Federal police and army troops said they had 17 cities and towns in western Mexico under control Wednesday after seizing a drug cartel's bastion and clashing with vigilantes.
Thousands of troops and police held their ground in the Michoacan state cities of Apatzingan (population 120,000), seen as a bastion of the Knights Templars cartel, Uruapan (315,000) and Mugica (45,000).
"These are strategic points" since the government has "intelligence showing that organized crime groups operate out of them," said Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
In Apatzingan, about 2,000 federal agents disarmed 200 members of the town police suspected to work for the Knights Templars.
And the federal government named a commissioner to coordinate its public safety work in Michoacan: Alfredo Castillo, who has worked as a consumer's advocate and prosecutor.
Estanislao Beltran, one of the militia leaders, appeared to reverse earlier resistance to disarming saying perhaps it can be done gradually. "Let's see how we can do it little by little," he said.
The turmoil in Michoacan has become the biggest security challenge for President Enrique Pena Nieto's 13-month-old administration, undermining his pledge to reduce drug violence.
"The vigilantes are not our target; criminals are. Everyone has to understand that we are going to get the job done," the interior minister told reporters. He said a Knights Templars figure had been detained but did not identify the suspect.
Soldiers arrived Tuesday in towns held by vigilantes who have battled the cartel for the past year, leading to a confrontation the civilian militia said killed four people, including a child.
The federal show of force in Michoacan's rural region known as Tierra Caliente, or Hot Country, came a day after the government urged vigilantes to lay down their arms, saying it would take over security.
Civilians first took up arms in February 2013 to oust the Knights Templar from the region, saying local police were either colluding with gangs or unable to deal with the violence and extortion rackets.
Since then, officials have alleged that at least some civilian militias were backed by a cartel, with critics noting that they used unlawful assault rifles that gangs usually own.
Analysts, however, say the government was happy to let vigilantes police the state until now, a risky tactic that could have replicated Colombia's experience with ultra-violent paramilitary militias.
Federal police and army troops said they had 17 cities and towns in western Mexico under control Wednesday after seizing a drug cartel’s bastion and clashing with vigilantes.
Thousands of troops and police held their ground in the Michoacan state cities of Apatzingan (population 120,000), seen as a bastion of the Knights Templars cartel, Uruapan (315,000) and Mugica (45,000).
“These are strategic points” since the government has “intelligence showing that organized crime groups operate out of them,” said Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong.
In Apatzingan, about 2,000 federal agents disarmed 200 members of the town police suspected to work for the Knights Templars.
And the federal government named a commissioner to coordinate its public safety work in Michoacan: Alfredo Castillo, who has worked as a consumer’s advocate and prosecutor.
Estanislao Beltran, one of the militia leaders, appeared to reverse earlier resistance to disarming saying perhaps it can be done gradually. “Let’s see how we can do it little by little,” he said.
The turmoil in Michoacan has become the biggest security challenge for President Enrique Pena Nieto’s 13-month-old administration, undermining his pledge to reduce drug violence.
“The vigilantes are not our target; criminals are. Everyone has to understand that we are going to get the job done,” the interior minister told reporters. He said a Knights Templars figure had been detained but did not identify the suspect.
Soldiers arrived Tuesday in towns held by vigilantes who have battled the cartel for the past year, leading to a confrontation the civilian militia said killed four people, including a child.
The federal show of force in Michoacan’s rural region known as Tierra Caliente, or Hot Country, came a day after the government urged vigilantes to lay down their arms, saying it would take over security.
Civilians first took up arms in February 2013 to oust the Knights Templar from the region, saying local police were either colluding with gangs or unable to deal with the violence and extortion rackets.
Since then, officials have alleged that at least some civilian militias were backed by a cartel, with critics noting that they used unlawful assault rifles that gangs usually own.
Analysts, however, say the government was happy to let vigilantes police the state until now, a risky tactic that could have replicated Colombia’s experience with ultra-violent paramilitary militias.
