Vigilantes in Veracruz

These Mexicans are taking the law into their own hands


Photographs and text by Félix Márquez

It is past 10 p.m. in Tlalixcoyan, Veracruz. Five men wearing balaclavas and armed with hunting rifles are standing on a dirt road in this poor neighborhood. They are members of the Civilian Self-Defense Police Force.

Across Mexico, civilian self-defense groups are attempting to fill a void left by an ineffective army and government. In the state of Michoacán, infamous for its drug violence, thousands of men and women have taken to the streets to fight the Knights Templar cartel. In Guerrero, the Community Police force has taken control of several municipalities after the disappearance of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa teachers college. It’s like the authorities have forgotten about these places.

The same can be said about Veracruz, where there is no justice for the innocent victims of the drug war, be they journalists, activists, professors or civilians.

That’s why Veracruzanos are thirsty for justice. Many have lost their family members because those responsible for upholding the law have failed to do so.

In Veracruz’s central mountain range region — one of the poorest parts of Mexico — citizens took the law into their own hands years ago. They’re fighting to stop crimes that range from cattle raiding and blackmail to cartel-organized kidnappings. Residents are sick of it, and they’ve decided to defend themselves.

It’s the same story in the villages of southern Veracruz and in the big cities like Veracruz City, Xalapa, Medellín and Coatzacoalcos, where urban self-defense groups are taking control of their neighborhoods.

It’s like a pressure cooker — Veracruz has reached the boiling point.
Armed with sticks, members of a community police group patrol the streets of Soledad Atzompa, in central Veracruz.
Community police in Soledad Atzompa patrol a highway that crosses the states of Veracruz and Puebla.
During a community meeting to approve a civilian self-defense force, a woman from the municipality of Tlalixcoyan complains about violence and insecurity in the region.
Residents of the town of Soledad Atzompa have organized to stand up to the violence gripping the region, and have already clashed with suspected drug traffickers.
A young man belonging to a local vigilante group in the working-class neighborhood of Albatros in Veracruz City displays a homemade weapon.
A member of a vigilante group patrols the streets of the Gutiérrez Rosas neighborhood in Medellín de Bravo, Veracruz.
A man in a balaclava watches as police patrol in Medellín de Bravo, Veracruz.

Félix Márquez has received threats because of his efforts to document self-defense groups in Mexico. Learn more:

Félix Márquez is a correspondent for the Mexican news photography agency Cuartoscuro, a contributor to The Associated Press and a staff photojournalist at AVC Noticias. He covers the drug war and migrant issues in Mexico and Central America. He has also worked in Guatemala and Colombia.

Twitter: @felyxmarquez Instagram: @felyx88