Michoacan: Who is El Abuelo, the man Mencho declared war on?

 Cjhjivis Martinez Borderland Beat from Revolucion 3.0 TY BB follower!

Governor Silvano Aureoles asked the Federal Government for a solution to the problem of insecurity, when CJNG allegedly declared war on the alleged criminal Juan José Farías aka el Abuelo

Juan José Farías Álvarez, aka “El Abuelo”, gained notoriety in 2013 by leading the self-defense groups of Michoacán Tierra Caliente, but his appearance on the criminal map began in the 1990s.

“El Abuelo”, together with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho”, belonged to the Los Valencia Cartel; subsequently, they were part of the CJNG, currently led by “El Mencho”.

While he was a lieutenant of Los Valencia or the Millennium Cartel, Juan José Farías was arrested in 2009, accused of being responsible for the control of drug trafficking activities in Tepalcatepec, Sahuayo, Jiquilpan and Aguililla.

 To gain control of these activities, said the government of the Republic, Juan José Farías intimidated and designated the authorities in order to integrate a structure of protection and impunity towards his criminal organization.

He was also accused of executions of members of "Los Zetas" and "La Familia Michoacana".

The date and reasons for his subsequent release are still unknown.

Strong community support

In 2013, “El Abuelo” participated in the groups of armed civilians who proclaimed themselves as community guards or self-defense groups. In that movement, he gained greater notoriety and greater support from the population of that region, mainly in the municipality of Tepalcatepec.

The “fidelity” of the population is so great that they even came out in their defense in May 2018, when the then Attorney General's Office arrested him accused of crimes against health and the carrying of weapons and cartridges for the exclusive use of the Army.

On that occasion, residents blocked roads to demand his release; days later, “El Abuelo” was released, [allegedly] not because of social pressure, but because of irregularities during his detention by the Secretary of the Navy.

As a member of the self-defense groups, “El Abuelo” maintained closeness with the Commissioner for Integral Security and Development of Michoacán, Alfredo Castillo Cervantes, who was sent to the entity to preside over the state's pacification project. [below]

On February 5, 2014, Castillo Cervantes went to Tierra Caliente to hold a meeting with self-defense groups, among which “El Abuelo” stood out.

The meeting between the special security envoy and the former person convicted of drug trafficking was recorded in a controversial photograph, of which Castillo Cervantes excused by arguing that he did not know the criminal record of “El Abuelo”, in addition to the fact that the meeting had been agreed by federal forces attached to that region, he said.

According to safety reports, “El Abuelo” currently serves as the Jaliscience cartel’s operator in the municipalities of Tepalcatepec, Los Reyes, Tancítaro, Aquila, Coahuayana and San Juan Nuevo.

However, a video broadcast on social networks during the last hours, shows a probable  fracture between “El Abuelo” and the CJNG.