After the massacre in San Miguel Totolapan, Guerrero state, in which 20 people were killed, including the mayor and his father, warring criminal groups are promising more violence after the bloodshed.
On October 5, authorities in southwestern Mexico’s San Miguel Totolapan reported one of Mexico’s deadliest shootings, in which criminal gangs carried out back-to-back attacks on the city’s town hall, as well as public streets and private homes.
As a result of the massacre, 20 people were killed, including Mayor Conrado Mendoza Almeda, his father and former Mayor Juan Mendoza Acosta, police officers and municipal employees.
In a press conference, the undersecretary of Public Security, Ricardo Mejía Berdeja, explained that the violent episode came as a result of a long conflict between criminal organizations active in the region.
“The event takes place in a criminal context between illegal groups. For some time in that region, there was a group known as Los Tequileros, dedicated to the transfer and commercialization of the poppy. [the plant from which heroine is dervied], but they were also committed to kidnapping, extortion and committing several murders and disappearances in the region,” said Mr. Mejía. “The conflict could be with La Familia Michoacana,” he added, referring to a larger drug cartel from the state of Michoacán that split from the Gulf Cartel in the early 2000s.
The Tequileros rose to prominence in the region in 2013 when they began their criminal activities, which included kidnappings, extortion and murder.
With the municipality of San Miguel Totolapan being one of its main areas of operation, the criminal group saw an increase in its power locally during 2016. However, they suffered setbacks after their leader, Raybel Jacobo Delmonte, was killed by Mexican authorities in 2019.
On October 6, Mr. Mejía Berdeja singled out the leaders of La Familia Michoacana—brothers Johnny and Juan Hurtado Oloscuaga, nicknamed El Pez and El Fresa, respectively—as the possible intellectual perpetrators behind the massacre.
Led by the brothers, La Familia Michoacana exerts great control within the underworld and the Mexican economy in general, who are said to control the prices of basic goods such as pork, tortillas, eggs, tomatoes, chicken and construction materials.
The dispute between the two criminal gangs took a new turn when a video of Juan Hurtado Oloscuaga (El Fresa) condemning the shooting appeared on social media hours after the massacre. Blaming Los Tequileros for the murder, Mr. Hurtado claimed he was one of the main targets of the attack.
Wearing a Gucci T-shirt and a luxury watch said to be valued at $40,000, Mr Hurtado said his rivals rushed to fire their guns before the capo entered the building where he was due to attend a security meeting with the late mayor .
In the video, Mr. Hurtado says that the “close family” is dead, saying that after the events he gave the order to kill those responsible for the shooting.
“I was very upset about what happened and the truth is we didn’t leave any bastards alive. I decided that they didn’t even deserve to be buried… because they overdid it by going to that city, a peaceful city,” Mr. Hurtado said in the video.
The video, which Mexican authorities are said to have verified, ends with Mr. Hurtado threatening to go after the rest of Los Tequileros’ leaders.
In a second video released shortly after Mr Hurtado’s, masked gunmen identified as Los Tequileros denied Mr Hurtado’s accusations, blaming the leader of La Familia and saying it was Mr Hurtado who who cornered the mayor and his men to execute. those.
“Filthy Fresa, you are a cowardly bastard, along with your filthy brother El Pescado. You don’t have the balls to take responsibility for your cowards in San Miguel. Yes, ‘Los Tequileros,’ we are no longer as hot as you say in Totolapan and other cities, but we are not cowards enough to kill so many innocent people,” said one of the masked people in the video.
In the second video, the masked persons assure that Mr. Hurtado’s accusations are false and only intended to deceive the families of the victims. Furthermore, they promised to remove La Familia Michoacana from the region.
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