Vigilantes who have battled a drug cartel in western Mexico face a deadline Saturday to store their guns or join a police force amid divisions and recriminations within the movement.
The authorities are handing out uniforms to vigilantes who have agreed to sign up to a new rural police force in the lush agricultural state of Michoacan.
The units will make their debut in the towns of Buenavista and Tepalcatepec, two of the first municipalities that revolted last year against the cult-like Knights Templar gang because local police failed to protect them.
The federal government, which has tolerated the vigilantes, has warned that anybody found carrying weapons illegally after the deadline would be arrested.
The rise of the vigilante movement, which spread to some 30 towns, brought fears that it could turn into a dangerous paramilitary force.
President Enrique Pena Nieto, who deployed thousands of troops to Michoacan last year to restore order, said he expected the vigilantes to disband or join the police.
"It's an agreement, and I expect it to be respected," said Pena Nieto, who is facing one of his biggest security challenges in Michoacan.
- Divided movement -
The transition comes amid deep divisions within the vigilante movement, accusations that it is infiltrated by cartels and the recent arrest of one of its founders.
Authorities have also found several cases of criminals posing as vigilantes.
Late Friday, 135 "pseudo-vigilantes" were arrested in La Mira, near the port of Lazaro Cardenas, after clashing with troops, a state security official told AFP.
On Thursday, the council of self-defense forces in more than 30 towns announced the dismissal of its chief spokesman, Jose Manuel Mireles.
The council accused him of making public statements without clearance that undermined the movement.
It also said "recent actions" by Mireles had cost the lives of five civilians, but it did not elaborate. Authorities said Friday they are investigating whether Mireles had a role in the deaths.
Mireles could not be reached for comment.
Another founder of the movement, Hipolito Mora, was arrested in March on charges that he was behind the murders of two fellow vigilantes. He rejects the charges.
Mireles, a tall, mustachioed doctor, told a radio station this week that the vigilante movement was divided and infiltrated by criminals.
Later he released an Internet video message asking Pena Nieto for a direct dialogue and saying he needed a new security detail because he feared for his life.
- Arrest threat -
After the authorities took down three of the four main Knights Templar leaders, the vigilantes signed an agreement last month to register their guns and put them away at home, or join the rural force.
The militias and the government are still hunting for the cartel's last top leader, Servando Gomez, alias "La Tuta."
Alfredo Castillo, Pena Nieto's special security envoy to Michoacan, said the vigilantes had registered 6,442 of an estimated 7,000 weapons as of Friday, including 4,497 military-grade guns.
After Saturday, "they won't go out on the street with them because they will be detained," warned Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
More than 3,300 vigilantes have signed up to join the police force, officials said. The vigilantes have said that they have 20,000 people in their ranks.
Despite the deadline, Castillo said the vigilantes could be granted a few more days to be deputized in other towns because of an unexpected high demand.
Vigilante leader Estanislao Beltran, a white-bearded militiaman nicknamed "Papa Smurf," told AFP that it would be a "gradual process" that could take eight to 10 days.
Jaime Rivera, a political science professor at Michoacana University, said the federal government's strategy in the troubled state had been a "relative success" but that it will take a long time to restore trust in local institutions.
"The federal government has done a lot, but this remains far from a complete solution," Rivera said.
Vigilantes who have battled a drug cartel in western Mexico face a deadline Saturday to store their guns or join a police force amid divisions and recriminations within the movement.
The authorities are handing out uniforms to vigilantes who have agreed to sign up to a new rural police force in the lush agricultural state of Michoacan.
The units will make their debut in the towns of Buenavista and Tepalcatepec, two of the first municipalities that revolted last year against the cult-like Knights Templar gang because local police failed to protect them.
The federal government, which has tolerated the vigilantes, has warned that anybody found carrying weapons illegally after the deadline would be arrested.
The rise of the vigilante movement, which spread to some 30 towns, brought fears that it could turn into a dangerous paramilitary force.
President Enrique Pena Nieto, who deployed thousands of troops to Michoacan last year to restore order, said he expected the vigilantes to disband or join the police.
“It’s an agreement, and I expect it to be respected,” said Pena Nieto, who is facing one of his biggest security challenges in Michoacan.
– Divided movement –
The transition comes amid deep divisions within the vigilante movement, accusations that it is infiltrated by cartels and the recent arrest of one of its founders.
Authorities have also found several cases of criminals posing as vigilantes.
Late Friday, 135 “pseudo-vigilantes” were arrested in La Mira, near the port of Lazaro Cardenas, after clashing with troops, a state security official told AFP.
On Thursday, the council of self-defense forces in more than 30 towns announced the dismissal of its chief spokesman, Jose Manuel Mireles.
The council accused him of making public statements without clearance that undermined the movement.
It also said “recent actions” by Mireles had cost the lives of five civilians, but it did not elaborate. Authorities said Friday they are investigating whether Mireles had a role in the deaths.
Mireles could not be reached for comment.
Another founder of the movement, Hipolito Mora, was arrested in March on charges that he was behind the murders of two fellow vigilantes. He rejects the charges.
Mireles, a tall, mustachioed doctor, told a radio station this week that the vigilante movement was divided and infiltrated by criminals.
Later he released an Internet video message asking Pena Nieto for a direct dialogue and saying he needed a new security detail because he feared for his life.
– Arrest threat –
After the authorities took down three of the four main Knights Templar leaders, the vigilantes signed an agreement last month to register their guns and put them away at home, or join the rural force.
The militias and the government are still hunting for the cartel’s last top leader, Servando Gomez, alias “La Tuta.”
Alfredo Castillo, Pena Nieto’s special security envoy to Michoacan, said the vigilantes had registered 6,442 of an estimated 7,000 weapons as of Friday, including 4,497 military-grade guns.
After Saturday, “they won’t go out on the street with them because they will be detained,” warned Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
More than 3,300 vigilantes have signed up to join the police force, officials said. The vigilantes have said that they have 20,000 people in their ranks.
Despite the deadline, Castillo said the vigilantes could be granted a few more days to be deputized in other towns because of an unexpected high demand.
Vigilante leader Estanislao Beltran, a white-bearded militiaman nicknamed “Papa Smurf,” told AFP that it would be a “gradual process” that could take eight to 10 days.
Jaime Rivera, a political science professor at Michoacana University, said the federal government’s strategy in the troubled state had been a “relative success” but that it will take a long time to restore trust in local institutions.
“The federal government has done a lot, but this remains far from a complete solution,” Rivera said.
