Often it’s found in quiet places where people refuse to give in
to debilitating injuries or fatal disease. Sometimes it’s found in dirty, dingy
prison cells. In 1945 it was commonly found among kamikaze pilots, U-boat
crews, and Soviet tank riders—all with extraordinarily poor chances of
survival. On 9-11 it was found on United Flight 93 over Pennsylvania.
On November 14, 2010, it was found in Mexico in the person of
Alejo Garza Tamen.
Seventy-seven years old, Garza Tamen was known as “Don Alejo,”
the patron of the family ranch in Tamaulipas State. In Mexico, don
is an honorific, a title denoting seniority rather than actual nobility. In
Garza’s case, it carried considerable respect as well.
Tamaulipas is in northeastern Mexico, bordering Texas and the
Gulf coast. Don Alejo’s hacienda was nine miles outside the state capital,
Ciudad Victoria, some 175 miles south-southwest of Brownsville. That geographic
fact made the estate attractive to drug cartels moving their products to del
norte. It also forced many remote landowners to rely upon themselves rather
than the government.
Against a background of prolonged violence and civil war, the
Mexican constitution of 1917 ensured individuals the right to possess firearms,
but in 1968 widespread unrest led to severe restrictions by state and federal
authorities.
Government policy is to conduct ”permanent educational campaigns
that induce the reduction of the possession, the carrying and the use of arms
of any type.” Simply put, the constitution was invalidated by legislation and
regulation, with the defense ministry maintaining a national firearms database.
Generally, the largest permissible sidearm caliber for civilians
is .380, though 9mm and even .357 may be exempted, go figger. (Mexican law
presumably accounts for the perennial shortage of .380 ammo in Arizona.)
Some exemptions exist for shotguns and rifles (commonly .22s) in
rural areas, though licenses still are required. Reportedly compliance with the
more onerous regulations is low. Furthermore, in some cases the army has
disarmed police in areas sympathetic to antigovernment movements. In that
context, the huge majority of Mexican citizens are defenseless in a nation
where narcoviolence has escalated massively. Available figures indicate fewer
than 100 cartel-related deaths in 2006, rocketing to nearly 10,000 each in the
last two years. It’s so dire that mayors of some Mexican border towns spend the
night across the river.
The Garza family received no support from the local authorities
so Don Alejo was left on his own. Subsequently a Spanish language blog
addressing the subject proposed organ transplants, as certain Mexican
politicians require a set of cojones. Other comments lamented the
country’s gun laws, which make self defense difficult to impossible, though community
defense groups have formed in some areas to resist to the extent possible.
Meanwhile, there was no help for Don Alejo.
On Saturday, November 13, drug traffickers drove to the
hacienda, announcing that the owners had 24 hours to vacate.
Garza was not intimidated. Reared in an outdoor environment—his
family ran a timber and sawmill business--he knew the wild and reportedly he
was a founder of the local hunting, shooting, and fishing club. Familiar with
firearms and willing to use them in self defense, he set his mental trigger.
The patron informed the gang members that he would meet violence in
kind. After they departed he told his employees they would not be needed the
next day, and suggested they leave. Thereupon, Don Alejo tended to his weapons
and planned his defense. What weapons he possessed are unknown, but news
accounts emphasize hunting rifles. He positioned guns and ammo at doors and
windows around the house for easy access.
Around 4:00 Sunday morning, at least two vehicles approached,
entering the wooden fence perimeter about 50 yards from the house and stopping
near the hacienda entrance. Reportedly they called upon the patron to
leave, firing threatening shots. At that point the fight was on.
It probably didn’t last long, though apparently the attackers
fired hundreds of rounds and threw grenades. Don Alejo killed four assailants
within a few yards of the entrance, then died in his front room. When the
gunmen fled, they left two of their compadres bleeding into the dirt,
unconscious but alive.
The investigation was handled by the Mexican marine corps,
evidently because local police could not be trusted. Internet videos show the
whitewashed house, probably of 1940s construction, with some outbuildings.
Footage of the scene showed bullet gouges on the wall, explosive impacts from
grenades; windows and shades riddled with 7.62 holes. The front door contained
about 70 bullet holes and three or four larger ones.
According to one Mexican news source, Don Alejo perhaps
represented “the first instance of a nation's push-back against the monstrous
cartels that are challenging the very existence of the Mexican state.” In the
U.S., the story appeared on the web site borderlandbeat.com, and immediately
filled emails.
Don Alejo was 77 years old, capable, proud, and courageous, but
his health is an unknown factor. As a lifelong outdoorsman, he may have
remained fit enough to conduct his fight outside the house. By moving and
shooting, denying the criminals anything but a fleeting, ghosting target,
perhaps he could have survived—even killed more of the cartel thugs. Of course,
others may have returned to complete the job another night. We’ll never know.
But what we do know is that Don Alejo made his decision, stood
his ground, and fought his own fight. On the night he died, surely he was the
most man in all of Mexico. He has inspired millions of his fellow citizens
while shaming those Americans who would deny free men the right of self
defense.
God
bless him.
