Michoacan Drug War News: Vigilantes Go From Heroes to Villains

Michoacan's drug war recently found a new set of heroes in the group of vigilantes who have been taking over much of the state in an effort to expel members of the powerful Knights Templar members. However, a new report from the New York Times suggests that perhaps the perception of these groups has soured as many have begun to feel that the vigilante groups are transforming into the very organization they were trying to eliminate: the drug cartels that plagued the state and its citizens.

Supported by business owners and citizens in the Michoacan, the vigilante group has swelled to almost 20,000 in size: they are heavily armed, many of them with illegal weaponry. As Vanda Felbab-Brown, senior fellow at Brookings Institution explains, "the growth of such forces “exposes the weaknesses of the rule of law and the real inability of state security institutions to develop robust responses." Initally wary of the groups, Mexican officials have had to make an uneasy alliance with the vigilantes following extraordinary support from the community.

The Mexican governement of Enrique Peña Nieto has asked the vigilantes to register their weapons and has set up a plan in which the groups will patrol cities in conjunction with federal forces. However, there are increasing fears that divisions within the group will alter its nature: last week, the vigilantes splitnered into two groups, one which supported allowing former young Templar members to join the group and another which promised to weed out anyone formerly involved with the powerful cartel.

Ultimately the problem lies in the fact that there is little to no control to be had over the group which could transform an already volatile situation into a civil war. The groups are well-armed and efficiently organized and could easily turn on each other or the government forces. Moreover, there is little knowledge as to the background of its leaders and where their allegiences truly lie. While they initially brough some relief to the cartel-ravaged state, increasingly hope is turning to fear as the vigilante groups attain ever greater power.