--- description: Talk about a Mexican standoff title: Mexican Police Arrest Vigilante Gang Leader image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte324682cbdbaee5b/6986853d13c79f67e319102e/474633331.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Mexican Police Arrest Vigilante Who Waged War on Drug Lords  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 13, 2014 9:14 AM CUT  Hipolito Mora (C), leader of the self-protection militia walks in La Ruana community, state of Michoacan, Mexico, on February 24, 2014. Hipolito Mora (C), leader of the self-protection militia walks in La Ruana community, state of Michoacan, Mexico, on February 24, 2014.HECTOR GUERRERO—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 13, 2014 9:14 AM CUT The fragile [alliance](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-mexico-drugs-idUSBREA2B0D720140312 "undefined") between Mexican police and vigilantes took a blow Tuesday night with the arrest of a vigilante commander. Reuters [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-mexico-drugs-idUSBREA2B0D720140312 "undefined") that police have arrested Hipolito Mora on suspicion of killing two men whose charred remains were discovered on Saturday. Local media identified one victim as a member of a rival vigilante group. Police have yet to confirm the reports. Mora led one of western Mexico’s “self-defense groups,” which have gained prominence for their daring attacks on the Knights Templar drug cartel. More recently, locals fear the loose alliance of vigilantes may be fracturing under the influence of organized crime. \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/12/us-mexico-drugs-idUSBREA2B0D720140312 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/22854/mexican-police-arrest-vigilante-who-waged-war-on-drug-lords/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/22854/mexican-police-arrest-vigilante-who-waged-war-on-drug-lords/"},"headline":"Mexican Police Arrest Vigilante Who Waged War on Drug Lords","datePublished":"2014-03-13T09:14:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:44:33.614Z","description":"Talk about a Mexican standoff","url":"https://time.com/22854/mexican-police-arrest-vigilante-who-waged-war-on-drug-lords/","keywords":["Drugs","police","Arrest","Mexico","Drug War","gang"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte324682cbdbaee5b/6986853d13c79f67e319102e/474633331.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte324682cbdbaee5b/6986853d13c79f67e319102e/474633331.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MEXICO-VIOLENCE-MICHOACAN","caption":"MEXICO-VIOLENCE-MICHOACAN","creditText":"HECTOR GUERRERO—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/22854/mexican-police-arrest-vigilante-who-waged-war-on-drug-lords/","name":"Mexican Police Arrest Vigilante Who Waged War on Drug Lords"}}]}] ```