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out. they call themselves autodefensas, or self-defense forces. their leaders claim that 20,000 have joined the armed movement. their advance has been welcomed by many, but it's also plunged this state into a new kind of lawlessness. >> we've just arrived to michoacán and we've heard that four heads have been discovered on the steps leading to this church here in this small town of zacan. >> it's a gruesome warning from the templars, as the autodefensas approach this town from the south the bodies were taken away by authorities before we arrived. but people here tell me they expect little more from the investigation. in mexico, it's estimated 98 percent of crimes go unpunished. failed by the state, the

vigilants say they've been left with no choice but to start a war >> we're here in los reyes to meet a wealthy avocado farmer called paco. he left his orchards four months ago to coordinate vigilantes on the northern front, and i wanted to know why.

>> many of the leaders of the autodefensa groups are businessmen like paco - they own big lime or avocado plantations. others are field workers or returning migrants. some of them are even professional mercenaries. we followed paco's group as they patrolled the area around los reyes. it was immediately clear how much authority they'd gained here. >> on the road, they forced this state prison van to stop... >> they believe that some state employees have been trying to get templars out of the town, so that's why they stopped this car. >> the policemen put up no resistance...

>> they were cleared to drive on, but the power dynamic was obvious these sorts of scenes are going on all across michoacan because for years, government authorities have protected and aided cartel members. the templars have made huge profits through drug trafficking and extortion, and used part of that money to pay off security forces. everyone had to pay

>> and if you didn't pay? >> israel's nephew was one of the men found beheaded in zacan, and their 26-year-old son was recently kidnapped. they now believe he is dead too.

>> over the last year, the fight for michoacan has only sporadically broken out into actual battle. in truth it's more of a hunt with many of the knights templar in hiding, a search is underway for local bosses and their hitmen. francisco is only 15, and joined just a week ago. he told us his cousin was kidnapped, raped... and then murdered by the cartel. her body was found in trash bags by a river.

>> as they've taken over security operations from local police, the autodefensas have basically created their own justice system. we've just been told a cicario - or assassin - has been captured in los reyes >> 21-year-old jose eduardo was being held at a drug rehab clinic that had been turned into makeshift prison. as we sat down to talk to him, the autodefensas stayed to watch over our shoulders. >> and the only thing you did was work as an informant, or you did something else?

>> we interviewed him for an hour - and his story didn't change. >> today... israel is burying his nephew. along with the others beheaded in zacan. paco's team has agreed

to escort the funeral procession - the cemetery is in an area still controlled by the templars. michoacan now has the second highest homicide rate in mexico. almost 300 people are murdered here every month. this is a scene repeated over and over, day after day. as they expected - the families here hadn't heard from the authorities - there was no active investigation into the killings. with no one to turn to, they said, the vigilantes have given them hope.

>> al jazeera america presents the system with joe berlinger >> you had a psychologically vulnerable teenager, you had aggressive investigators... it was a perfect storm >> put behind bars after making a false confession >> i prayed my innocence could be established, and i would be released >> what if you admitted to something you did not do >> the truth will set you free yeah don't kid yourself... >> the system with joe burlinger only on al jazeera america

real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >>america tonight investigates a controverseal addition treatment. it could be a life saver...

>>the reset button has been hit what is this teach us about the brain? >> can ibogaine cure heroin addiction? only on al jazeera america >> when the autodefensa movement started taking control of towns from the knights templar cartel, it was an embarrassment for the mexican government. the country's president peña nieto is under intense pressure to resolve the crisis. he has deployed more than 9,000 soldiers and federal police to the state to try to regain control. but given the level of mistrust of the government that exists in michoacan, they're having to tread carefully. >> at the army's new base of operations in coalcoman, we spoke with general hernandez.

>> basically, it's like all the local police here have just been sent to reform school - a move designed to sever their connections to organized crime meanwhile, the federal government has just done something even more surprising: they've made the controversial decision to legalize the militias, turning them into what they call rural defense forces - a sub-unit of the army. >> but to join the rural guard, and keep their weapons, the autodefensas have to register

with the government - in mexico citizens can't legally carry anything more powerful than a hunting rifle. >> how is the government and the military going to regulate weapons when the self-defense groups have weapons like m-16s? is that authorized? i mean, can they have an m-16? >> it sounds good, but most vigilantes we met were suspicious of government control and don't plan to register. others have criminal records that will disqualify them.

