Publication

This brief discusses the emergence of vigilante militias as a 'third force' in Mexico's struggle against organized crime and gang-related violence. Their rise is unwelcome for three reasons -- they are challenging the Mexican government's monopoly on the use of force; they are dispensing their own forms of justice; and some of them are becoming recruiting grounds for the very criminal organizations they profess to fight. Unsurprisingly, the brief concludes by calling for a coherent policy on how to deal with these vigilante groups in order to prevent them from further eroding the rule of law.