Vigilantes and violence among Extremadura’s olive groves

“These are ours, we’ve paid for them,” screams a woman at the Civil Guard officers who have caught her and three other people allegedly stealing olives from a remote village in Badajoz province, western Spain. A group of around 20 farmers who own the olive plantation look on as the guards seize the lawnmower-like machines called rodillos used to gather the olives from the ground. “That really makes life difficult for them,” says Valentín, one of the farmers. “Each rodillo costs around €170.”

Confrontations between farmers and thieves have become increasingly violent, with broken windshields, fights, and even car chases

Tired of having their olives stolen every harvest time, farmers in the town of Navalvillar de Pela two months ago decided to organize round-the-clock patrols to protect the 5,000 hectares of olive groves they work. “We’ve been putting up with theft for years now,” says Juan Metidieri, president of the Apag-Extremadura-Asaja cooperative. “But the harvest this year is exceptionally good, and there has been an increase in stealing.” Even the regional premier of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara of the Socialist Party, has taken up the issue, supporting the vigilante groups watching over their olive plantations.

In Navalvillar, confrontations between local farmers and thieves have become increasingly violent in recent weeks, with broken windshields, fights, and even car chases. Two weeks ago, after catching a group of thieves red-handed and then escorting them to the cooperative to recover the olives they had gathered illegally, “people appeared from nowhere, and things started heating up and then suddenly, the thieves jumped into their car and sped off, running people down. This is a tragedy waiting to happen,” says Metidieri.

The regional authorities says that this year has seen a 20% drop in theft from the fields of Extremadura, with around a thousand incidents reported.

“The Civil Guard arrests them, seizes their product and then lets them go. That’s it: no charges”

It is a widespread problem throughout the Spanish countryside. Farmers in Andalusia say they have noticed an increase in crop theft in recent months. In October, almond growers said their harvest was hit by thieves, while in Valencia, orange growers say thousands of tons of fruit have been illegally picked. The Interior Ministry nevertheless says the problem is slowly declining, with a 12% drop in 2014 on the previous year.

“The situation is going to explode,” says Antonio Masa, responsible for the vigilante initiative in Navalvillar.

“The Civil Guard arrests them, seizes their product and then lets them go,” says David, an olive grower patrolling the area with another farmer. “That’s it: no charges.”

Like many others here, they won’t provide any details, fearing the kind of reprisals that happened in nearby La Nava de Santiago.

“They were going to kill me”

The battered gray van forced them to stop as they were traveling along a rural road as it grew dark on the evening of January 7. “It was a Thursday,” says Pedro, a 51-year-old local farmer who has taken part in patrols but doesn’t want to give his real name. He recounts how “around 10 people” jumped out and began beating him around the head with “clubs,” forcing him into their vehicle. “I don’t know where they took me, but they were going to kill me.”

After putting him into the van, the group was about to set off when local farmers turned up. A fight erupted, allowing Pedro to escape in the confusion. Finally, the thieves fled. The Civil Guard has arrested two of those accused of trying to kidnap Pedro.

But farmers in Navalvillar want to see more officers on patrol, as well as action taken to prevent thieves from selling their stolen olives

“In May 2013, when there was a spike in crop theft, the government set up special Civil Guard units,” says an Interior Ministry spokesman. But farmers in Navalvillar say more resources are needed, and they have since teamed up with the regional government. They want to see more officers on patrol, as well as action taken to prevent thieves from selling their stolen olives.

“There are private buyers who pay rock-bottom prices and then sell the olives on at market price,” says Valentín, who also takes part in patrols.

As the violence escalates, the farmers of La Nava are now considering setting up their own beats to protect their crops, but the village’s mayor, Emiliano Cortés, says he understands people’s frustration and fear, but is against the idea: “I have asked them not to, because things are already at boiling point.”

Pedro says the attack on him came a couple of hours after he had chased suspected thieves off the olive grove. Now he admits he can no longer sleep at nights. His nose was broken and his ear badly hurt. “I began to think about what they wanted to do to me. Why did they try to drive off with me? If they wanted to give me a beating, they could have left me there. Did they want to kill me and leave my body by the side of the road?”