![]() |
Mireles in custody (Milenio) |
The state of Michoacán in central-western Mexico remains in
crisis. Ongoing political instability, cartel
activity, rampant corruption, armed civil defense groups, militarization...It has
been a chaotic scene since 2006, when then president Felipe Calderón launched
Mexico’s war on drugs in his home state. Things have gotten so bad that they
have even disrupted the avocado and lime markets.
In late June, José Manuel Mireles, the former leader of the
Tepalacatepec self defense group, was arrested. The charges were related to carrying
military grade weapons such as AK-47s (the weapon of choice for both cartels
and self defense groups), hand guns, and explosives.
Self defense groups have cropped up throughout Mexico’s history. Most recently, in Michoacán the groups were at first respected
by the government, which saw them as a legitimate response to the insecurity
wrought by the cartels and corrupt police and politicians. But, not surprisingly,
things got complicated. There was concern that the cartels had infiltrated the
self defense groups, and that the groups themselves might challenge the
authority of the state.
That was the concern in this latest arrest. Mexican
media reported that the authorities were spurned to action when 300 armed men
from Mireles’ group mustered at La Mira just outside the port of Lázaro
Cárdenas, Michoacán. Apparently, they were planning to take over the port, which
would have been an exercise of unprecedented audacity, given Lázaro Cárdenas’s
significance to the Mexican economy (and the drug trade).
This all occurred as a deadline for a weapons amnesty
passed. Mireles had signed the amnesty, but also vowed that the struggle would continue
until Michoacán was free of the violence and corruption that has made it effectively
ungovernable.
A few days previous, on June 21, authorities marked some
success in their ongoing fight with the Knights Templar cartel, arresting Huber
Gómez Patiño, son of cartel leader Servando “La Tuta” Gómez Martínez, who is
still wanted by authorities. Three other Knights Templar leaders have been
arrested or killed in 2014, and in mid-June federal and state officials arrested
eight alleged cartel members, including two of the nephews of former Knights
Templar leaders.
And only three days before that, the Governor of Michoacán resigned, due to health issues. Fausto
Vallejo Figueroa, 65, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (Partido Revolucionario
Institucional, PRI) had been ill since 2008, and had to take a leave of absence
in 2013.
Vallejo Figueroa became governor of Michoacán in February
2012. There has been some speculation that the timing of his resignation may
have also been due to the allegations of ties between the governor’s family and
the Knights Templar cartel. Specifically, there is an alleged video and photograph
of the governor’s son, Rodrigo, meeting with Servando “La Tuta” Gómez Martínez.
The Mexican political journal Proceso has also written that “A military intelligence document states that
Vallejo’s son Rodrigo belonged to the structure of both La Familia Michoacana
and Los Caballeros Templarios, and that among his functions was collecting fees
[for occupying commercial space: i.e., protection money], establishing contacts
with politicians and business operations, and facilitating money laundering.”
That’s not all. Charges have also been brought against
former interim Governor José Jesús Reyna García for suspected links to the
Knights Templar. As well, the mayor of the municipality of Apatzingán, ground
zero for much of the instability in Michoacán, has been arrested for allegedly
receiving a monthly stipend of $20,000 pesos (around $1,500) from Apatzingán city
councilmen to support the cartel.
Perhaps most disturbing, the former mayor of the Lázaro Cárdenas
municipality has also been arrested after a YouTube video surfaced showing him
meeting with La Tuta.
(TE Wilson is the author of Mezcalero, a Detective Sánchez novel.)
(TE Wilson is the author of Mezcalero, a Detective Sánchez novel.)
Related stories:
No comments:
Post a Comment