Caught in a Narco-War: Aguililla Residents Survive Amid Threats From the CJNG and CU

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat (formerly "MX")

Many people in Aguililla, Michoacán are victims of forced migration due to the dispute between the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) and Cárteles Unidos (United Cartels, CU). Photo credit: Reuters

Luis (real name omitted) is concerned that in 2021 the tomato harvest in Aguililla, Michoacán, will no longer be like other years, when he cultivated between 100 and 400 hectares (ha). With the current context of violence, producers have only been able to plant a tenth of what they used to.

In addition, the extortions of Carteles Unidos (CU) increased the prices of eggs, tortillas, onions, beans and gasoline, among other basic products. When Luis tried to travel to Apatzingán to buy these goods at a normal cost or leave Aguililla altogether, he found the roads blocked or destroyed.

Luis, like the rest of his neighbors, is trapped in the middle of a narco-war. They live under constant threats of being assassinated by the CU or the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG), which has pushed to control the hometown of its leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho.

Although the inhabitants of Aguililla municipality have lived with the presence of criminal groups for decades, many of them have now reached their limits.

One of their last resources is to raise their voices and demand security conditions, but this route is almost as dangerous as dying in the crossfire. Cartel leaders can respond violently is residents express their discontent, often with the alleged complicity with security forces.

Luis, who spoke with Infobae México anonymously to prevent reprisals from organized crime groups, said that the situation in Aguililla worsened when "those from Jalisco," as he calls the CJNG, seized Bonifacio Moreno, the Aguaje, and ran out the CU.

The CU is made up of several Michoacan cells that derived from Los Viagras, Los Blancos de Troya, the Nueva Familia Michoacana, and the Knights Templar Cartel.

Map of the current dispute areas between the CJNG and CU. Photo credit: Infobae

Presumably, the CJNG's recovery occurred in the last six months, after September 2020, when Los Viagras claimed that the Aguaje was under their control. But Arturo (real name omitted), another inhabitant, said that CU had been expelled since Christmas and took refuge in Aguililla as their last stronghold.

However, a third source whom we will call Karla (real name omitted), said that there was a previous rupture within the CU that marked a "before and after" in Aguililla last October. On one hand, there was a CJNG siege and, and on the other there was infighting within the CU.

Since then, the population has experienced a state of siege. Residents say that there is a curfew between 10 in the morning and 6 in the afternoon via an alternative route in Montoso.

Disputed routes

The main highway that connects Apatzingán with Aguililla is 83 kilometers long and is used by the CJNG and the CU. The CU's faction, as soon as they notice an outpost of their rivals from El Aguaje, coordinate to destroy or block the road near Potrerillos. This action can affect Aguililla for hours or days as residents come and go for work or business activities.

At first, Aguililla residents followed a route that reached San José de Chila, where the passage was allowed by Rigo Díaz (who would be Rigoberto Díaz Soto, Don Rigo and/or Don Belisario) of the Knights Templar Cartel. But this last leader decided to align himself with the strategy of his accomplices and cut off communication with Aguililla's neighbors.

Residents of Aguililla are in the crossfire as two criminal groups fight for control. Photo credit: Cuatroscuro

According to testimonies, on Montoso bridge there was a checkpoint where those who came and went were checked. Supposedly, this site functioned as a toll booth where vehicle drivers paid 200 to 500 pesos, depending on the type of transport that crossed, that is, whether it was private or one that supplied products.

The alternate route represented a five-hour journey because it involved going back through the dirt mountain range to Coalcomán and from there to Apatzingán. On the paved road, the vehicles can finish the route in an hour and a half or two.

A large part of the population in Aguililla does not have private transportation. Both commercial trucks and gas distributors saw their operations in Aguililla limited too.

When someone presented a medical emergency, the situation was even more complicated, because the municipal hospital does not have equipment or personnel and the transfer had to be, again, to Apatzingán.

According to Luis's version, a CJNG cell remains in the Dos Aguas community, from where they initiated attacks against Los Revueltas, who were part of the CU in Aguililla.

Bonifacio Moreno, where El Mencho's forces dominate, is a town in the middle of the main Apatzingán-Aguililla highway; this town covers the Limoncito and Charapo areas.

