Bells tolled from the red cathedral tower in the western Mexico town of Apatzingan, calling the faithful to hear a bishop who backs a growing vigilante movement against a cult-like drug cartel.

As people headed to church, soldiers patrolled the main square, banks and a supermarket in this bastion of the fearsome Knights Templar gang, which has brought mayhem to the southwestern state of Michoacan.

“We cannot deny that we are living through difficult times. Our towns are experiencing an atmosphere of uncertainty and suspicion,” Bishop Miguel Patino Velazquez told his flock, reading a message signed by Michoacan’s bishops.

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