RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Rachel Martin.
We're going to turn our attention south of border now, to the violent drug war in Mexico that has claimed more than 50,000 lives in the past six years. Coming up, a look at one way that the U.S. is trying to help the Mexican government fight the drug war. But first, we'll hear about a Mexican town that is fighting back against rampant crime.
Residents in the southern state of Guerrero say they are sick of being terrorized by drug traffickers and organized crime gangs. Armed with old shotguns and machetes, they have formed self-defense brigades, all in an effort to run the criminals out of town.
NPR's Carrie Kahn has the story.
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CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: On the main road into the town of Ayutla, about 75 miles southeast of Acapulco, about a dozen men, cradling shotguns and rusted machetes stand guard on a street corner. Their faces are covered in black ski masks.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Foreign language spoken)
KAHN: They go over patrol shift schedules, handwritten on wrinkled papers and communicate with other check points in town via walkie-talkies. One man, who wouldn't give his name, but identified himself as a lower commander, said the townspeople had no choice but to take up arms.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (Foreign language spoken)
KAHN: The 66-year old cattle farmer and great grandfather, says it started at the beginning of the year. His cattlemen association was told each member had to pay 500 pesos, about forty dollars, to a local gang. Or else.
Everyone did as they were told. Everyone paid it. But he says people started talking about fighting back. That's when the kidnappings started. He says the gangs snatched several community leaders in the middle of the night. The townspeople grabbed their rifles and freed the victims. Then they started stopping cars coming in and out of town, checking IDs against lists of names of so-called bad guys.
This man, who calls himself Commandante G-1, says residents had no choice.
COMMANDANTE G-1: (Through Translator) We were being threatened, kidnapped and extorted. Anyone who had a small business or started building something had to pay the gangs. The authorities did nothing to stop it.
KAHN: Authorities are sympathetic. Guerrero State Assistant Interior Secretary Rossana Mora Patino says it's understandable and even legitimate, that the people of Ayutla have taken matters into their own hands.
ROSSANA MORA PATINO: (Foreign language spoken)
KAHN: But she says their actions are illegal and must stop.
Just how to stop the self defense brigades has become a sticky situation. Several more have sprouted up in nearby towns. And authorities are cautious about how to proceed, not wanting to add fuel to the fire.
Guerrero State has a long history of rebellion dating back to the War of Independence. Ayutla was host to a significant uprising against the Spanish. And in present times, the state was home to some of Mexico's most stubborn guerrilla movements.
A few days ago, the army and state police were sent in to restore the peace. They've set up checkpoints and have allowed the brigades to continue their own stop and searches for now.
Caught in the middle of the current standoff is the mayor of Ayutla, Severo Castro Godinez.
MAYOR SEVERO CASTRO GODINEZ AYUTLA: (Through Translator) Look, the brigades have helped us greatly. They brought the situation here in Ayutla under control. They have controlled the criminals. Now it's time for the authorities to do their job. We demand they do their job.
KAHN: Castro knows well about crime in Ayutla. His 16-year-old daughter was kidnapped from this restaurant three years ago. She was held for 10 days before the kidnappers released her. Many townspeople you talk to have also been crime victims.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Acapulco.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: (Foreign language spoken)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #5: (Foreign language spoken)
KAHN: At this taxi stand, drivers shout out the names of nearby towns to passersby. Taxi driver Leopoldo Castillo says most businesses make regular payments to the gangs.
LEOPOLDO CASTILLO: (Foreign language spoken)
KAHN: We are sick and tired of it - the pressure, the harassment by the crime gangs. He says he's glad the army has arrived but he hopes the self-defense brigades stay on too.
Carrie Kahn, NPR News.