Drug cartel violence erupted once again in western Mexico shortly after the burial of citizen self-defense leader, Hipolito Mora, who lost his life battling the criminal organizations. On Sunday, the city of Apatzingan, a significant regional hub in Mexico’s volatile region, experienced a surge in shootings and road blockades orchestrated by cartel gunmen.

The roadways leading to and from Apatzingan were rendered impassable as trucks and buses were strategically placed across the routes by the armed cartel members. Terrified vehicle owners were coerced into cooperating, fearing severe repercussions. “They threatened to burn my truck if I dared to move it,” confessed a truck driver who requested anonymity due to potential retaliation.

Within the city itself, a family was carjacked at gunpoint by the assailants, who subsequently used the stolen vehicle to gun down another driver just a few blocks away. The victim’s lifeless body slumped over in the passenger seat while his car dangled precariously from a nearby bridge, suspended by the guard rail. A friend of the deceased, claiming responsibility lay with the Jalisco cartel despite the Viagras cartel’s historical dominance in Apatzingan, supported this theory. The roadblocks implemented on Sunday might have been a preemptive response by the Viagras gang, fearing an incursion by their Jalisco rivals.

The battle lines are now drawn along the ironically named Rio Grande, a small river situated roughly 15 miles (23 kilometers) south of Apatzingan. The inhabitants of Las Bateas, a riverside village, were forced to flee their homes a month ago as violent clashes between the Jalisco cartel and the Viagras erupted in the fields surrounding their community. Seeking to expand their territorial control, Jalisco gunmen have crossed the river, targeting areas further north on the outskirts of Apatzingan.

To address the escalating violence, the Mexican government dispatched additional army and National Guard reinforcements. This strategic move appears to be part of an undisclosed long-standing policy aimed at preventing Jalisco’s advance while tolerating the Viagras presence.

While some residents have returned to their homes, feeling marginally safer due to the presence of security forces, the current state of affairs remains unsustainable. The Viagras cartel’s systematic extortion has driven up prices of common goods in Apatzingan, far exceeding the national average. A beverage that costs 80 cents elsewhere, for instance, now demands $1.40 in Apatzingan, while a coconut popsicle priced at 90 cents in other parts of Mexico now fetches $1.75 within the troubled city.

These exorbitant price discrepancies, coupled with direct extortion practices targeting farmers, ranchers, and businessmen, are gradually suffocating the prosperous farmlands. Hipolito Mora, an influential figure in Mexico’s anti-gang citizens’ movement, paid the ultimate price in his fight against this very issue. Buried alongside two loyal followers who were killed with him, Mora’s death signifies the demise of any remaining hope for an armed civilian resistance against the drug cartels.

Although some enraged relatives voiced aspirations to revive the armed farmers’ movement that temporarily ousted one cartel during 2013-2014 (only to be replaced by others), many doubt the feasibility of repeating that chapter in history.

“He defended his town and his people, a task none of us will undertake. We all prioritize our own families. None of us possess the courage to follow in his footsteps.”

-Olivia Mora, victim’s sister