Drug Cartels, Self-Defense Groups, and Various State and Federal Forces Vie for Control in the Mexican State of Michoacán

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In mid January self-defense groups organized by individual communities in the Mexican state of Michoacán clashed, yet again, with the forces of Los Caballeros Templarios, or Knights Templar, drug cartel.  The communities, which have been terrorized for years, have lost faith in the ability (or even inclination) of local, state, and federal government officials to protect them.  Labeled “vigilantes” and “paramilitaries,” the groups have caused considerable consternation in Mexico City and the United States, where there has been much tut-tutting over the “legalization” of self-defense groups as the government’s “surrender” to “save face.”  Clearly, however, the situation is rather more complicated than the simple morality play many observers have portrayed. 

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