El Tequilero reappears

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Sinembargo article

Subject Matter: Raybel Jacobo de Almonte, El Tequilero
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

After the detention of seven alleged members of Los Tequileros, two of them in State of Mexico, Raybel Jacobo de Almonte, reappeared in the communities of San Antonio and La Gavia to get support and reinforce his group of sicarios. According to the villagers, on Monday morning El Tequilero threatened them to join his group for good or for bad. The criminal history of Raybel Jacobo began about 10 years ago, however the impunity that the government has given him has led him to commit acts of great daring in the last three years.

Reporter: Israel Flores
Villagers of the communities of San Antonio and La Gavia went to a Military camp in San Miguel, Totolapan to report the presence of the criminal leader Raybel Jacobo de Almonte, El Tequilero, who on that Monday morning threatened to kill the villagers if they did not support him.

The same version of events was given by the Auto-defensas of San Miguel, Totolapan who expressed that that morning Tequilero had arrived with some armed men to the two villages that are joined, and threatened the people that they should join his group for the good or the bad, informed a source in the village.

Both communities have ties and are very close to the municipal head, but each has different community leaders.




According to the report, El Tequilero aims to form a movement in La Gavia against the arrival of the military after the detention of seven alleged accomplices, two of them in the State of Mexico, as well as to reinforce his group of sicarios.

"They threatened the people, and the women they want to take by force all of the village, they want that all here defend him, and that everyone tells the state police and the army that El Tequilero is here and has not left", he said.

The Autodefensas confirmed that the army and the state police had a meeting with people who left those localities to report the events, but did not see any police or military operations.

The report comes two days after the state government announced the arrest of seven members of Los Tequileros, in addition to advancing with the request of the Movement for Peace and the abrogation of the Deputy Saul Beltran, linked to Raybel Jacobo.

Maria Belem, 23 years old niece of El Tequilero was detained for kidnapping

The criminal history of Raybel Jacobo, originally from San Antonio and La Gavia, municipality of San Miguel Totolapan, began about ten years ago, however the impunity that according to neighbours is given to him by the government has empowered him and allowed him to commit various brazen acts during the last three years.

Schools have closed, houses abandoned, businesses with the curtains closed, and they few that are open are empty, all because of the violence attributed to Raybel, who since Monday has promised to deal with the few remaining villagers with shotguns and rifles, until they are finished.

The violence provoked by the criminal group of Los Tequileros has changed their lives radically in this village for the last year, even though the leader of the criminal group started committing crimes in the municipal capital for the last ten years.

In this sector of San Miguel Totolapan it is one of the most affected by the criminal group of Raybel Jacobo who is related to the legislator Saul Beltran. In the last three years they have kidnapped 16 professors and of those, three have been killed and three disappeared.

In this village, they are convinced that El Tequilero operates with the support of the government.

"It is not possible that in the ten years he has been committing crimes here, that he hasn't been detained, it defies explanation, the governor says they are negotiating for the release of the kidnapped, that means he knows where he is and who he is but instead of stopping him, he negotiates with him to hand over those that have been kidnapped", the man complained, surrounded by others of an adult age like him, who sleep in the shade of the sun under the eaves of the house with moldy floors that has been abandoned.

Original article in Spanish at Sinembargo