In El Terrero, on the other side of the bridge that connects with Aguaje, Los Viagras are posted. They are believed to be responsible for shutting down the roads along with some CJNG cells, residents say.

Even the Army itself had to adapt to circumvent the roadblocks. Military trucks used the Dos Aguas course. This route would take about two hours for them.

True to their style, the "Mencho Special Forces" released a video in which they denied involvement in the drone attack on police officers stationed in the Aguaje in April 21. They blamed the CU for the attack.

The CJNG denied involvement in the drone bomb attacks in a video message.

"I want you to know and make it clear that we, the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, were not the ones who threw the drone bomb attacks at the Michoacán police," said a CJNG spokesperson in that circulated on social media and translated by Borderland Beat.

The spokesman explained that the CU was upset that the CJNG had re-opened the roads and wanted to hold them responsible for the drone attack to have authorities go after them.

"And now as the Michoacana police are repairing the ditches and removing the rock barriers with which they block the roads that go from Apatzingán to Guerrero, Aguililla, and Coalcomán. Just as well they are also opening the roads that the [CU] had blocked."

"So that the population would suffer from a lack of food and medicine. That is why the United Cartels are angry with the Michoacan police. Additionally that was the reason why they launched the drone attack at them."

The video circulated on social media and was attributed to the "Special Forces" unit under El Mencho.

Infighting in CU, and their loss of Aguaje and settlement in Aguililla

In October 2019, members of the CJNG ambushed and executed 14 police officers in Aguililla. They warned the rest of the agents not to work with their enemies in Michoacán. Little by little, the CJNG gained ground until they reached Aguaje.

A few months ago, about half a year ago, agents from the Army and the state police arrived at Bonifacio Moreno to expel the CJNG. After that, members of the Viagras arrived to regain their dominance, but as soon as the federal forces left there, El Mencho's men returned and ran their enemies.

“The criminals destroyed the houses, they stole everything. And after that, the town was abandoned, the families left. The government left Los Viagras alone and the CJNG returned and killed their rivals and chased them out of the Aguaje. They took back the plaza, as they say," said an inhabitant of the region.

But Karla recalled the internal dispute of October 2020, when Los Revueltas expelled the faction led by Adalberto Fructuoso Comparán, alias El Fruto, from Aguililla. El Fruto was recently arrested in Guatemala and was once the mayor of the town.

Prior to El Fruto's involvement with CU, El Fruto was a high-ranking member of the Knights Templar Cartel. He was not in Aguililla in October 2020, but his faction was.

According to investigations by the US authorities, El Fruto held meetings with undercover agents in Colombia and Guatemala, whom he believed were his potential business partners. El Fruto intended to consolidate a methamphetamine export route to Miami, Florida, as well as receive a shipment of weapons to help his faction fight the CJNG in Michoacán, for which it planned to use self-defense (autodefensa) groups.

Shootings, murders, and a week of persecution forced El Fruto's faction to retreat to El Terrero. The siege no longer belonged only to the CJNG, but also to CU cells that had fragmented. There were threats from the outside and from within.

Seven (7) roadblocks were reported by the Michoacan government. Photo: SSP Michoacan

Thus, the blockades in Aguililla were intensified. The kilo of eggs went from 25 to 70 pesos and gasoline maintained a fixed price of 29 pesos per liter, when the average cost is close to 21 pesos. The tortilla increased from 15 to 23 pesos and the beans went up to 30 pesos, although in Apatzingán the cost was five pesos or less.

The clashes were more constant in the surrounding areas. Cartel members displayed their manpower and weaponry on social media, where they issued threats against their rivals.

Gilberto Vergara, parish priest of Aguililla, told Infobae Mexico that they have experienced a new form of "evil".

Cartel members in the area are using residents to kill, disappear, or extort. Jobs are being lost, and Aguililla is not producing agricultural products. They have also prevented the town's residents from leaving or having proper medical treatment in case of emergencies.

Unemployed in the tomato harvest

 "Many have had to borrow money to survive," said one of the interviewees, referring to the fact that the source of income has been limited, as well as the tomato harvest, the main activity for subsistence in the municipality.

According to data from the Agrifood and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), in January 2021, about 260 hectares of red tomatoes were sowed in Aguililla. However, exactly one year ago in January 2020, Aguililla cultivated 779 hectares.

