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Note: Narration has been translated into English-note some paraphrasing is used for easier comprehension...Thank you to the reader who sent me the video..Paz, Chivis
“They never shoot from a short distance; they always shoot from a long distance and what they use is a potato thrower, bazooka or a 50 caliber. That is to open up paths to cross.
Testimony of a Knights Templar Gunman
“They never shoot from a short distance; they always shoot from a long distance and what they use is a potato thrower, bazooka or a 50 caliber. That is to open up paths to cross.
Narration:
This is the story of M3, until a few months ago; he was one of the youngest gunmen of the Knights Templar in La Aguililla and the region of Apatzingan. His thin, small body and his sharp facial features make his appearance of less age. He is now 18 years old but his career in the crime world was started at childhood, he was 14. He enrolled on New Year when he was looking for work to help his brothers; he started from the bottom as halcon (hawk).
“When I was with them, I simply followed the military. I was placed in each spot to watch them”.
With his abilities, he climbed positions and got to meet the cupola of the criminal group. He provided safety to the chiefs of the Knights Templar. That is how we knew La Tuta, Chango Mendez, Quique Plancarte and also knew Nazario Gomez, aka “El Chayo” or “El Mas Loco”, which is said that is not dead, he had a face surgery and now is called Ernesto Villa Zapata.
“It is said that he is dead”
Were you able to see him?
“Yes, of course, he is alive but he changed his face, he is an old guy now.
How did you know it was him?
“Well, because when he gets down off the car, he yells and says, I am El Mas Loco. He gets down from the cars very hallucinating.
But M3 since a few months ago no longer belongs to the Knights Templar. Before the Federal Police entered Aguililla, the base, shelter and cradle of the main leaders of the Knights Templar, he had exited already.
He always liked the weapons but he disliked the treatment by the criminals towards the people and that is why he decided to separate and now fights against them. When he realized that Federal Police had entered the community and Aguililla rose against the Knights Templar, he decided to go back and support their effort.
“We have been threatened but we are not afraid because we also know how they protect themselves (security), we know how they handle things. And if they are thinking of something, we look and think of doing something better than them.”
Since he was a child, M3 learned how to use an wide number of weapons and calibers
“The potato thrower is handle like this (showing on the video) that is how it is going to fall (referring to the bullet or whatever it is). You are going to get it like this and buff (noise) you throw it. And when it is shorter you lower it, because when you throw that thing it goes like this and then it falls.
No it is not used for airplanes, for the helicopters, they use the 50 caliber
Do you know how to use that?
Those yeah, you have to have it like this and you have to have your mouth open because if you don’t have it open it will burst your eardrums. It makes a loud noise at the time of the gunshot.
Now he knows that his head has a price.
“I don’t know if they are going to kill me but we will die fighting, defending the town, which is ours. Those bastards are not even native to this place.
He hopes that his life is a lesson to others, to those who think that joining with the criminal groups is the best thing to do to overcome being poor and solve problems.
Did you get other types of bonuses or other type of support?
No, nothing. Sometimes my family got ill, my mom would get ill and I would ask them to take her to a doctor and they wouldn’t support me.
Video:Alberto Torres and Marcos Muegano, El Universal Translation: C. Martínez