美国国家公共电台 NPR Blood Avocados No More: Mexican Farm Town Says It's Kicked Out Cartels

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

On Sunday, when you're sitting around the TV watching the Super Bowl, when you reach for the chips and guacamole, think about this. Americans will eat 104 million pounds of avocados on that day alone. The average American now eats seven pounds of avocados a year. The demand has made a lot of farmers in Mexico rich, but it's also drawn¹ the attention of organized crime. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE²: In Tancitaro, a small farming town of about 30,000 in western Michoacan state, Super Bowl Sunday is a big deal but not because of the sport.

HUGO NARANJO: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "Oh, we know when Super Bowl time," says Hugo Naranjo, the manager at Frutas Finas packing plant. "Our production jumps," he says. Since last month, the plant has been packing 40 to 50 percent more avocados than normal.

ARTURO OLIVERA GUTIERREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "We produce more avocados here than anywhere else," boasts Tancitaro's mayor, Arturo Olivera Gutierrez. Reportedly, town exports top a million dollars a day.

OLIVERA GUTIERREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "That's given Tancitaro a lot of healthy income and tranquility," he says. That's not something a lot of mayors in Michoacan can say. The state, long a key center for some of Mexico's most vicious organized crime gangs, was just slapped with the U.S. State Department's highest advisory³, warning travelers not to go there. Mayor Olivera says his town was once very dangerous. As avocado production grew, drug cartels moved in, realizing they could make good money extorting⁴ growers and packers.

OLIVERA GUTIERREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "They were the ones that made the rules and enforced them," says Olivera. Farmers and packers had to pay taxes to the gangs. If someone didn't comply, Olivera says bodies would be put out for everyone to see with warning notes attached. In late 2013, Tancitaro's residents said enough, and like many towns throughout Michoacan, took up arms, forming self-defense groups to drive the gangs out. Tancitaro went a step further and built a solid police force.

JOSE ANTONIO FLORES QUEZADA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Assistant Police Chief Jose Antonio Flores Quezada is out on patrol. Like many on the force, he and his family have long been in the avocado business and were long extorted⁵ by gangs.

FLORES QUEZADA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "You just felt robbed," he says. "You work and give your all to your land and then someone just takes it," says Flores. By early 2014, Tancitaro had 80 new officers trained and ready to go. Only locals can apply. Their salaries come in part from local avocado growers and packers who yield much power and influence over the town, the other half from city coffers.

FLORES QUEZADA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Flores steps out of the patrol truck, 1 of 8 checkpoints set up on roads in and out of Tancitaro.

FLORES QUEZADA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Here, a crew of eight men have been on watch. They're hanging out in chairs in front of a brick-and-concrete barricade⁶ that looks like a medieval tower. Some play cards to stay awake through the last hours of their all-night shift.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHUFFLING⁷ CARDS)

KAHN: They're part of a civilian⁸ volunteer force that was formed alongside the police and report any suspicious activity. Chief of Police Jose Hugo Sanchez Mendoza says they are vital to the town's safety, as well as the backing and support he gets from every Tancitaro resident.

JOSE HUGO SANCHEZ MENDOZA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: "You could say we're 80 police officers, but we're really 30,000 strong," he says. While other Michoacan self-defense groups have either withered⁹ away, been co-opted by cartels or disbanded by the government, Tancitaro's police force now moves into its fifth year.

SANCHEZ MENDOZA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Police Chief Sanchez says its success is due to the love and trust his officers have built with the community. It also helps that worldwide demand for avocados remains¹⁰ high, providing a healthy income for officers and residents alike. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Tancitaro, Michoacan.

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

4 extorting   

v.敲诈( extort的现在分词 )；曲解

参考例句：

• Corrupt government officials were extorting money from him. 腐败的政府官员向他敲诈钱财。 来自辞典例句
• He's been charged with extorting protection money from the shopkeepers. 他被指控对店主敲诈勒索保护费。 来自互联网

5 extorted   

v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解

参考例句：

• The gang extorted money from over 30 local businesses. 这帮歹徒向当地30多户商家勒索过钱财。
• He extorted a promise from me. 他硬要我答应。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 barricade   

n.路障，栅栏，障碍；vt.设路障挡住

参考例句：

• The soldiers make a barricade across the road.士兵在路上设路障。
• It is difficult to break through a steel barricade.冲破钢铁障碍很难。

7 shuffling   

adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Don't go shuffling along as if you were dead. 别像个死人似地拖着脚走。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some one was shuffling by on the sidewalk. 外面的人行道上有人拖着脚走过。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

9 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。