpless and the civilians, who’re caught in the crossfire and have to protect themselves are being disarmed.
Yeah, sounds like a plan if you want a lot of dead people.
But these common-sense gun control measures are helping bring an end to senseless killing, right?!
Oh, wait. Nope. They aren’t.
Exactly, why isn’t Nieto disarming the cartels? Why the citizens who are just trying to protect themselves from being caught in the crossfire?
This sounds like political propaganda from a president on a serious power trip, coming out just after he puts La Maestra in jail. Looks like Obama is fulfilling his promise to keep Mexico in the mainstream media, in exchange for Nieto doing his wishes. Just like the elections in the US being riddled with fraud so to were the Mexican elections with Nieto. Most of Mexico does not recognize Nieto as their president and knows he was put there by the US.
What a joke, taking “arms” from the Mexican citizens, he must mean the rusty shotguns and machete’s…
Note how easy it is to ignore the words of a constitution or to claim, “I know it says this, but it really means that…” Any compromise and any ground given in an attempt to placate gun control freaks only results in more control and less freedom.
Similar to the “I support the 2nd amendment, but…”
Caught between the hammer and anvil/Getting taken advantage of/preyed upon by both the government and cartels; Not a good situation. The only solution I can think of probably won’t be comfortable/easy.
Coming soon to any where near you.
I sit here, thankfully, in El Paso, listed as the safest large city in The US for the third year in a row. Texas gun legislation, or lack thereof, is well known. 100 yards across the Rio Grande is Ciudad Juarez, listed as one of the most dangerous cities IN THE WORLD! In 2011 Juarez averaged 8 murders per day. In 2011, El Paso had 5 murders for the whole year! Hey Mexico, how’s that gun regulation working out for ya?
When politicians win national office, is there some secret place they go to get a lobotomy?
Nancy Pelosi’s house.
one of these days, when good, ethical, moral, and compassionate people inherit the earth, those that behave exactly like those psychopaths that once ruled our paradigm will be confined to a mental institution.
Lets bring back ECT! (I kid).
My friend was assigned to work on a new auto plant near Mexico City. They were setting up and programming welding robots. He had all the appropriate work visas/paperwork. At customs, he got the “red light” (if you haven’t been to Mexico, upon entry travelers press a button. Either a red or green light will flash, green and you breeze through, red you get searched. On my last visit the guy ahead of me got the red light, and his suitcase contained nothing but boxes of Breitling watches, I have no clue if they were real, but he was quickly escorted to a separate area..) anyhow, during his search, the inspector declared that out of all his tools, the two larges Allen wrenches were “offensive weapons”, and confiscated. He was questioned for over an hour, and then released.
40,000 cartel related killings, and they are worried about a legitimate worker’s hex keys!
I’ve travelled to Mexico many times, and have always carried a folding karambit, as the blade is less than 3″, I’ve even been searched and released without issue. I wish I could carry a pistol while there… Even on the beaches you can find yourself dealing with shady characters, while on resort properties.
I don’t blame the populace for wanting to take up arms. If their police and military (not all of them are corrupt, there are some really good guys risking their asses to make a difference) aren’t protecting them, who else will? All the more reason to do everything to ensure our rights remain intact.
I always upon landing hit the first stop and bought two switch blades, one for the pocket, one rubber band attached to my forearm.
Couple of times while after work, had a couple tough looking fellas eyeballing us (wolves recognize wolves), and a little innocent flick and snap to uh, “trim” my nails, and they quit looking our way. Would have preferred a nice Glock. No we weren’t in places where we shouldn’t be either!
As cheap as they were, I shit canned them when walking into the airport to leave. Several companies my friend work for have hired “Blackwater” or similar operators to escort their employee’s while down at their Mexican facilities.
Many of my Mexican co-workers had uh, GASP firearms to defend their homes, as their stories of running cartel gun battles in their neighborhoods (Monterrey, Guadlajara) having to hard bar their doors and windows to prevent cartel members from hiding from their pursuers were so common as be a normal part of life.
Or the couple of cartel members hung from a bridge overpass by their feet for all the commutters driving in from the Monterrey airport still twitching as a warning, too bad we didn’t have a cell phone camera ready when we saw that to remind people around here what happens when only the govt. is armed.
Or when we stayed at the Clarion Hotel less than 1 mile from the Monterrey airport 2 years ago, the unique chatter we heard two mornings in a row at 3:30am, first night, thought it might be the TV, next morning heard it again, TV wasn’t on, it was a full auto AK burst, the clackety clack of that large bolt slamming home is a unique sound.
Yeah, man love that total gun control (SARCASM)!
We’ve been screwing over those poor folks forever. Now we’ve exported our pro-criminal/anti-law abiding citizen mentality (courtesy of Baltimore, NY and Chicago). Is this any shock? The only thing more immoral than honest, law-abiding citizens of Mexico defending themselves with *shock* a firearm, is murderous, drug-pushing pyschopathic devils murdering innocent men, women and children at will. It’s a darn good thing our gun grabbers don’t have a trace of morality in their pro-criminal enterprise.
Collapsenet posted a article about these citizens militias. They apparently are sick and tired of corrupt police, military, and cartels and have taken the initiative to protect their communities with nothing more than single shot rifles and old shotguns.
I can see the mexican government has prioritized the cause of the problem *facepalm
Maybe if americans took the initiative to throw our congressmen and women out on their asses and demand real change through the ending of the drug war stuff like this would be severely reduced. Since significantly reduced drug related violence would result in significantly reduced gun violence, the protectionists would stop standing on their soapboxes demanding to disarm us. Everybody wins, even the harmless hippy that wont have to worry about going to prison over growing his/her own pot.
But no. The problem is that wall street would no longer receive investments from laundered drug money. That presents a teensy little problem since withdrawal of drug money and hampering it would cause a financial collapse worse than 2008. Dont believe me? try reading about HSBC sometime.
In the meantime, I hope I can connect a elaborate big picture for you to look at and why drugs, banks, economics, guns, mexican cartels, murder, and severely criminal activity are all symtoms, not causes, of a entire machine or system.