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- Nov 18, 2007
80 yr. old Mexican rancher defends his land to the death against cartel
Monday, November 22, 2010
When Mexican Marines arrived at the San Jose Ranch, 15 kilometers fromVictoria, Tamaulipas, the scene was bleak: The austere main house waspractically destroyed by grenades and heavy gunfire.
Outside ofthe home, they found four bodies. Cautiously, and with their weaponsdrawn, the troops continued inspecting the exterior and found two moregunmen, wounded and unconscious, but alive.
Inside the houseonly one body was found, riddled with bullets and with two weapons byit's side. The body was identified as Don Alejo Garza Tamez, the ownerof the ranch and a highly respected businessman in Nuevo Leon.
Uponfurther inspection of the interior, marines found weapons andammunition at every window and door. This allowed them to reconstructhow, just hours prior, the battle had played out.
Marinessearched for more bodies inside the house, but none were to be found.It seemed hard to believe that one person, armed only with huntingrifles, had caused so many casualties on the attackers.
Dozensof spent shells and the smell of gunpowder gave proof of the tenacityof the man who fought to the end in defense, of not only his ranch, buthis dignity.
In the end, it was deduced the man had createdhis own defense strategy to fight alone, placing weapons at every doorand window.
The story began in the morning of Saturday November13, when a group of armed gunmen went to deliver an ultimatum to DonAlejo Garza Tamez: He had 24 hours to turn over his property or sufferthe consequences.
Using the diplomacy he had acquired overnearly eight decades of life, Don Alejo flatly announced that not onlywould he not be surrendering his property, but that he'd be waiting forthem.
When the men had left, Don Alejo gathered his workers and ordered them to take Sunday off, he wanted to be alone.
Hededicated the rest of Saturday to taking stock of his weapons andammunition and creating a military fortress style defense strategy forhis home.
The night of Saturday the thirteenth was long andrestless, much like his past hunting adventures; Don Alejo woke early.Shortly after 4 a.m. the motors of various trucks could be heardentering the property from a distance.
Marines who investigatedthe scene could only imagine how it was that morning: armed men, theirimpunity secured, confident they'd soon be owners of yet anotherproperty. Nobody, or almost no one, could hold out against a group ofheavily armed gunmen. Only Don Alejo.
The trucks entered theranch and took up positions surrounding the house. The gunmen got outof their trucks, fired shots in the air, and announced they came totake possession of the ranch. They were expecting the terrifiedoccupants to run out, begging for mercy with their hands in the air.
Butthings didn't go as expected. Don Alejo welcomed them with bullets; theentire army of gunmen returned fire. Don Alejo seemed to multiply, heseemed to be everywhere. The minutes would have seemed endless to thosewho had seen him as easy prey. Various gunmen were killed on sight. Theothers, in rage and frustration, intensified the attack by swapping outtheir assault rifles for grenades.
When everything finally fellsilent, the air was left heavy with gunpowder. The holes left in thewalls and the windows attested to the violence of the attack. When theywent in search of what they had assumed was a large contingent, theywere surprised to find only one man, Don Alejo.
The survivinggunmen did not take over the ranch. Thinking the military would arriveat any moment, they decided to run. They left behind what they thoughtwere six corpses, but two of their gunmen had survived.
Shortlyafter, the Marines arrived and methodically reconstructed the events. Alone rancher, a man who worked a lifetime to be able to enjoy thefruits of his labor such as his ranch, had defended it to his death.
Inthe last hunt of his life, Don Alejo surprised the group of assassinswho wanted to impose the same law on his ranch that they had on theState, the law of the jungle.
The marines who were presentwill never forget the scene: a 77 year old man, who before death, tookout four gunmen, fighting the same as the best soldiers: with dignity,courage, and honor.
cliffs:
-cartel gangsters say leave land or beware
-old man says no thanks and Ill be waiting for you
-builds a war fort in his ranch with ammo at every window
-puts up a hella of a fight
-gets killed by grenade
-my hero
