Commissioner Castillo Calls this Dr. Mireles' "Trophy" Photo

Chivís Martínez for Borderland Beat

On May 9th, Alfredo Castillo Cervantes Commissioner for Security in Michoacán, reported that Dr. Manuel Mireles, was being  investigated for the multiple manslaughter of five persons killed on April 27th killed in a confrontation in the town of Chuquiapan.

Castillo said "we have a photo of Mireles holding a head as if a "trophy".

Pretty shocking claim, and if true......

But, it was another false accusation, and we had the photo. BB waited for approval to publish it.  Yes, he is holding a head, but clearly not in the way Castillo intended everyone to think.   And not for any "trophy".

Even prior to the confrontation, we were aware Dr Mireles was attending a meeting from 1-4 PM on the day of the shootout. The confrontation was around 5PM.

The real story of the posed corpse...

The Mp investigative agent asked Mireles to help him, by holding the corpse head upright, for a photo he needed for the forensic doctor.  Clearly, one can see the MP agent, with white gloves, holding the torso and Dr Mireles holding the head upright.

The deceased died hours before Mireles arrived on the scene.  He was at the meeting in Pomaro, another coastal city, in an assembly of 380 people, 2 hrs and 45 minutes away.

BB has written extensively about the confrontation between coastal autodefensas from Caleta and other towns, and members of Caballeros Templarios.

Valor's post titled "Coastal Communities Report Links Between "Papa Smurf" and the Caballeros Templarios" gave the most detailed account by a autodefensa leader nicknamed  “El Plátano”.

"El Platano"  is now a most wanted person by Smurf, and yesterday began a hunt for him.  The coastal autodefensas, led by Mireles, were considered to be the most clean and trusted of all autodefensas.  

El Universal reported this in the Valor post "Autodefensas are accusing each other of Being Narcos"

"The group that Papa Smurf leads is part of the main leaders in the area of Tierra Caliente, who include agriculture  farmers, and  “forgiven” Templarios; the other side is led by Manuel Mireles, who is supported by autodefensas of the purépecha plateau and the coastal communities, who refused to let “forgiven” Templarios integrate with them."

After  “El Plátano” told the story, and of finding the document belonging to Smurf, war was on between the autodefensas groups.  

Castillo wants nothing more than to see Mireles gone.  He took away the armour car, held private meetings with Smurf, Comandante 5 and Americano.  They waited for an opportunity.  and on May 5th Mireles provided one.

Subsequent to meeting with prominent Mexican activists, Mireles taped a video message to Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, in which he asks for communication with the president, expressing hope derived from the work accomplished to this date, but was not so generous in his opinion of Castillo.

The hammer  fell heavily and rapidly.  With Castillo working with Smurf and gang, they concocted a phony document that in effect ousted Mireles as Chief Coordinator and sole spokesman.  The document had the signatures of three known criminals, including Nicolas Sierra Santana, of the Los Viagras Cartel, who were the first Templarios splinter group, but now seemed to have created an alliance with Tuta and are working together.

The document was only 22 signatures and one leader, all the signatures were of people in two municipalities.

In making the document public, Smurf and his gang said it stemmed from the video Mireles created for EPN.  He further suggested the plane crash injured Mireles mentally.  A charge he initially suggestion in January when he first, unilaterally, took the spokesman position away from Mireles while he was in recovery.

Next, Castillo charges that Mireles may be responsible for the 5 killings on April 27th.  Diverting the responsibility of collusion away from his current compadres, Smurf and gang.

Today he says, "we have the photo, but it is not enough evidence".  

Also today, groups from two communities were initiated into the State Rural Police, with Castillo, Smurf, commander5 and El Americano, front and center. (foto below)

It is a bad situation for Mireles and his autodefensas.  One is hard pressed to see a good outcome, as one Lazaro Cardenas resident said, "And all that work?  All the fight against evil? Now it is trash?"