On Wednesday night, members of the Movimiento en Defensa del Agua de la Cuenca Libres–Oriental began a highway blockade in Veracruz in front of the animal feed factory Granjas Carroll, which is contaminating the local aquifer and creating an "environmental hell" in the region.
On Thursday at noon, state police, the National Guard, and deputized civilians arrived to clear the blockade. They killed at least two people and injured hundreds.
"Hundreds of people were beaten in the operation and an unknown number of campesinos are convalescing in their homes with gunshot wounds and some others in hospitals. According to the victims' testimonies, the residents were chased by the state police and plainclothes agents to their homes, where they were brutally attacked."
Today in Labor History June 1, 1914: 80 U.S. militia men refused to board a train as reinforcements for the U.S. invasion of Veracruz, Mexico. The U.S. ultimately occupied the region for six months because President Huerta refused to provide the U.S. with a 21-gun salute as an apology for arresting nine U.S. sailors. More significantly, Veracruz was an important oil port. Germany and Britain had been battling for its control. The occupation gave the U.S. greater influence on the still unfolding Mexican Revolution, as well as the growing tensions in Europe. 21 US troops died in the invasion and occupation, while slaughtering over 320 Mexicans.