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Podcasts Take Two
Mexican government sends help to Michoacan vigilante groups
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Jan 21, 2014
Listen • 5:12
Mexican government sends help to Michoacan vigilante groups
In the Mexican state of Michoacan, armed vigilante groups that have challenged a powerful drug cartel are refusing to lay down arms.
Armed residents take part in a march for the first anniversary of the citizen's vigilante groups, in Ayutla de los Libres, on January 5, 2014, in the southeastern state of Guerrero, Mexico. Hundreds of civilians armed with rifles, pistols and machetes decided to provide security for the communities of Guerrero, creating a vigilante force, following robberies, kidnappings and murder by gangs. Guerrero, home to the Pacific resort town of Acapulco, has been one of the states hardest hit by Mexico's drug violence, which has left more than 70,000 people killed across the country since 2006.
Armed residents take part in a march for the first anniversary of the citizen's vigilante groups, in Ayutla de los Libres, on January 5, 2014, in the southeastern state of Guerrero, Mexico. Hundreds of civilians armed with rifles, pistols and machetes decided to provide security for the communities of Guerrero, creating a vigilante force, following robberies, kidnappings and murder by gangs. Guerrero, home to the Pacific resort town of Acapulco, has been one of the states hardest hit by Mexico's drug violence, which has left more than 70,000 people killed across the country since 2006.
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AFP/AFP/Getty Images
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In the Mexican state of Michoacan, armed vigilante groups that have challenged a powerful drug cartel are refusing to lay down arms.

In the Mexican state of Michoacan, armed vigilante groups that have challenged a powerful drug cartel are refusing to lay down arms. 

The federal government has sent forces to the region and local residents are left to wonder what the solution is to the ongoing violence.

For more, we're joined by Tim Johnson, reporter with the McClatchy Mexico bureau.