An Undocumented Heads Home to Mexico - And Joins Fight Against Michoacan Cartel Michael Montgomery - NPR.org
go to original July 23, 2014

Reny Pineda was born in Michoacan, Mexico, but grew up in Los Angeles. In 2010 he returned to his homeland, and joined a vigilante battle against a ruthless cartel ruling the region. Now the Mexican government has ordered the civilian militias to disband, and Pineda picks lemons in this orchard. (Alan Ortega/KQED)

In the western Mexican state of Michoacan, civilian militias have challenged a powerful drug cartel known as the Knights Templar. The vigilante uprising, which spurred the Mexican government to send soldiers and police to help counter the cartel, was fueled by migrants who returned to Mexico after years living north of the border.

Reny Pineda, who was raised in Los Angeles, is one of those migrants. When he returned to his homeland in Mexico, he found a new life fighting drug lords.

Today, Pineda's life revolves around the vast lemon groves that perfume the fertile lowlands of Michoacan. It's a region known as Tierra Caliente: the hot lands.

Read the rest at NPR.org

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!