Mexico Vigilantes Backed by Troops March Into Key City in Michoacan
MEXICO CITY — The vigilante “self-defense” groups in Mexico’s Michoacan state on Saturday entered Apatzingan, the stronghold of the Knights Templar drug cartel, carrying no weapons but escorted by troops and federal police.
The vigilantes have long considered Apatzingan, a city of more than 90,000, to be a prime target in their fight against the cartel, which has wormed its way deep into the fabric of Michoacan society.
The vigilantes’ threat to take the city by force last month prompted the federal government to send thousands of troops into the southwestern state to avoid a bloody showdown.
More recently, officials agreed to bring the armed vigilantes under the aegis of the federal government by folding them in to a security group known as the Rural Defense Corps.
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