New self-defense militia appears in Chiapas, Mexico to fight organized crime

Just like the Zapatista rebels before them, the indigenous people of Chiapas state in southern Mexico have taken up arms, though this time they said it was to beat back the organized crime gangs plaguing their communities.

Dozens of armed, hooded people belonging to a group called 'El Machete' marched over the weekend in the streets of Pantelho in the mountains of Chiapas - a first public act.

In appearance, the group resembles the hooded Zapatistas, who sparked world headlines when they emerged from the jungle in 1994, seizing towns and clashing with security forces to . . .