Recently the spokesman for Michoacan’s Autodefensas, Dr. Jose Juan Mireles Valverde, spoke to a gathering of people in Caleta de Campos. The speech is important on a number of levels; chief among them is that this is actually Dr. Mireles speaking in his own words. Mexican and English language media have routinely distorted Mirele’s words and persona since the autodefensas movement began.
A recent guest on the podcast, Danny Benevides, of Traces of Reality, translated the entire speech into English. If you are not familiar with Dr. Mireles, or the autodefensas, I would urge you to check our in-depth conversation and then read the speech in its entirety.
For today’s episode I was joined by Traces of Reality contributing editor Danny Benevides. Danny and I had an extended conversation on some of the most recent events regarding the drug war south of the border. Danny explains what the vigilante movement in Michoacan, know as the autodefensas, is doing to combat the rising tide of cartel violence. We also explore how the autodefensas movement may be being co-opted by the new PRI government headed by Enrique Pena Nieto as well as foreign actors. Danny breaks down the history of the cartels in Michoacan state. Danny explains how La Famila splintered off into Los Caballeros Templarios, and how average citizens decided to take action against them. We also discuss the recent uptick in violence in the northern state of Tamaulipas and how this relates to the “capture” of Sinaloa cartel leader El Chapo. We round off the conversation by discussing actor Kevin Spacey’s $8 million dollar selfie with Pena Nieto and what this means for the future of Mexico.