Tensions between armed civilian groups that have appeared in the region of Tierra Caliente in the state of Michoacán to defend themselves from cartels, might be resolved in the coming days, after the federal government and the leader of the autodefensas signed an agreement that would allow the vigilantes to become a part of the Army, local police or rural corps.
According to the EFE, via Fox News, on Monday, Jan. 27, an agreement was signed in the municipality of Tepalcatepec, which foresees that the self-defense groups be integrated into the Army, municipal police and the rural corps, a branch of rural police regulated by the Organic Law of the Mexican Army.
The Ministry of the Interior said that the measure is temporary and that the members of autodefensas that wanted to join law enforcement will be integrated via a file controlled by the Ministry of Defense.
This is how the government expects to regulate the groups of armed civilians that appeared last year in various states of the Mexican Republic, mainly in Michoacán, a region that until a few days ago, was considered the main base of operations of the criminal group known as "The Knights Templar."
Regulating gun ownership among civilians and preventing them from joining organized crime is the main objective of this agreement, said the Ministry of the Interior, noting that the autodefensas will be integrated to the structures of the Mexican Army "as voluntary personnel in rural areas" whose mission is "to cooperate with regular troops in their activities, when required by military command," Fox News reported.
With the purpose of turning autodefensas into a "lasting and stable institution" in Tierra Caliente, the Ministry of the Interior and the vigilantes signed a pact in which both parts agreed to work together in the protection of rural communities.
These are the eight points that comprise the agreement signed on Monday:
- The autodefensas are institutionalized by joining the rural corps. To this end, the leaders of the autodefensas will present a list with the names of all their members, which will be validated with the formation of their respective files, controlled by the Ministry of Defense. These corps will be temporary and will be under the command of military authority in applicable terms.
- To protect their communities, autodefensas can join municipal police so long as they meet the requirements set by the law and have the support of their city council.
- Autodefensas must register the firearms they currently own or carry with the Ministry of Defense. The Executive Secretary of the National Public Safety System or the Minister of Defense, agree to provide the necessary tools for their communication, transportation and operation.
- It's agreed that the municipalities in conflict will be audited regarding the use of public resources, in observance of applicable legal dispositions.
- A rotation of Federal and Local Public Ministry Agents is established, as well as mobile Public Ministry units.
- The Commission for the Safety and Integral Development of Michoacán agrees to stay in permanent communication with the region's municipal authorities to provide support according to the faculties of the Commission.
- In the case of people arrested for carrying firearms and are currently in provisional liberty under precaution, the necessary efforts will be made so they can sign in the state of Michoacán, without needed to move to other states.
- In the case of municipal and state public servants with penal or administrative responsibility, those found to be guilty will be prosecuted with the full weight of the law.
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