By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON, Associated PressMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican federal police caught one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords, the alleged leader of the La Familia cartel, authorities said Tuesday.
Federal security spokesman Alejandro Poire said police arrested Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas, alias El Chango, or "The Monkey," in the central state of Aguascalientes without firing a shot.
A posting by Calderon on his Twitter account says the arrest "is a big blow" to organized crime. The government has offered a $2.5 million reward for his capture.
"With this arrest, what remained of the structure of this criminal organization has been destroyed," Poire told a news conference.
With La Familia's top leader killed in a shootout in December, Poire said Mendez was "the last remaining head of a criminal group responsible for homicides, kidnappings, extortion, corruption and even cowardly attacks on the authorities and the civilian population."
According to the reward statement issued by the Attorney General's Office, Mendez was "responsible for the transfer and sale of cocaine, marijuana, crystal methamphetamine in various states of Mexico and the United States of America. He is the alleged mastermind of kidnappings and killings, mainly of members of other criminal organizations."
La Familia, based in Calderon's home state of Michoacan, uses pseudo-Christian ideology while gruesomely decapitating foes and selling cocaine and methamphetamine by the ton. Leader and founder Nazario Moreno Gonzalez was killed in December during two days of shootouts between his gang and federal police.
After his death, the group split into warring factions, causing increased bloodshed in the state.
Mendez was believed to have remained the leader of the La Familia faction, according to federal police, while messages appeared in March from a split-off group calling itself the Knights Templar, saying it would replace La Familia.
That name alludes to a Christian order of knights founded in 1118 in Jerusalem to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land after the First Crusade.
Another La Familia leader, Servando "La Tuta" Gomez, is believe to lead the Knights Templar, federal police say.
La Familia first appeared four years when it rolled five severed heads into a Michoacan nightclub, vowing to protect Michoacan from rival cartels.
Calderon responded by deploying thousands of federal police in the state, warning that La Familia was corrupting local officials, extorting businesses and terrorizing the population.
More than 35,000 people have died in drug violence since, according to government figures. Local media say the number is closer to 40,000.
Poire said that 21 of the country's 37 top drug traffickers have been arrested or killed since 2009.
Associated Press Writer Mark Stevenson contributed to this report
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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So with this it seems the caballeros templarios have pretty much won the war, at least in Michoacan. It'll be interesting to see what happens with whats left of La Familia, if they continue fighting, reform as a new group or try to merge with an existing one like La Resistencia, the Zetas or the caballeros templarios if they're allowed back in.
ReplyDeletegaaaacho! hahaha
ReplyDelete-v
When is el pinche Cacalderon going to start going after the other "Shorty" Guzman?? Oh no! eso nunca, se me olvido que son Compadres!
ReplyDeleteDamn LFM is fucked jajaja...but I seen it coming, first when their "god" was killed in December, then they divide into two groups, and now this...
ReplyDeleteI never even hear about these guys until they are captured and then suddenly they were one of the "most wanted" and the "leader" of the cartel.
ReplyDeleteCall me up when you catch El Chapo, Z40, Lazcano (?)
the real story is that another capo has been caught and it is not el chapo. Why with all the aircraft that mexico has at its disposal can it not locate this guy.. fly over those damn mountains, locate and destroy growing fields, locate remote camps and destroy all of the infrastructure of these drug cartels.. own the skies and dominate the ground..
ReplyDeleteHA!HA!HA!HA! I KNEW THAT THINGS WERE GOING TO SHIT ONCE YOU PUT A MONKEY IN CHARGE!! ONCE AGAIN DFL WAS RIGHT ON THE MONEY!!!
ReplyDeleteThis Monkey is in Big, Big trouble now!!! Its death in America for him. Maybe his 3ft tail will help him balance better when he climbs tha walls in prison.
Just like all of the other common criminals this asshole is spilling his guts and for sure (more take downs will ensue). Now hes acting like the best friend to the investigators trying to save his fat sorry, worthless self. Snitching away, tuning in anyone hes dealt with!! It won't help him. Hes a dead man. Its over for this stupid monkey!!!
Its your turn TUTU- YOU FUCKING LITTLE FROG!!!
ReplyDeleteCOME OUT , COME OUT, WHEREEVER YOU ARE!! THEY'RE GOING TO GET YOU!!!
YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED NOW FOR HANGING AROUND THESE BAD GUYS. YOUR IN TROUBLE!! COME OUT, COME OUT SO THAT THEY CAN KILL YOU!!!lololol!!!!
calderon is only worried about wiping out la familia cause he represents his hometown try AND DO THAT shit in Sinaloa and then we will give him props!!!!
ReplyDeleteWonder what information he is going to be spilling since the recent pact made between LFM and the zetas and how this might affect the zetas.
ReplyDelete- impulsado
With as many men as he has lost in the past month to his rivals, dont count out his giveing himself up to keep his head.
ReplyDeletela familia has been getting their assed kicked up in and down michoacan lately.. r the knights aligned with any of the other big cartels?
ReplyDeleteI bet los zetas turned him I'm to control the areas they had left now to wait to see what and how this affects LFM,Zs and KTs
ReplyDeleteWhat about el Lazca? Is he dead or alive?
ReplyDeletei think the templars are going to run michoacan what do u guys think the leader of the templars is the tuta right he was from la familia so he knows where the live where they train everything even the guys boot size hahah that sucks for u thats what happens when u unite with the zetas...
ReplyDeleteI think Los Caballeros r goin 2 have 2 get 2gether wit Cartel D Jalisco they both pretty much got the same ideology and same rivals in common. Hopefully they'll exterminate Z's
ReplyDeleteThis guy is not a big deal... calderon is making a big deal and protecting Chapo and maybe even the Zetas....
ReplyDeletethis guy was losing his grip on power and was quickly becoming non factor on the national narco scene....
To the people commiting on this just shut your mouths yall have no clue what is going on .
ReplyDeleteIf this guy was actually a leader his arrest will only make generate more chaos on the ground.
ReplyDeleteMichoacan seems to be a bit different than the other states in Mexico, that organized groups there appear to challenge the government both on the drugs front and on ideology.
The government risks an armed group rising up who's primary goal is to challenge the government based on ideology and uses drugs to finance themselves much like LaFarc, right now it's the other war around.
The Mexican government is commiting suicide here over the long term with this strategy.
AL- I like how you bash people for expressing there opinions an you don't express yours. Fill us in if you know soooo much. Unless your this guys right hand man you don't know that much either. Listen to your own post and shut your mouth.
ReplyDeleteReally Al learn how to spell first you clown !!!
ReplyDeleteEstan enojados los de la familia porke les agarraron el chango? A mi siempre me da gusto jaja
ReplyDeleteHey "Al".... Add something to the conversations or shut the fuck up retard
ReplyDeletefacial muscles collapsed- This monkey was on meth!!
ReplyDelete