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Mexico is currently facing one of the most severe crises of violence and insecurity in its entire history. Twelve years have passed since the war against drug trafficking was declared, and its effects continue to produce weak institutions, co-opted bureaucracies, and thousands of victims. Although civil organizations have denounced the massive violation of human rights, their struggle takes place across a minefield of multiple interests and conspiracies. This article reconstructs the experiences of armed civilian groups seeking to control the security of their territory, a struggle that has drawn national attention. Through the analysis of these armed groups in the state of Michoacán, the study tries to understand the civilian responses that some armed men are willing to carry out in exchange for better security, but also, given the complexity of the relations between the order of state and the violence of crime, how civil demands for justice can be transformed into unexpected paramilitary experiences.