Armed Farmer Try To Settle Land Dispute

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Dozens of Mexican farmers armed with rifles and shotguns have gathered in a pocket of mountain forest in southern Mexico to angrily reject a Supreme Court ruling on a decades-old land dispute. The conflict is centered on the Chimalapas, an area of tropical and pine forest that is threatened by logging and cattle ranching. For years, settlers have claimed the area belongs to Chiapas state. But this week the Supreme Court ruled that about 400,000 acres (160,000 hectares) belong to the neighboring state of Oaxaca. Farmers in the area are demanding to remain part of Chiapas and say they will resist plans to redraw boundary lines.