Don Alejo: the epic tale of the old man who faced the narcos alone and defended his ranch to the death

In the Rancho San José, property of Alejo Tamez Garza, a rose bush grows abundantly that he gave to his wife, Leticia Torrijo, a few days before it was planted behind closed doors in his house to in the face of the command which sought to keep the land.

Don Alejo, as his friends, family and workers knew, he was threatened by an armed group on 12 November; required, with the safety offered by their long guns, that will leave the property in Tamaulipas.

At Rancho San José on fishing, agriculture and animal husbandry; cows, oxen, mules, sheep, mares and horses were raised on the ranch, but after the theft there was nothing left on this land.

Alejo tamez he was one of the great hunters of the region, as well as a camera lover, a loving, loving and devoted father. He has even been decorated in hunting clubs for his contribution to this discipline.

A count of many recordings made by the owner of the ranch, rescued by the director Diego Enrique Osorno placeholder image, also compiled the passion he felt for the field.

Alejo has decided that he will not cede his land to organized crime. The dream of his life, the fruit of work, effort and dedication, he would be defended, if necessary, with his own life.

His men and his family were ordered to leave the farm, to leave the land, their tasks, their homes. Some were summoned the next day, but found a courage scene.

The septuagenarian is entrenched, with weapons in each of its doors and windows, with a lower amount of ammo than his opponents. With all this, the Secretary of the Navy explained four criminals killed in the clash; two others were wounded by bullets.

It was in the early morning of November 13 that a dozen hired killers showed up in trucks, armed to the teeth, to seize 2000 hectares between the municipalities of Padilla and Güémez, 15 kilometers from Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas.

The press later traveled to the ranch to report on what was going on there. The walls were smashed by more than 1,000 bullets of five different calibers, according to the count of the Navy; broken windows and doors succumbed to pomegranates.

On the esplanade, many rings They lay on the ground, while the trees told of the battle Alexios fought, chipped, for bullets that exploded from their shotguns.

As witnesses, alone cups, plates, glasses, furniture, radios and small televisions, cupboards, appliances and cupboards were left, most of them annoyed by different calibers.

“He would never have worked his whole life to let someone take him all day.” It is not his nature “says Webo, Alejo’s friend in the documentary The good man only sees death once.

The sailors who came to help him found Don Alejo Garza Tamez to the bathroom door of his room, where he was hit by criminals and immediately executed with a bullet in the head.

Leticia Torrijos placeholder image, his wife, as well as Marcela Garza and Alejandra Garza, daughters of Don Alejo, keep the ranch standing, although now operated by Joaquín Estrada, the first to know that his employer has been murdered.

A file of less than 200 pages remains from this episode. Unfinished, because the investigation of the case never progressed and there were never any perpetrators for his murder.

The feat was told not only by word of mouth among the townspeople, it also reached the ears of locals, curious people and strangers with the hand of filmmakers, musicians or vloggers impressed by the bravery of Alejo Garza.

In the musical field, The Ramones by Nuevo Leon they created “La Último Casería” with Morena Music, the independent label of new talents from Banda-Norteño, Ranchero and other genres from the Mexican region.

For their music video, they used scenes from the short film “Massacre in San José”, directed by Edgar Nito, and written in collaboration with Alfredo Mendoza. In the main role was Eligio Méndez with Gilberto Barraza.

Caliber 50, meanwhile, wrote and put music for the “Corrido de Feliciano”, in which a fictional character named Feliciano is approached by the drug dealer to leave his land, but it all ends in a brutal confrontation.

Of course, the greatest investigative work has been done by the filmmaker, writer and journalist. Diego Enrique Osorno, The good man only sees death once.

The comic was also unveiled in 2019 The old man and the narcos (The old man and the narcos), bajo el sello de la firma editorial New World Editions.

The 58-page book is written by the Spanish writer Ricardo Vílbor, writer of the story, and Max Vento, author of the cartoons, who have reclaimed Alejo’s life, but it’s not the first time they’ve taken him off their land.

American writer Don Wislow recreated this unequal confrontation on page 531 of his book The panel, and Mexican filmmaker Hugo Stiglitz also took the episode for the film The hunter’s twilight (2017).

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