Drug gangs run Tohono O'odham out of homes

Monday, December 3, 2007  

Members of the Tohono O'odham Nation who live in Mexico are being run out of their homes by Mexican drug gangs.

Julian Rivas was the leader of the Cu:wi I-gersk, a village in Mexico .But after he complained to Mexican authorities, he was shot at.

"I just carried on driving ... and I didn't go back to my village in Mexico," the 57-year-old man tells Reuters.

Mexican gangs have essentially taken over Cu:wi I-gersk, which means "Rabbit Falls,"and are using at as a staging point for drugs and migrants. Gregorio Ortiz, 69, is the only O'dham left in the village.

"Everybody knows what they do, but nobody wants to say," he said.

The Tohono O'odham Reservation shares a 90-mile border with Mexico.

Get the Story:
Mexico drug gangs muscle border tribe out of homes (Reuters 12/2)

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