Mexican government partners with anti-cartel vigilante groups in Michoacán

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Jan 30, 2014

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Mexican government partners with anti-cartel vigilante groups in Michoacán

In the Mexican state of Michoacán, armed civilian groups continue to challenge the powerful drug cartels in the region. The federal government began by calling earlier this month for the groups to lay down their arms.

Mexican federal police patrol during a march for peace in Apatzingan, Michoacan State, Mexico, on January 18, 2014. Federal forces in recent days have moved into Michoacan, in western Mexico, and tried to disarm the local vigilante groups and flush out the Knights Templar drug trafficking gang, which has seized control of large swathes of this state.

In the Mexican state of Michoacán, armed civilian groups continue to challenge the powerful drug cartels in the region. The federal government began by calling earlier this month for the groups to lay down their arms.

In the Mexican state of Michoacán, armed civilian groups continue to challenge the powerful drug cartels in the region. The federal government began by calling earlier this month for the groups to lay down their arms.

But this week, the government said it reached a deal with the groups, known as "autodefensas," or "self-defense' groups, to incorporate local members to join with police. Journalist Verónica Calderón has been reporting from Michoacán for El País. She joins the show with more.