海角大神

Nearly a year after vigilante groups decided to go it alone against a growing presence of drug cartels in the western state of Michoac谩n, group leaders accepted an offer from the federal government to join formal law enforcement efforts.听

The agreement this week听aims to contain the advance of informal self-defense groups, which entered at least 15 communities over the past 11 months in an attempt to expel members of the Knights Templar. The drug cartel has been accused of crimes throughout the state, ranging from rape to kidnap to extortion 鈥� despite proclaiming a quasi-religious creed.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a vote of confidence in the government from the self-defense groups, and from the authorities in the self-defense groups,鈥� Alfredo Castillo, federal commissioner for security in Michaoc谩n, told MVS radio this morning.

However, not everyone is certain the deal will stick, and some worry about the signal the government is sending by working with people who operate outside the law.

鈥淚 question if now any person could believe that this 鈥� the Michoac谩n example 鈥� is the road to becoming an authority,鈥� columnist Carlos Puig wrote in the newspaper Milenio.

'El Tio'

A lack of confidence in Mexican authorities has long been the norm in Michoac谩n, where former President Felipe Calder贸n started the country鈥檚 crackdown on drug cartels and organized crime in December 2006. But many locals felt the government and local police failed to curb violence and crime, and took up arms themselves to take safety and order into their own hands.

The groups marched on municipalities throughout the region until the federal government called on them to disarm earlier this month, sending soldiers to seize their weapons, leading to at least two casualties. The vigilantes resisted the call to disarm; many said they wouldn't until authorities proved they were clamping down on cartel activity by arresting senior leaders.

In the past two weeks, the authorities announced the capture of more than 100 suspects. And on Monday morning soldiers detained Dionisio Loya Plancarte, a Knights Templar leader known as 鈥淓l Tio鈥� or 鈥淭he Uncle,鈥� who was hiding in a closet in Morelia, the capital of听Michoac谩n.

鈥淭here鈥檚 now a desire [on the part of the Federal Police] to get to work,鈥� Estanislao Beltr谩n, a lemon farmer-turned self-defense group leader told 海角大神 over the phone today.

You can see this push 鈥渨ith the detentions [of cartel members] and by how the government is willing to coordinate with us. We鈥檙e passing along information to them, all the information that people have given us,鈥� Mr. Beltr谩n says, emphasizing the role he and other vigilantes can serve for state and federal听 forces.

The deal

The Mexican government and self-defense groups reached an agreement听on Monday听in the municipality of Tepalcatepec, 340 miles west of Mexico City, which would allow vigilantes to participate in local police departments or form temporary military units known as Rural Defense Corps. The vigilantes can keep their weapons 鈥� so long as defense officials deem the guns legal 鈥� and the federal government will supply equipment for communications and transportation.听听

鈥淲e have no interest in weapons. We want them to put an end to this organized crime and we鈥檒l go back to our work,鈥� Beltr谩n says.听

Despite the agreement, self-defense groups continued marching on communities near the city of Uruapan, local media reported on Monday.

Beltr谩n was noncommittal about how closely the self-defense groups will adhere to this new agreement, saying, 鈥淭he communities themselves will determine if we advance or not.鈥�

The deal between the government and self-defense forces highlighted once again the shortcomings of Mexico鈥檚 security situation 鈥� something President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto has preferred not to speak of during his first 14 months in office. Some questioned if the self-defense groups may even be getting duped.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe this agreement. I have my doubts,鈥� says Father Andr茅s Larios, one of the Catholic priests in Michoacan. 鈥淭he government was scared because they saw that people in these communities could do things on their own鈥�. It鈥檚 a way of controlling them and manipulating them.鈥