The small hamlet of La Ruana in Mexico has been besieged by the Knights Templars drug cartel for months. The residents of La Ruana had had enough of the drug cartel practically owning their town and decided in February to push the gang out.
The Knights Templars were not happy about being tossed out of their town and declared war on La Ruana. With the exception of the cartel's drug money the Knights Templars extorted the men and women of La Ruana in order to earn cash. Residents were forced to pay the gang protection money no matter their income.
News24.com says that gunmen from the cartel formed convoys and besieged the town. Residents of La Ruana formed stone barricades and armed themselves in order to take on the cartel.
Small towns like La Ruana have been besieged by drug cartels for years. Now citizens have banned together in an attempt to take the law into their own hands and bring gang members to justice.
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The cartel made threats against any supply truck that tried to come into La Ruana. Supplies like gasoline and milk were running low. Supply trucks could not get into La Ruana because the cartel would burn them, AP reports.
AP says, "The highway is littered with the charred hulks of supply trucks, the smoking remains of burned-out sawmills and the fire-blackened walls of fruit warehouses" that the Knights Templar set fire to in order to keep the residents of La Ruana from getting what they need.
On Monday residents of La Ruana lined the streets cheering the soldiers as they came into the city to offer aid. Yahoo.com reports that the soldiers entered the city and formed an operations base. The soldiers took over command of the city from its residents, offering real protection.
Residents were glad to have the soldiers there and happy to hand over command of the city. However the residents refused to hand over their guns in case the soldiers do not stay within the city more than a few months.
Despite the fear of violent retaliation by the cartel, including beheadings, citizens of La Ruana are prepared to fight for as long as it takes in order to make their city safe.
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