By: Dalia Villegas Moreno | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat
Three years after the emergence of the autodefensa groups in Michoacán, Dr. José Mireles Valverde, an emblematic figure of the movement, said that the federal government betrayed those who carried out a “real social fight” and left them “worse”, because they disarmed them and left them in the hands of organized crime.
Through an audio recording that circulated throughout social networks, Mireles Valverde, who is imprisoned in a federal prison in Sonora since June 2014, accused of bearing arms that are not allowed, said that “there is nothing to celebrate” during the third anniversary of the autodefensa movement.
In any case, Mireles Valverde said that what should be celebrated is the dignity and the courage of the population of Tierra Caliente who faced organized crime with their limited resources. “Unfortunately, the awakening was very painful, but in the moment when we faced our fears, we realized our greatness”.
He recounted when on one occasion, “those murderers,” which he says: were killing his people, “tying their hands and feet,” that a young 14 year old faced them with a shotgun; “he made them run, and there were six trucks filled with them armed, that’s dignity, and that is what we should be celebrating.”
Mireles Valverde said that during the 17 months that the autodefensas movement controlled the security in 36 municipalities, mainly in Tierra Caliente, the occurrence of crime reduced significantly. “At that time, no one lost a needle,” he says.
In contrast, he said that the police and military apparatus of the Federation, of the state and the municipalities, with all the operational capacity and resources, couldn’t control both local jurisdiction crimes nor federal crimes.
In weighing the courage that the autodefensas had in order to fight against organized crime, particularly against the Caballeros Templarios, Mireles Valverde brings to mind the adage, “the coward lives as long as the brave wants him to.”
At the end of the audio-message, Mireles Valverde says: “I planned to no longer fight this year, but…no, I won’t fight anymore, I want peace in the nation,” he concludes.
Source: Cambio De Michoacan