[imagesource: Miguel Fernández-Flores / VICE]

Around 15 years ago, Mexico launched “guerra contra el narcotráfico,” a war against drug trafficking that began with soldiers being deployed across the country to try and topple the country’s powerful cartels.

Clearly, that hasn’t worked, and even when head honchos like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman are put behind bars, there’s always someone ready to step up to keep the business ticking over.

As we learnt recently, Emma Coronel Aispuro, Guzman’s wife, has also been very hands-on, especially since her husband’s arrest.

The fighting between cartels for control over certain territories has always been brutal, but in recent years, things have gone into a downward spiral of increasing violence.

VICE set off to the epicentre of one such conflict:

The current war in Michoacán is between the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel or CJNG, led by a notorious kingpin known as El Mencho, and an alliance of groups known as the United Cartels. Some communities also rely on citizen-led militias to battle the cartels.

It’s like volunteering for your local neighbourhood watch, but on steroids, with some towns terrorised by the cartels that are headquartered nearby.

You can read VICE’s long-form investigation here, but to take it all in, watch the video below:

[source:vice]