Federal Police had "La Tuta" 3 times, and failed to arrest him

Borderland Beat

In 2009 the Federal Police could have arrested La Tuta 3 times....but failed to do so. The revelation, in contained in police reports, including the investigation PGR/SIEDO/UEIDCS/205/2009 the cases, 22 and 27 of January and February 19th.  At the time, the capo was using a Jeep Compass with plates 327VES. 

In 2009 the Federal police on  3 occasions,  in less than a month,  the opportunity to catch the leader of Los Caballeros Templarios, Servando Gomez Martinez, AKA La Tuta, but in a couple of them decided not to arrested and in one more.  At the time he was still a leader with La Familia Michoacana.

Here is what went down.

First

The first occasions was in Lazaro Cardenas, when he was with Julio Cesar Godoy, brother of the Governor Leonel Godoy, and Julio was looking for a nexus with the Cartel, the other two opportunities for capture were in Arteaga, hometown of the Capo. 

According with the preliminary investigation for PGR/SIEDO/UIDCS/205/2009, which was opened on January 22th, 2014 to integrate the record of La Tuta,  which La Razón reports they have a copy of;  six Federal agents reported to their superiors, that on March 2nd  of 2009 when they were watching a home in Lazaro Cardenas,  they noticed the arrival of a truck Jeep Compass, sand color, with plates of 327VES, from which  descended a male person, approximately 50 years old, dark skin, short hair, mustache and  silver haired goatee.  

It was a person identified as Servando Gomez alias  La Tuta”,  along with two others persons, who carried short weapons on the waist. 

Using the data bases to which it had access, of the Secretary of Public Security, they were able to identify the men as Julio Cesar Godoy Toscano (brother of then Michoacán governor Leonel Godoy)  and Jose Manuel Luna Avalos.  Godoy was driving a ford escape and Luna arrived on foot. 

Tuta was not stopped.

Second

On January 28th of that year four Federal Officers  reported the details of the arrest of Luis Servando Gomez Patiño, son of La Tuta. 

On the  document PFP/EM/SIII/006/2009 integrated to the preliminary investigation, the agents report that on January 27th on down town of Arteaga, they went to a cock fight  held in the 268  Lazaro Cárdenas street,  in order to capture  Servando Gomez Martinez.

The record revealed that night a white Hummer, without plates arrived.  Descending from the truck was a male person which agents identified as Servando Gomez Martinez, who was accompanied by two male persons that were heavily armed, with long and short weapons on their waist.

In a determinate time, the cockfight (Palenque) attendants said “people began to run out of the Place“ realizing that Servando Gomez Martinez and his companions hurriedly boarded the white  Hummer” fleeing along with the agents vehicle following it toward the road that leads to the Municipality of Nueva Italia,  and a pursuit began.

At a certain point in the road, the truck that la Tuta in was in , stopped so his occupants  could ditch the vehicle, and board  three different vehicles ( one of them the Jeep Compass plates 327 VES, referred on the first report)  at the end Tuta was able to lose the agents behind.  However the agents  were able to reach one of the vehicles and caught the son of La Tuta.

The record  it  refers to February 19th of 2009,  two Federal Police, at the municipality of Arteaga, were guarding the Municipal Presidency,  to obtain information in relation to the activities of the Mayor Jairo Rivas Paramo and his directors of public security and works. 

Tuta successfully fled from federal agents

Third

On his report PFP/JEM/SIII/DG/302/2009 the elements state that about 15:00 hours the Mayor departed and boarded a truck that drove to the Glorieta ( roundabout) located on Lazaro Cardenas Avenue and parked  on the edge of the roundabout.

The Agents report that then arrived two vehicles( a Grey Jetta and a Black jeep) from which  descended  three people, with short weapons on their waist,  only one of them approached the Mayor's vehicle. 

The person who approached was identified as Servando Gomez Martinez alias La Tuta, who was carrying with him an envelope and a suitcase, he gave the two items to Jairo Rivas ( The Mayor) and with a handshake said goodbye, leaving the place traveling towards  the exit of the road Arteaga-Las Cañas, while the Black Jeep Cherokee  of which Servando Gomez Martinez was traveling,  entered the  San Martin Colonia.

That is when agents lost sight of Tuta

Medina Hernandez was to be Tuta's thrid wife

Subsequent to 2009

Today, five Years later, La Tuta continues to be fugitive, and is now the premier leader of  the Caballeros Templarios, a group formed in 2011 after infighting within La Familia Michoacana.

He is considered as the main generator of killings, kidnappings, corruption and extortion in the state.

Through death threats and intimidation, he maintains a financial network, for "routes", piso, (or tax) payment from  drivers, dealers and even Municipal Governments. (continues next page)

It would appear that the government of Mexico has had who knows how many opportunities to catch La Tuta.  The Calderon administration had much greater transparency than is present in the Peña Nieto administration.  One wonders how many lives would have been saved, if only he was apprehended in one of these opportunities.  Perhaps there would not have been a Caballeros Templarios.  We will never know.

Epic Fail!

UPDATE:

PRI wants former Michoacán Governor Godoy investigated….

And PRI weighs in, and is demanding to know the reasons Federal police did not arrest Tuta in 2009.  The pretense is absurd, why did it take the media to discover these “missed opportunities”?  And why has the PRI party also missed opportunities?  Seems they have missed a whole lot more, with all those Tuta Tapes, seems just one of the corrupt PRI mayors and government heads, the PRI governor, the governors son, or the interim governor, could have given PGR a heads up to just one of those meetings………just saying.  

And if Castillo would have not been sent to Michoacán, to disrupt the progress of autodefensas, perhaps Tuta would have been captured, and crime would not be breaking long held records.

From Quadratin

The parliamentary group of the PRI in the Senate before the Permanent Commission that a resolution to urge the Attorney General's Office (PGR) to make known the reasons why which the Federal Preventive Police (PFP) drug trafficker Servando Gomez was not apprehended Martinez in 2009. 

The  proposal, turned over to the Public Safety Commission of the Senate, lawmakers described as "shameful" the information derived from the investigation PGR / OFDI / UEIDCS / 205/2009, recently released by national media, in which he recognizes that the Federal Police in 2009, three times failed its responsibility to stop the drug trafficker Servando Gomez Martinez, alias La Tuta.  

They call on the PGR, and the Attorney General of the State of Michoacán to conduct a “professional investigation”, transparent, timely and in accordance with law to clarify these criminal acts, where allegedly involved officials of the then Federal Police and former public servants of the state. 

Senators demanded an investigation to its conclusion and if found responsible and networks, are to be punished to the full extent of the law. 

update

Huge thanks to Yahweh for the heads up and for an anonymous reader sending the Quadratin story

Sources: La Razón and Meny Times-Reforma-Provincia