El Universal: A new cartel appears to be setting itself up in the State of Mexico, according to security officials, which could mean more violence brought on by disputes over control of the territory.
Recent events point to the creation of La Empresa, or The Company, in the south of the state, where at the same time La Familia Michoacana appears to be undergoing a regrouping. But that cartel suffered a bit of a setback two weeks ago when its leader, Bulmaro “El Negro” Salazar Blas, was killed in Tejupilco.
A message left by his body indicates that the new cartel was responsible. “La Empresa,” it read, “does not condone either kidnappings or robberies. Residents of Tejupilco can now be calm.”
El Negro was one of Mexico’s most wanted: in July the state attorney general put up a reward of 300,000 pesos for information leading to his arrest.
Other La Familia members were picked up by police this week. At a press conference, security chief Damían Canales Mena revealed that four suspected members of La Familia were arrested while riding in a taxi and carrying 30,000 pesos, believed to be extortion money charged in Tejupilco, a municipality of 71,000 people situated 100 kilometers southwest of Toluca.
The bills had been packaged and labeled with the names of hitmen and other gang members, said Canales Mena.
One of those arrested was Adolfo “El Diablo” Patiño Arias, 28, who was involved in a shoot-out with police in Ixtapan del Oro in January, and is believed to have been assigned to take control of the area for the cartel.
Translation by Mexico News Daily
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
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