Anti-drug vigilantes have clashed with Mexican troops who were sent in to Michoacan state to disarm them, and the vigiliantes are mostly defying the government.  It follows a vigilante offensive against the Knights Templar cartel aimed at taking their lives back.

In the town of Antunez, the self-defense groups say Mexican soldiers shot dead at least three-to-seven people including an 11-year-old girl.

“How does the federal government imagine that we would lay down our arms when they haven't detained a single leader of the Knights Templar?  How is that fair?” questioned a vigilante leader in Michoacan.  “It's illogical.  Because if we're left without weapons, they will immediately come and kill us.”

The Knights Templar rule western Michoacan state through terror, kidnappings, and extortion.  The vigilante groups said that they had no choice but to arm themselves as federal troops failed to guarantee their security.

“There is no law here.  The decisions are taken here in the mountains, in the hideouts of the Knights Templar leaders,” said local Catholic Priest father Gregorio Lopez.  “They are the ones who decide.  Here the public institutions are mere puppets.”