Violence erupted in the quiet village of La Pastora, Santa Cruz, yesterday between farmers and 'watchmen' who have been preventing them from tending their crops. The war has been brewing for at least two years since two men have been allegedly threatening farmers to stop them farming on the San Jose Estate. It was the second attack in two days.
The farmers have claimed that the thugs continuously cut their irrigation pipes and cut down their crops in order to sell the land illegally for residential purposes. One farmer, Andrew Dollabaille, was beaten with a cutlass as he tried to shield the Village Council president, Donna Mora who had gone with a camera crew to gather footage. "It was real scary. They were chasing us," one woman said. Members of the group claimed their produce was stolen on Tuesday although the police were present.
A visibly shaken Kyle Small, 16, said a few of them were leaving their garden with sweet peppers on Tuesday when they were approached. The teen said they were ordered to lie on the ground and were beaten. Their bags of peppers, with a market value of $1,000 were also taken from them. One of the men, Gomez was handcuffed and forced to carry a car tyre with stones.