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Caribbean-Latin America | ||
Cartel's Extortion War on Mormons and Background for Murders | ||
2019-11-07 | ||
[Sun UK] How the Mormons and cartels went to war in Mexico - with anti-terror devices, $1m ransoms and shoot-outs in the street
This week the sickening massacre of nine Mormons - including six children - has shone a spotlight on a fragile community blighted by decades of tragedy. In a "targeted" hit that has seen a rival of El Chapo arrested, three vehicles belonging to two families were ravaged with bullets on their way to a wedding in Sonora, where babies were left to burn alive and kids were shot in the back. While police are yet to pin down the hitmens' exact motives, the grisly scene is just the latest chapter in a long, brutal feud between the two groups plagued by kidnappings and brutal executions. Most remarkably, it has seen a tight knit, religious community turned into a high security fortress where guards barricade roads like anti-terror units, illegal firearms are smuggled in and ordinary civilians man watchtowers on a seven-day rota round the clock. KIDNAPPINGS AND $1MILLION RANSOMS The LeBarons - a polygamous community where men take multiple wives - were first caught in the cartels' dangerous web in 2009. The family's large houses and nice cars attracted the attention of organised criminal syndicates looking to fill their coffers. It was here that on May 2 16-year-old Eric LeBaron was seized by five armed men as he worked on the family's Sierra Madre ranch. His younger brother was sent to tell his father, Joel, of the news. The shameless kidnappers Wat ? called three times to ask for $1million dollars in ransom - refusing to negotiate. "If you give them a cookie, they'll want a glass of milk. If we don't make a stand here, it's only a matter of time before it's my kid." - Craig LeBaron Furious, the family debated hiring professional bounty hunters, before going over the heads of the local police force to petition in their hundreds the state's governor and attorney general. The response was immediate. Helicopters scoured the streets as police desperately searched for the missing teen. Roadblocks were set up to block off escape routes. Obviously the govt pathetically implored the Cartels to free the hostages, for gear of US reprisal. And miraculously, within eight days, Eric was freed. Yet while the clan celebrated victory, tragedy was just around the corner.
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Posted by:Dron66046 |
#2 When the Church of the Latter Day Saints banned polygamy in the late 19th century, hoards of Mormons - who traditionally take multiple wives - fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution. As did a number of former southern slavers post-1865 to include Brazil as a destination that retained the practice. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2019-11-07 16:03 |
#1 Somehow I don't think we're going to know what actually went down here for a long time. |
Posted by: Lex 2019-11-07 15:31 |