A brutal attack in which at least three women and six children were slaughtered by cartel gunmen sheds light on a network of communities that have existed for nearly a century, made up of Mexican-Americans with dual citizenship who practice their own brand of Mormonism.
We have been looking into who these people are and why they say they aren't going anywhere.
There are break-away Mormon communities that have settled in Mexico over the last century. One of them is Colonia Le Baron situated in Chihuahua, Mexico, about a three to four-hour drive from the U.S. border.
"The church is still the center of the town and people in Le Baron still believe that my dad was a prophet in spite of the fact he was killed in 1972,” said Ruth Wariner, who wrote a book about her upbringing in Colonial Le Baron called “The Sound of Gravel.”
The community is a place of big farms and big families.
"Most of the men work in the United States and the women raise their families in Mexico. That's how they make money. They are farmers as well,” Wariner said.
While Wariner was growing up, she watched outsiders move into their community.
"Brought in converts from all over the United States, all over Mexico and some from Europe."
As the town now mourns the loss of three women and six children in this roadside ambush, someone living there today said they don't want to leave. They want security.
Lynn Wariner Le Baron was closest to his niece, Rhonita, who died Monday with four of her children in a charred car.
“We just want to be protected,” he said.
Wariner Le Baron lives part-time in Mexico.
"We're American citizens that live in Mexico. We want the Mexican government to protect us, and if they are not able to or not willing to for whatever reason, they need to allow us to bear arms and protect ourselves or allow us to bring the American government to help us," he said.
Wariner Le Baron said he wasn’t aware of any new dangers but has always known about the warring cartels. Ten years ago, his nephew and wife’s cousin were killed in a kidnapping and ransom plot.