The Zetas sent more than two dozen gunmen to force Alejandro Garza Tamez, 77, to leave his ranch in Padilla, was told Garza, known as “Don Alejo” which may or deliver his ranch to the cartel, or die.
The old employer refused. He took his hunting rifle, and fought with almost 30 members of the cartel Los Zetas, who were armed military style semi-automatic weapons and grenades.
Garza was shot to death, but not before he killed four of Los Zetas and injured two more, while the rest fled, fearing for their lives, officials said. Hours later, members of the Navy arrived and secured the family ranch for Garza.
Garza, who was in the lumber business, became a folk hero after the events of November 2010. It was hailed as national hero for [sic] news commentators and social media. Garza was praised as a role model for standing up to powerful and violent drug traffickers.
The heroism of Don Alejo immortalized on Facebook.
An unfortunate phenomenon associated with the rise of the cartels in Mexico has been the adaptation of the corrido, a folk song celebrating the deeds of a hero, to the anti-heroic behavior of the cartels. These songs are called narcocorridos, and they are extremely popular with Mexican youth and with Latinos in the US Southwest. However, Don Alejo has his own corrido, if you’re interested.
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