Mexico Self-Defense Forces Inspired by and Include Indigenous Guards Rick Kearns - Indian Country Today
go to original January 26, 2014

A Mexican army soldier talks to armed members of a local self-defense group wearing white T-shirts with the slogan “For a Free Aquila” in the town of Aquila, Mexico, early Wednesday, July 24, 2013. (AP/Gustavo Aguado)

The masked self-defense forces in Michoacan, Mexico, who have received international press coverage due to their battles against drug cartels as well as the Mexican police and army, were inspired by indigenous guards and include many indigenous warriors.

Starting in the summer of 2013, an indigenous community in Michoacan organized an indigenous guards unit and acted as de-facto police in their area before being shut down by Mexican authorities. Other self-defense groups in the region sprung up, including one in the town of Aquila that has been in the news recently due to reports of conflicts between the group and narco-traffickers.

In their latest press statement, issued on January 18, the Self-Defense Group of Aquila, Michoacan explain that they were inspired by the work of indigenous guards in the area who had successfully pushed out violent cartel members from their area for a while.

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