José Manuel Mireles Valverde
José Manuel Mireles Valverde (24 October 1958 – 25 November 2020) was a Mexican medical doctor, leader and founder of the paramilitary self-defense groups that fought against the Knights Templar Cartel, and other cartels, during the on-going cartel wars in the state of Michoacán and others, in México. Amid the inability of the Mexican government to protect its citizens, Mireles emerged as an important figure within the self-defense militias during the fall of 2013 as self-defense groups were fighting against the Knights Templar Cartel in Apatzingán and other municipalities on the Michoacán coast. He described his motivation to participate in the armed self-defense groups as stemming from the abuse of the Knights Templar Cartel against himself and his family, himself having been kidnapped by the cartel and several of his family members murdered. This impelled him to take up arms in defense of his community of Tepalcatepec.
José Manuel Mireles Valverde | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 October 1958 Michoacán, Mexico |
| Died | 24 November 2020 (aged 62) |
| Other names | Doctor Mireles |
| Occupation(s) | Medical surgeon Former Autodefensa leader |
| Spouse | Ana Valencia Chavez (Divorced) |
| Allegiance | paramilitary self-defense groups |
| Conviction(s) | Violating Mexico's federal law of firearms and explosives |
| Criminal charge | Detained for violating Mexico's federal law of firearms and explosives |
On 25 November 2020, a Mexican government agency confirmed that Mireles, then aged 62, had died from "the effects of COVID-19".