In December of last year, the number of hectares planted was 180. But in these months, the producers barely contemplated planting 10 hectares, according to Luis and Arturo. The more than 700 ha meant a production of 18,598.26 kilos, according to the SIAP.

Of the 50 municipalities that produce tomatoes in Michoacán, Aguililla stands out among the first four, along with Yurécuaro, Villamar and Tanhuato, according to state government reports. But  buyers from Apatzingán, Uruapan or Morelia will no longer going to the region due to blockades and low planting.

Deployment and permissiveness of criminals

In Luis and Arturo's perception, the municipal, state and federal authorities are in collusion with CU. They say that the government allowed Los Revueltas family to operate in the area. One of their local bosses is a man known as Chirrios.

They said that Los Revueltas paraded through the streets of Aguililla fully armed while the police did nothing to stop them. When CJNG hitmen arrived, they said that the military would leave their base to carry out operations, while Chirrios and his men barricaded themselves in Las Minas.

El Aguaje is nearly a ghost town. Photo: Reuters

David Saucedo, a public security consulted, told Infobae Mexico that federal and state agents opted to stop conducting surveillance and adopt a "tactical withdrawal" approach, a type of military operation, generally meaning that retreating forces draw back while maintaining contact with the enemy.

Saucedo said that this approach, which is "pragmatic" in nature, also left the inhabitants defenseless. It is not by chance, he said, that violence continues to spread across Aguililla and that there are few detainees.

"It seems to me that the authorities have already made a decision. They carry out a series of selective operations to give the perception that there is a defensive strategy in place," he said.

"Waiting for contenders to wear themselves out in this mutual war could be part of the government's strategy, but this leaves the population totally defenseless. Not seeing an active participation in this issue means abdicating the responsibility that the federal and state governments have in facing those scenarios of insecurity. It seems to me that this is an irresponsible decision".

Israel Patron Reyes, Secretary of Security in Michoacan, confirmed on April 21 that a criminal cell dominates Aguililla, but did not give the name because, he justified, "they do not identify themselves as if they were a legal company".

Karla rejected the secretary's position, arguing that criminal groups have operated in the region for years and have openly expressed their names and intentions. On October 14, 2019, when the agents were killed in the ambush, the CJNG openly challenged authorities of Michoacán. Many other criminal groups have launched videos taunting their rivals since then.

After the CJNG attacked Los Revueltas on March 31, the State Prosecutor's Office said that eight people were found decapitated in Enramada. It was the beginning of the so-called “cleanse”. Sources confirmed that hitmen searched their rivals' houses, blocked the roads in the region, and that shootouts lasted heard until 2AM.

From then on, the CJNG took Aguililla. They came and introduced themselves, and even planned to call a meeting to declare the town free of the CU and notify people how they would work under them. Karla said that the CJNG had the support of some authorities when they arrived.

According to Luis Cresencio Sandoval, head of the National Defense Secretariat, Aguililla has 200 soldiers under the leadership of Darío Ávalos Pedraza, brigadier general and commander of the 43rd Military Zone. Patron Reyes assured that there are also up to 250 Michoacan State Police elements in Aguaje and Aguililla.

Residents said that all off the security forces sheltered in their facilities and did not carry out surveillance work to prevent blockades on the road to Apatzingán or arrest criminals who openly move around the area.

Example of the road blocks near Aguililla. Photo: Infobae

Strategy and its symbolic value

Aguililla is part of the territory that the CJNG needs to move towards the center of Michoacán, but it is also the site that gave birth to its leader, El Mencho.

According to David Saucedo, the CJNG undertook an expansion four years ago to Guanajuato, Michoacán, Zacatecas, Oaxaca and Veracruz at the instructions of El Mencho.

On the one hand, the situation in Michoacán can be explained through the dispute between the Sinaloa Cartel against the CJNG. The Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada García, El Mayo, has established ties with groups that are rival to the CJNG. Some of these groups receive men and weapons from the Sinaloa Cartel to fight the CJNG.

But in practical terms, Aguililla is key for the forces of El Mencho to advance towards the rest of Michoacán. In the last two decades, the municipality has been under siege by various groups, from La Familia Michoacana, the Knights Templar and groups that make up the CU, such as Los Viagras or Los Revueltas.

