Michoacán News: As Deadline Approaches, Over 3,000 Militia Members Join Rural Defense Corps

Aristegui Noticias reports that some 3,316 members of militias formed in the Mexican state of Michoacán to combat the influence of drug cartels in the Tierra Caliente have applied to join a temporary rural defense corps set up by the federal government in a recent accord. As per that accord, prospective rural-defense officers must hand over their firearms for inspection and registration by the federal government. State security commissioner Alfredo Castillo said that over 6,000 weapons had so far been registered.

But as the May 10 deadline for the registration nears, some militia members show defiance. Animal Politico wrote that on Friday, vigilantes continued to inspect cars at checkpoints and patrol streets with R-15 assault rifles, a military-grade weapon which they will be permitted to keep by the accords. In several Michoacán towns, the site reports, autodefensa groups say they have no plans to register their weapons -- which implies at least a temporary disarmament -- citing the lack of a sizable federal security presence.

The militias’ general council has warned its members. Alberto Gutiérrez or “El Comandante 5,” the council’s coordinator, told the site that those who don’t live up to the agreement must “assume the responsibility and the consequences.” He added, “What we want is to take the legal path and whoever wants to stray from that will be considered a criminal.” Fears that the deal between the federal government and the militias were stoked this week when general council leader and spokesman José Manuel Mireles released a YouTube video which threw shade on the commitment of federal security commissioners and asking Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto to establish direct contact with him. Mireles was promptly ousted by the council.