Like many struggles in contemporary Mexico, the turmoil in Michoacan does not lend itself to a simple narrative of good guys versus bad guys. There is widespread suspicion that at least some of the vigilantes are fronts for rival drug cartels who may be engaging in a turf battle by proxy. And the Knights Templar, firebrand evangelical Christians who portray themselves as the saviors of their state, have a dedicated following in Michoacan, particularly in Apatzingan. Masked groups of apparent Knights Templar followers have been setting fire to buildings and cars in the city in recent days to protest the vigilante presence nearby.

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For now, Michoacan is merely one of numerous swaths of Mexico that remain terrorized, and in some cases controlled, by drug cartels. The latest U.S. State Department travel warning for Mexico, issued last week, noted significant criminal activity in 19 of the country’s 31 states, much of it committed by organized crime groups. The violence in Mexico has continued even though Peña Nieto’s predecessor, Felipe Calderon, spent most of his six-year term confronting the drug gangs with a militarized approach. During that time, tens of thousands of people died in the country from drug-related violence.

Mexico tells vigilantes to abandon fight against cartel in Michoacan