>> many of these men say they won't lay down their weapons, so what are you going to do about it? >> but this cell-phone video, recorded the day before we spoke to the general, showed how difficult he was finding it to control the self-defense group in coalcoman. the public message: it's all under control, but we seemed to be witnessing just how volatile the situation really was. as we returned to the base in apatzingan, there was big news >> this is the stronghold of the knights templar, and we're hearing that there's about 500 members of the self-defense, the federal police and the military are getting ready to take this town. >> it would be the first big joint action since the government announced the plan to

legalize the autodefensas. >> but the federal troops ordered the vigilantes to wait on the edge of town while they went into the city to make arrests. >> the templars taunt them with threats over cb radio >> we've been waiting here for around 5 hours, and something is going on - because these people are just not going to apatzingan, we'll have to wait. >> frustration over the government's control of the operation is building.

>> while the vigilantes were waiting on the outskirts of apatzingan, the message came through that the operation was over - the military and the police had retaken control - without their assistance. in the end they were finally allowed to drive through the town - their part reduced to a symbolic gesture. as we walked through the plaza that night, we were stopped by the family of one of the accused templars. >> who are they saying he is? >> they're saying that he is a mercenary for the cartel, for the templarios. but none of that is true. >> you say that the police is doing a witch-hunt? they're going after - >> yes! they're just going after whoever. they're taking innocent people here.

>> jose manuel mireles, considered to be the founder of the autodefensas, isn't ready to surrender his movement to the very authorities he said failed him. >> the government has made headlines again this morning - a top cartel leader, el chayo, has been killed. but mireles tells me the autodefensas were key to the operation.

>> as the government struggles to prove itself, in towns all over the state, security remains in the hands of vigilantes and as tension between them and the government increases, other problems are starting to emerge as well. >> now inroducing, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. a global perspective wherever you are. the major headlines in context. mashable says... you'll never miss the latest news >> they will continue looking for suvivors... >> the potential for energy production is huge... >> no noise, no clutter, just real reporting. the new al jazeera america mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. download it now this is the 900 page document we call obama care. and my staff has read the entire

thing. can congress say the same? there's more to it.

>> we're here in the vortex... only on al jazeera america >> it's five in the morning...i've come to meet

ramona and her family as they head to work in the lime orchards of michoacan. they've had little work in the last few years - they say the knights templar manipulated the market, and to keep the price of limes high...they only allowed the pickers to work a couple of days a week... but even though the templars have gone, ramona's family is still struggling. ironically, it's the profits from these citrus and avocado fields that fund much of the autodefensa movement... producers have gone from paying thousands of dollars to the templars, to donating the money to the movement on the global market, the price of limes has never been higher. but here - the people at the bottom - the hundreds of field workers picking the fruit - are making less money.

>> this community supported the autodefensas when they organized here. >> but now they say they're angry - and that the autodefensas are essentially protecting local economic interests with private armies.

>> for huber...and for his community living on the edges, there is little difference between the templars, the vigilantes, or the government. >> it's been a few weeks, and we've come back to check on paco's team. >> things aren't going well - one of his men has gone rogue.

>> as paco's team moves north, we've heard that the community of taraquato has set up a roadblock and is protesting their advance. >> the two men were too scared to show their faces on camera, but told us they'd been held for two days.

>> down the road, the vigilantes are ready for a fight. >> all of these people are going toward the place where the indigenous community is and they're saying that they're going to unblock this road. >> one of paco's lieutenants - manages to control the situation. they secure a detour on a different road. it's impossible for us to confirm what happened to the two men from taraquato. the autodefensas claim the community was paid to protest by the templars. but, off camera, they also admitted they had indeed detained the two men, and that one of the vigilantes had, in their own words, been too rough. as we prepare to leave michoacan, trouble is

growing for the vigilantes. there are allegations of cartel affiliations and infiltrators, top leaders are fighting, and the government has made new demands to disarm. but still...their advance continues... today they are hoping to convince the indigenous town of cherato to work with them. word has spread that people here are distrustful of the well-funded autodefensa movement and their strategy of moving from town to town. >> before the rise of the autodefensas, the leaders here in cherato created a community police to protect the town from the cartels but there's a big difference between the movements - here, they defend their town, but they don't go on the offensive, and there are few

weapons. >> in an effort to build trust, the autodefensas give the community police some of their bullets. >> after years of violence and government complicity, the indigenous community in cherato sees a common goal in the idea of self-defense. but the people here are cautious, and fearful of what this new movement might become.

>> we have to move out of here right now >> i think we have a problem... >> we have to get out of here... >> they're telling that they they don't wanna show what's really going on... >> mr. drumfield, i'd like to speak to you for a minute... >> this is where columbia's war continues... >> ...still occupied... >> police have arrived...

you see the blast scars from a bomb that went off... ♪ this is al jazeera america, live from new york city, with a look at today's top stories on the hot seat, the secretary for veterans affairs grilled about treatment delays that may have led to the deaths of veterans. and now, some are calling for a criminal investigation. nothing can ever break us. thousands gather for the dedication of the memorial museum. 13 years after the attacks and anger building after the