Mexico legalizes vigilantes, nabs cartel leader

chron.com ^ | 1-27-14 | E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and MARK STEVENSON

[smokingfrog]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico essentially legalized the country's growing "self-defense" groups Monday, while also announcing that security forces had captured one of the four top leaders of the Knights Templar drug cartel, which the vigilante groups have been fighting for the last year.

The government said it had reached an agreement with vigilante leaders to incorporate the armed civilian groups into old and largely forgotten quasi-military units called the Rural Defense Corps. Vigilante groups estimate their numbers at 20,000 men under arms.

The twin announcements may help the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto find a way out of an embarrassing situation in the western state of Michoacan, where vigilantes began rising up last February against the Knights Templar reign of terror and extortion after police and troops failed to stop the abuses.

[CowboyJay]

"If there were no violence, there’s a good chance that there would be jobs, but it isn’t a problem we (or their government for that matter) can solve."

Last I checked, Mexico had a lower unemployment rate than we do. Jobs isn't their problem, their crappy gov't is. If we sealed up the border and armed them, the Mexican people would fix that problem on their own in pretty short order.

[vette6387]

“If we sealed up the border and armed them, the Mexican people would fix that problem on their own in pretty short order.”

I’d sure like to see it. It would work to the benefit of both countries. As it stands, both countries have “foreign” leaders, we have a Kenyan Arab Mooslim and they have a bunch of “White” Spaniards.