Tensions Grow in Michoacán Over Clashes Between Vigilantes and the Mexican Army [Video]

Tensions in the state of Michoacán grow, owing to the existing conflict between vigilante groups, the Mexican Army and organized crime groups.

After Mexico's Minister of the Interior, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, said that the Federal Government would take over security in Michoacán, two videos uploaded by one of the leaders of the vigilantes, Doctor José Manuel Mireles, set two contradictory postures which have caused these groups to clash with the Army in the past 12 hours.

According to information published by EFE, hours after the Mexican government announced a security plan to be implemented in Michoacán, in western Mexico, the Army began to disarm the vigilante groups, who took over the town of Nueva Italia, in the municipality of Múgica, over the weekend.

According to EFE, in the first video uploaded last night, Mireles, one of the 32 coordinators of the vigilante council of Michoacán, tells the vigilantes to go back to their homes; however, during the early morning, the leader rejected this possibility.

The first video was broadcast by Mexican TV network Televisa during Joaquín López Doriga's newscast, and it shows a posture of retiring the vigilantes, according to El Informador.

"The General Council of Self-Defense Communities of Michoacán heeds the call of the Ministry of the Interior and our friend the state's governor. The council states that we adhere to the rules that they released today, Jan. 13, and we agree to return to our homes; we look after civilians and we're honest, good people," Mireles said.

The second video was uploaded to YouTube and in it, Mireles says the vigilantes are not going anywhere.

"I'm telling my comrades of the General Council of Self-Defense Communities not to put down their weapons until the Federal and State governments, which met today, Jan. 13, 2014, detain the seven leaders of organized crime which have destroyed our lives for over 12 years," Mireles says in the second video.

Conflict Grows

In Michoacán, during the last 12 hours, various clashes between vigilantes and Army units have taken place. The morning of Tuesday, Estanislao Beltrán, leader of one of the vigilante groups told Noticiero de MVS that they had been attacked by soldiers in the town of Antúnez in the municipality of Parácuaro.

According to Beltrán, on Monday night, "soldiers shot civilians in Antúnez, killing 4 people, among them an 11-year-old girl." Beltrán's claim has been shown to be false, according to the Associated Press, who reported that no children or women had died.

In an interview conceded to Noticiero de MVS, the spokesman for the vigilantes said that an Army group attempted to disarm the vigilantes in Cuatro Caminos, and the vigilantes attempted to stop the soldiers to get their guns back.

A video allegedly recorded shows the moment when the Army opened fire; however, no authority has confirmed or denied the event.