Hunting Cablalleros Templarios in the Rugged Sierra Madre Sur

Chivis Martínez for Borderland Beat

The following is a video of the operation to capture Chayo.  Although the language is Spanish, if you have followed the capture, you will recognize landmarks and places that we have written about, before, during and after the capture.

 

When Dr. Mireles wrote on February 27th they had located Chayo at one of his ranches in Tumbicastio, he also said they found weapons buried in large buckets.  In the video you will see similar buried buckets at his ranch.  Also see how a Templario ranch is equipped, satellite access, computers, saddle hanging and ready for a get away, always a mule on the premises.

 

You will see the rugged terrain of the Sierras, Chayo, Templarios, and autodefensas know how to maneuver the back roads of the sierras,  too treacherous even  for a horse, the only animal that can negotiate the high, narrow access roads, is a mule.

 

Only those living in the sierras become skilled in maneuvering the mountains, rendering captures almost impossible and getaways assured.  With the skill of the autodefensas, that was a game changer, it evened the playing field.  They know where to set up human fences, guarding points which surround areas that have been pinpointed as the location of the hunted.  In effect rendering an area "no where to run".

 

Templarios had "safe" ranches set up in multiple points in the Sierras.  For the most part set up as the one in the video.  However, they have found a couple of very elaborate ranches which appeared as command centers, with computer, and communication rooms, and a solar system that covered the entire roof.

The video begins with revisiting  the Calderon administration and the 2010 massive shootout between federal forces and La Familia Michoacana,   lasting two days in the sierras.  And the subsequent announcement of the death of LFM leader Nazario Moreno González.  El Chayo "dead"...declared dead, for the first time.

Inhabitants of the sierras and the autodefensas, have insisted for years that Chayo was alive, something both  the Calderon administration and the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto has ignored. 

In fact the EPN administration's most wanted list did not include Nazario Moreno González.