Mexican authorities have begun handing out
blue uniforms and assault rifles to vigilantes in
the country's western region, legalising a
movement that formed last year to combat a
vicious drug cartel.
Scores of farmers lined up at a cattle ranch
on Saturday to receive the uniforms of the
newly created rural state police force in
Tepalcatapec, one of the towns that founded the
self-defence militias in the lush agricultural
state of Michoacan.
The units were also making their debut in the
neighbouring town of Buenavista, which
revolted in February 2013 against the cult-like
Knights Templars gang because local police
failed to protect them.
"With this we become legal," said the white-
bearded vigilante leader Estanislao Beltran,
nicknamed "Papa Smurf," after slipping into his
blue uniform. "We are part of the government."
The new rural police officers then sang the
national anthem at a formal swearing-in
ceremony in the town square.
The federal government, which had tolerated the
vigilantes, has warned that anybody found
carrying weapons illegally after Saturday's
deadline to join the police will be arrested.
But vigilante leaders said they still had to hash
out details on pay and who would be in
command, though they would work alongside
the regular state police.
'Pseudo-vigilantes'
The rise of the vigilante movement, which
spread to some 30 towns, brought fears that it
could turn into a dangerous paramilitary force.
The violence in Michoacan turned into one of
the biggest security challenges to President
Enrique Pena Nieto, who deployed thousands of
troops to restore order last year and named a
special security envoy earlier this year.
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.
The movement's leadership has faced turmoil,
too.
On Thursday, the council of self-defense forces
in more than 30 towns announced the dismissal
of its chief spokesman, Jose Manuel Mireles,
who was absent from Saturday's events.
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 on 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 has rejected 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.
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.
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.
