Cartel Land Prompt Response

The scene of a family at a funeral, a lady explaining what the cartel did to the victims got me very emotional, shocked, fearful, and angry. There was a owner of a lime farm that was confronted by the Knight Templar Cartel and told to give them money, which the owner could not. The cartel brutally murdered his workers and the workers' families (15 people total) as repercussions of him not paying. They had nothing to do with it, but they faced the repercussions out of association. They killed teenagers, children, and babies. She describes the babies being grabbed by their feet and heads slammed against rocks and tossed into wells. The Cartel has faced 0 consequences by the government. Later on she describes how she was a victim of the cartel as well. Her Husband and two other men were brutally mutilated alive, then killed; They made her watch, then let her go to suffer with the memory for all her life. And again the government did nothing about it. This is outrageous because they are completely ignoring citizens that are victims of cartel crimes, and not doing anything to prevent it either. These areas that are governmentless can be considered 3 world countries because the cartels mostly run them, and citizens are always affected by crime. This is neglectful of the Mexican government, and or could also be purposeful. Government in charge of a certain area that refuses to protect the area could be doing so out of fear of being targeted by cartels, or they are corrupt and working with the cartel.

A few other intense and surprising instances were images of decapitated heads on the floor or on sticks, and hung bodies that were also victims of cartels. This came somewhat abruptly and almost casually when the cartel was spoken about. These images of death caught be off guard with how explicit and gruesome they were, and along with unfortunately how normalized it was for the citizens. 

Another surprising scene was when a town of citizens pushed the government away when trying to disband the autodefense group. They originally wanted the government's support against cartels, but then relied and trusted their local auto defense group more. I think this is because they know many times the government is corrupt and working with the cartels one way or another, so they believed trusting their own community members was more reliable.

The last thing that caught me off guard was when Dr.Mireles right hand man, betrayed him and joined the government making the Rural Defense, and becoming the leader of it. It was probable that he was waiting for Dr.Mireles point of weakness so he could take over.

A few questions I have remaining is Who and how many men turned out to be narcos in the Auto defense group? Why did Dr.Mireles get arrested in the U.S.? How is Rural Defense working out now? Do these citizens feel more protected from cartels and crime now? 

The feelings that stayed with me after the film was a fear for the Mexican citizens that live in more urban or rural areas that are the most confronted with these issues. They cannot rely on the government because many times they do not get involved. Reporting and or trusting in the government can also be very dangerous, because if they report to someone who is corrupt and involved with the cartel, they can be killed. This gives a feeling of anxiety and distrust never knowing who you can trust. The fact of who you are associated with, or not paying ransom money can get you and or your family killed is absolutely petrifying. I personally have never felt the fear of not being able to trust the government or who I am associated with.