Deportations, especially to Michoacán, have risen sharply between 20. When he returned to Michoacán, he found his native city overrun by Templar extortion rackets. He left for the United States and began to lay drywall in San José, but was deported for a DUI. Josué grew up in a poor neighborhood and became involved in organized crime because there were few other employment opportunities. Government officials, echoed by claims in the media, have accused the autodefensas of accepting arms and monetary assistance from the remnants of a rival Michoacán cartel known as La Familia. He said that the government is supportive at the moment, but he believes the support will not last long. Josué Benítez, a former construction worker who was recently deported from the United States, told Grillo “Protegemos a las mujeres ya los niños de la amenaza de los narcos. Ioan Grillo, author of El Narco, interviewed a member of an autodefensa last Tuesday. Historical Mexican leaders, including Benito Juárez and Porfirio Díaz, have accepted the role of autodefensas in the past to provide citizen security and combat crime. Instead, members of the groups have agreed to register with the federal government and become incorporated into the Rural Defense Corps. In a significant victory for the autodefensas, the Mexican government decided not to force them to disarm after sending thousands of soldiers and federal police to Michoacán. These autodefensas, loose collections of businesspeople, returning migrants, and ranchers - have focused on driving a quasi-masonic drug trafficking organization, the Knights Templar, out of the region. Frustrated by the failure of authorities to ensure security and rule of law in the face of rampant extortions, kidnappings, and killings, civilians in cities and towns in western Michoacán have formed self-defense militias, known as autodefensa s.