Vigilantes toting assault rifles guarded the entrance of a town in western Mexico on Monday, bracing for a possible counter-attack from a drug cartel they chased out a day earlier.
The militiamen were protecting their new prize in their year-long struggle against the Knights Templar drug cartel, a gang whose reign of violence and extortion prompted civilians to take up arms in the restive state of Michoacan.
Hundreds of self-styled "self-defense" forces, armed with AK-47s and other assault rifles, rolled into the town of Nueva Italia on Sunday, sparking a gunfight that lasted almost two hours and left two of their men wounded.
Facing the biggest security challenge of his administration, President Enrique Pena Nieto deployed thousands of troops and federal police reinforcements to Michoacan in May, but the mission has failed to contain the violence.
Governor Fausto Vallejo said he would meet with federal security officials on Monday to draw up new "coordinated actions" to deal with the turmoil.
But soldiers did not act in Sunday's assault in Nueva Italia, and an AFP correspondent did not spot a military presence in the area on Monday.
"The soldiers left yesterday (Sunday) when they heard gun shots," said Alberto, a 20-year-old member of the self-defense unit that was manning a checkpoint and searching cars for weapons.
Jorge Vazquez, leader of a vigilante group that controls the town of Aguililla, said the Templars had withdraw but could fight back.
He said it was unclear when "the war will start, when they will begin to fight."
Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong says the self-defense units are illegal, but some critics charge the government is allowing them to act like a paramilitary force.
The Templars have accused the vigilantes of being a proxy force for the rival Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, a charge the militias deny.
Nueva Italia, population 32,000, was considered a Templar bastion. The vigilantes have now seized around 20 towns since they first appeared in February 2012.
With Nueva Italia and a couple of other communities they entered this past week, the vigilantes have now surrounded the city of Apatzingan, considered the urban headquarters of the Knights Templar gang.
The civilian forces say Apatzingan, population 123,000, is their next target because of its importance to the cartel.
The city is also a trade hub for the region's limes and avocados, which are then exported to the United States and other parts of Mexico.
In October, hundreds of self-defense militia members marched into Apatzingan unarmed and fled after being greeted with gun shots in the main square.
Their latest advance has met some resistance, with opponents burning trucks and buses last week to protest the militia's incursions. The vigilantes say the protesters are coerced or paid by the cartel.
In Nueva Italia, residents locked themselves inside their homes after the vigilantes arrived, though many stores re-opened again on Monday.
Late Sunday, authorities found two men hanging from a bridge on a road leading to the town. Their identities are unknown but Mexican cartels have regularly hanged victims from bridges in recent years.
"We are very scared. We have experienced a lot of violence in the last month," said Lucia, a 25-year-old town resident.
Gerardo Hurtado, director of the Nueva Italia hospital, said some of his employees stayed home.
"Workers are scared of what could happen," he said.
Other residents recalled the fear and extortion rackets they endured when the Knights Templar ran the town.
"You don't know what it's like when they threaten you with a gun in front of your sons, just because they are the plaza (territory) bosses," said a 32-year-old woman who requested anonymity.
While the Templars quickly vanished from Nueva Italia, the vigilantes are keeping their guard up, fearing a return of a cult-like cartel whose members are indoctrinated with pseudo-religious doctrine.
"It looks like they have merely retreated to the mountain and they have not used the firepower that they possess," said Vazquez, the vigilante leader.
Vigilantes toting assault rifles guarded the entrance of a town in western Mexico on Monday, bracing for a possible counter-attack from a drug cartel they chased out a day earlier.
The militiamen were protecting their new prize in their year-long struggle against the Knights Templar drug cartel, a gang whose reign of violence and extortion prompted civilians to take up arms in the restive state of Michoacan.
Hundreds of self-styled “self-defense” forces, armed with AK-47s and other assault rifles, rolled into the town of Nueva Italia on Sunday, sparking a gunfight that lasted almost two hours and left two of their men wounded.
Facing the biggest security challenge of his administration, President Enrique Pena Nieto deployed thousands of troops and federal police reinforcements to Michoacan in May, but the mission has failed to contain the violence.
Governor Fausto Vallejo said he would meet with federal security officials on Monday to draw up new “coordinated actions” to deal with the turmoil.
But soldiers did not act in Sunday’s assault in Nueva Italia, and an AFP correspondent did not spot a military presence in the area on Monday.
“The soldiers left yesterday (Sunday) when they heard gun shots,” said Alberto, a 20-year-old member of the self-defense unit that was manning a checkpoint and searching cars for weapons.
Jorge Vazquez, leader of a vigilante group that controls the town of Aguililla, said the Templars had withdraw but could fight back.
He said it was unclear when “the war will start, when they will begin to fight.”
Interior Minister Miguel Osorio Chong says the self-defense units are illegal, but some critics charge the government is allowing them to act like a paramilitary force.
The Templars have accused the vigilantes of being a proxy force for the rival Jalisco New Generation drug cartel, a charge the militias deny.
Nueva Italia, population 32,000, was considered a Templar bastion. The vigilantes have now seized around 20 towns since they first appeared in February 2012.
With Nueva Italia and a couple of other communities they entered this past week, the vigilantes have now surrounded the city of Apatzingan, considered the urban headquarters of the Knights Templar gang.
The civilian forces say Apatzingan, population 123,000, is their next target because of its importance to the cartel.
The city is also a trade hub for the region’s limes and avocados, which are then exported to the United States and other parts of Mexico.
In October, hundreds of self-defense militia members marched into Apatzingan unarmed and fled after being greeted with gun shots in the main square.
Their latest advance has met some resistance, with opponents burning trucks and buses last week to protest the militia’s incursions. The vigilantes say the protesters are coerced or paid by the cartel.
In Nueva Italia, residents locked themselves inside their homes after the vigilantes arrived, though many stores re-opened again on Monday.
Late Sunday, authorities found two men hanging from a bridge on a road leading to the town. Their identities are unknown but Mexican cartels have regularly hanged victims from bridges in recent years.
“We are very scared. We have experienced a lot of violence in the last month,” said Lucia, a 25-year-old town resident.
Gerardo Hurtado, director of the Nueva Italia hospital, said some of his employees stayed home.
“Workers are scared of what could happen,” he said.
Other residents recalled the fear and extortion rackets they endured when the Knights Templar ran the town.
“You don’t know what it’s like when they threaten you with a gun in front of your sons, just because they are the plaza (territory) bosses,” said a 32-year-old woman who requested anonymity.
While the Templars quickly vanished from Nueva Italia, the vigilantes are keeping their guard up, fearing a return of a cult-like cartel whose members are indoctrinated with pseudo-religious doctrine.
“It looks like they have merely retreated to the mountain and they have not used the firepower that they possess,” said Vazquez, the vigilante leader.
