HomeNewsBrief'Vigilante-Backed' Protesters Killed in Southwest Mexico
BRIEF

'Vigilante-Backed' Protesters Killed in Southwest Mexico

JALISCO CARTEL / 23 JUL 2013 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

Five people were killed and various others injured after an unidentified group shot at protesters in southwest Mexico's Michoacan state, in one of several recent incidents marking escalating violence in the troubled region.

Around 200 people armed with machetes and rifles, allegedly led by vigilantes in Los Reyes municipality, held a protest outside municipal government offices on July 22, reported Animal Politico. The group protested against corrupt police who they claimed were in league with the Knights Templar criminal organization, according to the LA Times.

Early in the afternoon, a second, heavily armed group -- reportedly clothed in hoods that disguised their faces -- arrived in four trucks and opened fire on the protesters, killing five and wounding 10, reported Milenio, while Animal Politico reported 17 wounded. No arrests took place following the attack, while interim Michoacan Governor Jesus Reyna said the situation was under control.

It was the latest in a series of violent acts registered in Michoacan in recent days. On the same day as the shooting, three federal police were injured in an ambush while on patrol in the Lazaro Cardenas municipality. Days earlier, another three police officers were murdered and six injured, also in an ambush. Additionally, two men and two women were found dead by hanging in Buenavista Tomatlan.

InSight Crime Analysis

This series of violent incidents points to a renewed escalation of violence in Michoacan, where security forces were deployed in May in order to address the problem. Both Michoacan and neighboring Guerrero state have seen the emergence of several vigilante groups in past months. While these groups say they were created in order to fight drug-related violence that the state ignores, in Michoacan they have been accused of connections to a criminal organization, the Jalisco Cartel-New Generation, whose main rival is the Knights Templar.

It is not clear who is funding or arming the vigilantes, but the unclear motive and identity of the gunmen in Los Reyes raises further questions about the nature of the self-defense groups. At the very least, the crackdown suggests that there are certain interests in Michoacan that do not wish to see public protests carried out against police corruption. 

As violence continues to proliferate in Michoacan, standoffs between vigilantes, drug trafficking organizations, and state security bodies may become more common. If the vigilantes continue to gain power, there will likely be a corresponding increase in concerns that they could develop into brutal paramilitary forces, similar to those that emerged in the Colombian conflict.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

FEATURED / 6 OCT 2021

It was so simple once. The Gulf Cartel and its ancestors maintained control of Tamaulipas for eight decades.

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 5 APR 2023

US officials may designate Mexican crime groups as terrorists, but this mischaracterizes the threat. …

ELITES AND CRIME / 30 SEP 2022

Outgoing governor of Tamaulipas, Francisco Javier García Cabeza de Vaca, is about to lose immunity from an arrest warrant.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…