Sánchez Navarro ranch
The Sánchez Navarro ranch (1765–1866) in Mexico was the largest privately owned estate or latifundio in Latin America. At its maximum extent, the Sánchez Navarro family owned more than 67,000 square kilometres (16,500,000 acres) of land, an area almost as large as the Republic of Ireland and larger than the American state of West Virginia. The Sánchez Navarro latifundio was more than five times the size of the largest ranch, the XIT, in the United States and extended 350 kilometres (220 miles) from north to south. The latifundio was located in the Chihuahuan Desert, mostly in Coahuila, but also in Nuevo Leon, Durango, and Zacatecas.
The acquisition of land by José Miguel Sánchez Navarro (1730–1821) began in 1765 and the latifundio existed until 1866 when the land was expropriated by the government of Mexico. Family members continued to be prominent in Mexican society into the 21st century. 25°22′36″N 101°28′36″W / 25.37667°N 101.47667°W Throughout their history the Sánchez Navarros struggled against raids by the Comanche and Apache Indians and frequent and persistent drought and scarcity of water for their livestock, mostly sheep but also cattle, horses, and mules.