A pair of American tourists were driving through a remote back road in Mexico when they were set upon by a speeding car full of heavily armed men. Their lives flash before their eyes, throwing up their hands and begging for their lives -- only to then have one of the most bizarre, semi-wholesome moments caught on dashcam in some time.

After being pulled over, the panic-stricken tourists plead for their lives but the cartel members can be heard saying "gringo" -- a word for American/non-spanish speaker -- and immediately begin trying to assuage the situation with comforting hands on the shoulder (all the while machine-gun toating onlookers can be seen hovering in the background). Eventually the

Some online have speculated that the armed men in the video were possibly a local militia formed to defend the local community against the cartel, but it's impossible to say. Though, apparently, one of the armed men can be heard saying something along the lines of, "You can't just drive through private property." Interpret that as you will.

Despite widespread violence in many parts of Mexico, aggression against tourists is said to be generally considered taboo among many cartels for whom tourism constitutes a substantial source of income -- through money laundering via tourist hotspots and by way of an active customer base.