MORELIA, Michoacan – Villagers from La Huacana rushed to help a group of cartel gunmen whose weapons were seized by the Mexican Army. The villagers kidnapped and beat the soldiers as they demanded the return of 30 illegal weapons–including a .50 caliber rifle.

The incident took place on Sunday when a squad of Mexican soldiers clashed with a group of gunmen in La Huacana. The area is currently under the control of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. During the battle, two bystanders were struck by stray bullets. The innocents were treated at a hospital in Morelia, the state capital.

El día de Hoy en la Huacana,Michoacán. Civiles golpean a Militares y los desarman.

Desgraciadamente si los Militares los Tocan los llevan presos.

Que poca!!! pic.twitter.com/J0FS07bpsT — Gabriel Suarez (@franciscodomit) May 27, 2019

After the clash, dozens of villagers rushed a convoy of soldiers to beat and drag them inside a building. They were then forced to call their commanding officers and ask for the return the weapons seized from the cartel gunmen. The cartel items included tactical gear, a .50 caliber rifle, and 29 rifles of various calibers like AK-47s and AR-15s. Eventually, the villagers released the Mexican soldiers who only sustained minor injuries.

Soon after the incident, former Mexican President Felipe Calderon took to social media to call out a standing order that does not allow the army to defend itself against domestic mobs. The soldiers also have human rights, Calderon said.

¡Es inaceptable! Tiene que revocarse la orden presidencial que impide a los soldados defenderse -incluso proveérseles inst no letales- y castigarse estos actos como lo que son: agresiones, lesiones, atentados contra la autoridad. ¡Los militares también tienen derechos humanos! https://t.co/xfVHXgfx3w — Felipe Calderón (@FelipeCalderon) May 27, 2019

The incident also drew condemnations from across the political spectrum. Antonio Ortega Martinez, one of the leading congressmen from the leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party, also expressed his outrage in a letter he sent demanding a full investigation.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart News traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and other areas to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. Breitbart News / Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Jose Luis Lara, a former leading member who helped start the Self-Defense Movement in Michoacán.