Standing Rock Of Mexico: Badass Yaquis Yank 25-Foot Chunk Of $400 Million Pipeline Off

It's a David and Goliath story for the ages and one that you'll not see portrayed fairly or at all in the mainstream media. Our protagonist is an indigenous tribe known as the Yaquis. They stand against Sempra Energy, a multi-billion dollar corporation, and the Agua Prieta pipeline... And just like David, their methodology is not that of quiet pacifistic protest.

“Cut it here, lift the top,’’ said Guadalupe Flores, a local community leader, pointing at a length of a $400 million pipeline. “Perfect for a cook-out.’’ Don't ya love the smell of corporate profits burning in the morning?

One cannot afford to be a pacifist when one's foes rely on kidnapping and murder to attain their goals. In 2016, a Yaqui tribe lawyer was kidnapped along with her husband en route to a community meeting planning their fight against the US-Mexico Agua Prieta pipeline. A protester was killed when a Yaqui encampment, which was set up to block construction, was attacked.

Though the lawyer was released, her husband remained a captive. Of corporations and her government, she had this to say: "I think no company and no public servants are interested in respecting Mexican law. What interests them here is to do business, no matter the rights of Mexicans and even less of Indigenous peoples."

The 4500 Yaquis, who live in Loma de Bacum, were asked by the authorities if they could construct a 9-mile tract of a gas pipeline through their farmland. The officials were required by law to seek the permission of all 8 Yaqui communities who were situated along the pipeline route. However, the town of Loma de Bacum refused to give their consent - and construction continued regardless.

After that, the Yaquis decided that their community needed a barbecue pit more than a pipeline, and they used a backhoe truck to yank a 25-foot chunk of pipeline off.

“If they want to build a pipeline, that’s fine,’’ said Flores. “But it won’t pass through here.’’

Ienova, the Sempra unit in charge of the pipeline, now awaits a judicial ruling to determine whether they are allowed to repair the damage - or if they will be forced to find a different route for their pipeline.

In June indigenous protests in Chiapas state caused the Mexican Ministry of Energy to cancel an auction of two parcels of land for oil exploration. Communities in Oaxaca have also managed to stop construction of wind turbines.