Mexico City will challenge the amparo that allowed the transfer of 'El Betito' to Reclusorio Oriente

Translated by El Profe for Borderland Beat from Milenio

by Selene Flores and Rubén Mosso

The head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, said that they are talking with the federation and will seek counselors from the Federal Judiciary to talk about the issue. 

The Tepito Union 

The Government of Mexico City will challenge the amparo that a federal judge granted Roberto Moyado Esparza, El Betito, alleged leader of La Unión Tepito, his brother José, and the alleged successor of the criminal organization, David García Ramírez, El Pistache, who since last Friday were confined in the Reclusorio Oriente.



At a press conference, the head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, said they are talking with the federation, in addition to seeking the counsel of the Federal Judiciary to talk about the issue. 



"The issue of these prisoners who return to jails in Mexico City was a decision of a federal judge, and we are there talking with the Federation and we are going to talk to the Judicial Council (Federal), with the judges, in a very responsible and respectful manner because it was only a judge who granted these amparos," she said.

 

Interviewed separately, Ernestina Godoy, capital prosecutor, said that the city government is already working on the preparation of a document to challenge the transfer, in addition to having had contact with authorities of the federal government, because they are dangerous characters. 



Last August, El Betito and his brother were arrested in the capital and charged with allegedly possessing 80 grams of methamphetamine. 



After a nine-hour hearing held in Room 2 of the Federal Criminal Justice Center of the Reclusorio Preventivo Oriente, Judge Beatriz Moguel Ancheyta considered that there were elements to presume that both persons are likely to be responsible for crimes against health for commercial purposes.



At the end of the hearing El Betito and his brother were transferred to the federal prison of Villa Aldama at the request of the Government of Mexico City, for representing a risk for the prison population of the capital and also to guarantee their safety. 



Subsequently, the Attorney General of the capital obtained an arrest warrant against El Betito from a local judge for his probable responsibility in the crime of qualified homicide. 

The defunct National Security Commission determined that he would not return to the Reclusorio Preventivo Oriente, nor his brother, despite warnings issued by a federal judge who threatened to arrest various authorities for not following his order. 



In view of this situation, Gregorio Salazar Hernández, control judge of the Federal Criminal Justice Center based in the Reclusorio Preventivo Oriente, requested the support of the then Secretary of National Defense, Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, on November 5, 2018, to complete an arrest order against Rogelio Miguel Figueroa Velázquez, head of the federal prison, for disobeying his order.

El PISTACHE

For its part, on October 30, federal forces captured David García Ramírez, El Pistache, alleged successor of El Betito, who was said not only to order homicides against members of rival groups, but also: drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, trafficking of persons, as well as charging "derecho de piso" to restaurateurs and owners of nightclubs in the capital.

During simultaneous operations, the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic, in coordination with personnel from the Ministry of the Navy and the Federal Police, searched houses in the areas of Santa Fe and Narvarte, achieving the capture of Roberto Moyado Esparza's successor.