Town Vigilante Force Demands Mexico Government Free Members Arrested on Weapons Charges Associated Press
go to original August 22, 2013

A masked family member of a self-defense squad from the town of Aquila listens as the group's lawyer speaks during a press conference in Mexico City, Monday, Aug. 19, 2013 (AP/Ivan Pierre Aguirre)

MEXICO CITY — Members of a masked vigilante group in southern Mexico demanded that the government free 44 colleagues arrested last week on weapons and organized crime charges, after the government accused them of using their weapons to settle internal disputes with other townspeople.

The "self-defense" group from the town of Aquila, in western Michoacan state, claim they had to take up arms to defend against the Knights Templar drug cartel. The vigilantes said at a news conference in Mexico City that the cartel demanded to be given 700,000 pesos ($54,000) that townspeople earned from mining royalties.

"My clients did not form a group for criminal purposes," lawyer Leonel Rivera said. "They were performing duties that the Mexican government has not been able to perform in many parts of the country, where authorities have not been able to guarantee the safety of the citizens of this country."

Jesus Reyna, Michoacan's acting governor, said last week the vigilantes were actually engaged in an internal dispute with other townspeople over the royalties from a local iron ore mine. He suggested the armed group had been motivated by economic interests, not public safety.

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