Mexico’s avocado war may be linked to gang-turf massacre that left 19 dead

NY Post ^ | 08/13/2019 | Jackie Salo

[DFG]

The gruesome display of 19 bodies scattered in Mexico may be linked to a vicious war, not over drugs but avocados, according to a report.

Mexican police on Thursday discovered nine bodies hanging from a bridge, seven more slaughtered and another three dumped in what authorities say was a gang-turf massacre in the western state of Michoacán.

Falko Ernst, an International Crisis Group researcher who studies cartels, said the fight over the region’s billion-dollar avocado industry was likely the largest factor in the bloodbath.

Around 80 percent of the avocados imported into the US come from Michoacán, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

“The big magnet here is avocados,” Ernst told the Guardian.

[Yardstick]

Pitting gang against gang...

[FlingWingFlyer]

Great. Another fake beer holiday from south of the border for the liberals in this country to celebrate. Cinco de Guacamole.

[Rio]

[moovova]

You’d think the Mexican gubment would be willing to protect a LEGAL cash crop...especially since 80% of the exported crop comes from one state. Heck they could surround the state with military.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

Are these Haas avocados?

[null and void]

*ouch*

[null and void]

Great. Another fake beer holiday from south of the border for the liberals in this country to celebrate. Cinco de Guacamole.

Who cares if it's a fake holiday? I'll still chip in...

[null and void]

I Haas a cheeseburger?

[MplsSteve]

“Avocados from Mexico = Blood Fruit.”

I see what you’ve done there. Nice!

[Dacula]

Avacado means testicle. Guacamole means testicle sauce https://www.rd.com/culture/avocado-origin/ Avocados originally came from Mexico and Central America, where the indigenous Nahua people found them. Back then, avocados were called the Nahuatl word āhuacatl—which also happened to mean “testicles.” Scholars think the Nahua chose the name because of the fruit has a, uh, suggestive shape and was considered an aphrodisiac, according to NPR. The Nahua probably used the anatomical definition as slang, like how we might use “nuts” today, Nahuatl scholar Magnus Pharao Hansen, PhD, tells Snopes. When the Spanish conquistadors came, they changed the name to aguacate, according to Today I Found Out. The United States imported the fruits, but they were a tough sell because Americans had a hard time saying the word. Marketers tried using “avagato pear” and “alligator pear” in reference to its shape (a more G-rated choice than the first time around). Eventually, they settled on “avocado.” Check out these other words that have totally changed meanings. Some people claim “guacamole” means “testicle sauce” because it comes from āhuacamōlli—a combination of āhuacatl (avocado) and mōlli (sauce). But Mesoamerican language specialist Frances Karttunen, PhD, says that isn’t quite accurate. Guac didn’t come around until the fruit became aguacate, and that Spanish translation didn’t carry the same double meaning the Nahuatl word did.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Avocado Supremacists should be eradicated.

[Daffynition]

[Oatka]

This article is ripe for memes.

Old California joke:
"What is the Jolly Green Giant afraid of?
Avocado cutters."