The conflict at LeBaron Ranch

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat Reforma ElBarzon LAT

After fleeing Mexico due to threats, activist Julián LeBarón returned to the country after the conflict registered on Sunday between members of El Barzón and his family on a ranch in the Municipality of Buenaventura, Chihuahua.

"I came back as soon as I saw that my brothers were being threatened, I came on Sunday" LeBarón said.

"I am not going to let my brothers be killed," he said of his return.

LeBarón had left Mexico because US authorities informed him that he was in danger as there were threats against him by a criminal group.

On February 19 he left the community of LeBarón, in the Municipality of Galeana, with his family, and sheltered for a few days in another locality, until he was escorted on February 23 by federal elements to an international crossing to enter the United States. , where you also have citizenship.

Last Sunday night, Barzonistas and members of the LeBarón community clashed at Rancho La Mojina, owned by the latter, in Ejido Constitución, Municipality of Buenaventura, Chihuahua, where there were detonations of a firearm.

"We were shot inside our own ranch," said Julián LeBarón.

Below is similar to how Sundays conflict began.  The Barzonistas arrive, yell and throw stones, but then gunfire rang out...

The activist indicated that the Government of Chihuahua does not provide a solution to the conflict.

"There is no rule of law here," he said.

According to reports, the quarrel was registered because the Barzonistas came to prevent the LeBarón from converting some wells to electricity, which, according to that organization, are illegal.

LeBarón indicated that his family has the necessary documentation to carry out the electrification.

"If we have permission or not, what does that have to do with people who come armed to shoot and destroy other people's property?"

"We dodged the bullets, these people are the ones who started the shooting," he said.

"The feds were inside the ranch with us. If not for them, I assure you there would have been a massacre because they asked us to please no one attack them."

This Tuesday, the activist went with other members of his family to the Government Palace with documents to prove the legality of the work.

He said that they were attended by Joel Gallegos, general director of the Government.

"In the state there is no rule of law, the Governor is on the side of those who murder, on the side of those who invade, on the side of those who destroy and no one finds a rule of law, protection, or justice," he said. LeBarón.

Meanwhile, dissatisfied Barzonistas blocked the highway between Janos and Casas Grandes on Tuesday, because federal authorities have not intervened in the conflict.

The road was later reopened.

In a statement, El Barzón Chihuahua indicated that two members of the Ejido Constitución were wounded by firearms by members of the LeBarón family on Sunday at 9:00 p.m.

"After producers in the LeBarón community carried out the installation of an electric power line," they said in the document.

"As is known to society, as well as to the competent state and federal authorities, more than three years ago, members of the Ejido undertook the complaint about the extraction of water carried out to date by the LeBarón family in the area, to which, despite the complaints filed with the authorities and the working groups set up on the matter, no investigation has been carried out and no sanctions have been filed, "said the Barzonistas.

Who are the LeBarons?

Many Mormons who supported polygamy separated from the church and fled to Mexico and Canada. In Mexico, polygamous Mormons bought 50,000 acres in the state of Chihuahua, where they settled along the Piedras Verdes River in a remote and mountainous region. 

Mormons also formed communities in the state of Sonora. Over time, many became successful as farmers and ranchers.

Most members of the LeBaron clan no longer practice polygamy or even Mormonism  and the family today includes Catholics, various Christian sectors   and non-religious people.

The LeBaron family has spoken out for years against drug cartel violence in Mexico and in favor of less stringent gun laws, saying that its members need to protect themselves. 

 Who are the Barzonistas? 

From their website:

“Although it is a rather symbolic date, on October 13, 1994, El Barzón was born. Defending the heritage of the families and rescuing the production units threatened by the bankers was the first task that thousands of peasants undertook, an action that was quickly reproduced also in the cities. "I must not deny, I pay fair" was the slogan.

Little by little, with the mobilization of the people, the pressure on the banks and with a lot of imagination, the debts were liquidated, the new task was to reactivate the productive activity that the usury of banks and the terrible policies of the government had left on the verge of disappearance. Learning new things, applying new technologies , participating in the economic and social development of the country are also lines of work that our organization has adopted.

"Yesterday we defended our heritage, today we fight for the economic reactivation of the Mexican countryside" was the new slogan of the Barzonistas.”