Self Defense Against Drug Cartels or the Mexican Government in Michoacan? Elizabeth - Global Voices
go to original January 24, 2014

Soldiers have been sent to Mexico's Michoacan state to drive out a major drug cartel. They are taking over from the local police after a vigilante group ignored government calls to disarm. The group - a collection of farmers, teachers and other members of the community - is the only force to have had any success in pushing out the Knights Templar gang. Al Jazeera's Rachel Levin reports from Mexico City. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

In an attempt to restore peace in the state of Michoacán, the Mexican government has sent the military to disarm the groups of armed citizens, better known as “self-defenders”, who have taken up arms against organized crime to defend their land, their work, and their families.

The violence is nothing new in Michoacán. For several years this state in western Mexico has suffered the consequences of the lack of security due to the presence of drug cartels and the absence of any authority that can effectively protect its citizens. Added to this is the constant presence of armed forces for the so-called “war on drugs“, initiated by the ex-President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa  and continued by the current President Enrique Peña Nieto, which has not been able to prevent the traffickers from extorting, intimidating, kidnapping and raping the population. All of these factors have fueled the group of self-defenders.

While the civilian forces are operating within the law, the recent effort to disarm these groups by the military is a milestone that could change the course of the armed conflict.

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Translated by Betsy Galbreath

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