If the CJNG is able to gain control of Aguililla, key criminal operations of the CU will be put at risk. The interior of Michoacan is where the CU is based. They also have drug laboratories in the area.

"The CJNG could not afford to leave Aguililla alone. It was a matter of military tactic. If they kept pushing into Michoacan but did not take control of Aguililla, they would have rival cells confronting them constantly and stopping their expansion", Sauceda explained.

Saucedo explained that the CJNG is forced to take over Aguililla if they want to expand in Michoacan with less interruptions from rival groups. He explained that the CU is trying to keep Aguililla under their influence to keep some control of their criminal operations in the area.

The CU only has Michoacan. The CJNG, on the other hand, has presence in 24 of the 32 states in Mexico, according to information provided by US authorities. But CU can quickly resupply itself with men and weapons, while the CJNG must do so from the metropolitan area of ​​Guadalajara, Jalisco. This means that the casualties on the CJNG's side take a little longer to be replaced, but the CU are in their territory and quickly return to the battlefield.

Presumably, the dispute between both group is also over access to the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, where chemical precursors used for the creation of fentanyl and crystal meth arrive from China.

El Mencho versus El Abuelo

Another explanation for the war, according to the residents, is that two years ago, Juan José Álvarez Farías, alias El Abuelo, stole a plane with a shipment of cocaine from El Mencho. In addition, residents said that Los Revueltas worked for El Mencho, but ended up betraying him.

Juan Jose Alvarez Farias, alias El Abuelo. Photo: Cuatroscuro

El Abuelo is an old-school criminal figure who has been active in Tepalcatepec, Sahuayo, Jiquilpan and Aguililla. In the late 1990s, he reportedly worked under Armando Valencia Cornelio, alias El Maradona, founder of the Milenio Cartel.

He later worked with La Familia Michoacana and maintained his ties with the Knights Templar Cartel until he joined a self-defense movement in 2013. There were rumors that he continued to work as a drug kingpin while working with the self-defense groups. Over the years, he laundered money through livestock, dairy, and hotel investments, according to 2014 reports.

As a self-defense member, El Abuelo reportedly allowed the CJNG to interfere in the movement, particularly in the municipality of Los Reyes. But his break with El Mencho was accentuated after the assassination attempt of a low-profile narco with whom El Abuelo was allied to: Miguel Ángel Gallegos Godoy, alias El Migueladas.

Since then, El Abuelo closed the CJNG's entrance to Tepalcatepec, Apatzingán, Buenavista, Peribán, and Uruapan. In August 2019, the CJNG recorded a video declaring war on El Abuelo.

Their back against the wall

Arturo already talked to his family and told them that whenever it is safe to go to Apatzingan, they will go there. The priest of Aguililla says that Aguililla will likely have a mass exodus since he has signed many documents from residents who have requested asylum abroad.

Those residents from Aguililla who have relatives in the United States or in other parts of Michoacan are trying to leave.

Luis said that all his childhood friends are in Aguililla and that the only resort they have today is speak up against President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. But he said he will not place all his hopes in this.

Vatican's representative in Mexico, Franco Coppola, visited Aguililla last week, as reported by Borderland Beat. Photo: Reuters

"This violence will not stop. We already know this. We have years dealing with this issue and in less than six months the situation got out of hand. The government should be embarrassed on how it treats its pueblo", Luis said.

Michoacan governor Silvano Aureoles visited Aguililla on 13 April 2021, but several residents feared for their lives because the governor framed some of his protestors as CJNG members. One of those who protested against the Aureoles was Fernando Padilla Vazquez, a local professor, who publicly asked his governor to help bring security back to Aguililla. During the public protest, the governor pushed Padilla Vazquez.

"Do you really think this man is part of the CJNG? He lives in Aguililla, a town under the control of a rival group. The man wouldn't be able to live here. They would have already killed him. [The governor's] assertion was illogical", a resident told Infobae Mexico.

CU and the CJNG will make use of their social support base by distributing pantries or rebuilding roads, Saucedo explained. Both groups will seek for a spot in the media and tell a story that will favor them.

But Aguililla residents will be forced to participate with "their back against the wall".

Sources: Infobae