Michoacán: Massacres, kidnappings, blockades and the uptick in other crimes goes wild and seemingly no security strategy

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat  Noventagrados

6 mos ago State Gov announces security "strategy", then goes silent 

Below, a timeline of the most notable crime events in Aguililla and Churumuco, Michoacán from January through April 2020  

 

The "Comprehensive Strategy" from the Michoacán State Gob 

Six months after the Michoacán government's announcement of the “comprehensive strategy” for Churumuco and Aguililla, in those municipalities the balance is four municipal police officers who are missing at the hands of by the Jalisco Cartel New Generation, dozens of murders, at least three massacres, assaults on older adults, fierce and increasingly frequent shootings, the kidnapping of residents and threats to communities.

Since the announcement of this "comprehensive strategy" in January, the Administration of Governor Silvano Aureoles Conejo has not reported on any results.

It was on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 that the Michoacán government secretary Carlos Herrera Tello - who is also a builder and a mayor with a Zitácuaro license - presented in Morelia, before the media, the comprehensive strategy for Churumuco and Aguililla, hours after CJNG burst into Churumuco, killing two municipal police officers and kidnapping four more, who remain missing and forgotten by the Silvano Aureoles government.

Likewise, at the same time a the confrontation between CJNG hitmen and National Guard soldiers in Aguililla, left a balance of several dead and detainees, who reportedly participated in the ambush against the State Police in that municipality, in which 14 officers were killed.

"We have to continue to approach the population to know their needs and not allow acts outside the law to take over the tranquility of the people," said government secretary Herrera Tello, at what was the only conference where the called "comprehensive strategy".

Never a follow up after showy announcements

What happened next is what the Silvano Aureoles government has become accustomed to, not following up on its numerous “plans” and “strategies” that it announces every time a serious event attracts the attention of the press to the entity.

After a few days of securing a couple of vehicles, some heavy caliber rifles, and at least three detainees, by January 24, the shootings returned in the Bonifacio Moreno "El Aguaje" community and blockades of the Apatzingán - Aguililla highway, hours later, six bodies were located in a van in the Felipe Ángeles community, Buenavista municipality.

On January 31, a monster truck was secured near the Aguaje and on February 1, a video of a Los Viagras checkpoint in the vicinity of that town circulated, all this, two weeks after presenting the "comprehensive strategy" for Churumuco and Aguililla.

On February 3, National Guard soldiers were rounded up by armed civilians blocking the Apatzingán-Aguililla highway, at the height of Buenavista, and the area continued to record the displacement of armed civilians in SUVs  and armored trucks.

On March 17, a new day of violence took place in Tierra Caliente, and in the case of Aguililla, houses were burned, with up to 18 deaths reported in the event.

Alliances and Cells

Subsequently, videos and publications on social networks continued to spread, accusations and threats were launched against the Jalisco Cartel and the criminal organization, Carteles Unidos, formed by criminal cells such as Blancos de Troya, Familia Michoacana and Caballeros Templarios and the most powerful groups Los Viagras - led by the brothers. Sierra Santana- and the Tepalcatepec Cartel -under the command of Juan José Farías Álvarez “El Abuelo”.

On March 26, a new shooting was reported in El Aguaje, on April 6 there were new roadblocks and shootings in Aguililla and Buenavista, the shooting of  soldiers in the latter municipality – by members of Los Viagras.

On April 9, a CJNG “Narco-Monster” was secured in the vicinity of the Aguaje, the following day the fighting continued in that town, El Limoncito and El Colomo, and on the 14th, fifteen alleged members of the Jalisco Cartel were arrested in Aguililla and Parácuaro, eleven of whom were evacuated from the area by air.

On April 25 there was evidence of the looting they did in the town of El Limoncito, Los Viagras, allegedly colluding with the 30th Infantry Battalion and the 43rd Military Zone of Apatzingán.

The massacre that was hidden by state government

What happened next was a massacre hidden by the Silvano Aureoles government: After looting houses, shops, and a beer depot in Limoncito, Los Viagras retired to a ranch in the  La Huerta community, where they got drunk.

While their victims were deeply asleep,  the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel killed 23 people, among whom were a retired colonel and two members of the lesser rank of the Mexican Army, in active duty, as well as five foreign soldiers (two Colombians, one Guatemalan). , a Honduran and a Salvadoran), hired by "El Abuelo" Farías to train the Cartel United hitmen. A day later, the Silvano Aureoles government reported the finding of only three bodies, although photographs of the scene show various bodies, military identifications and abandoned weapons.

Since then, to date, inhabitants have reported at least two recent massacres in El Aguaje and its surroundings, shooting has not stopped, the displacement of armed civilians on highways and roads, nor have criminals stopped their threatening videos, leaving the population, abandoned to its fate by the PRD government led by Silvano Aureoles Conejo.

The harvest and selling of fruit are directed by narcos

Control of crime is such that cutters and fruit producers have to wait for the criminals' to give permission to work and sell them the fruit at the price imposed on them, there is a shortage of basic foods in El Aguaje due to the danger of reaching that point.

Gasoline has reached 60 pesos per liter, because on their way to the town, members of the criminal association Carteles Unidos apply various extortions to suppliers. Currently, at least 10 kidnapped inhabitants are reported, including children.

Of the "comprehensive strategy" for Aguililla, neither the Secretary of Government Carlos Herrera who presented it or any other official of the state administration, much less Governor Silvano Aureole, have reported a single result of the plan.

Churumuco

In the case of Churumuco, four municipal police officers have been missing since January 11, whose identities are partially known due to the search that their relatives have made of them on social networks, since it is the date on which they are still disappeared and forgotten by the state government. , who since January did not mention the case again.

The uniformed men were abducted by the Zicuirán Cartel and the Jalisco Cartel, after confronting the latter with assassins from Los Viagras and Carteles Unidos.

The municipal agents were reportedly sent by Mayor Rodimiro Barrera Estrada to support his brother, Gabino Barrera, then head of the plaza in Churumuco for Los Viagras: According to data from the Attorney General of the Republic, was financed by La Familia Michoacana for his electoral campaign in 2007, which he won, being summoned by him and other elected mayors who benefited by the cartel, by representatives of the criminal group who took the favor, according to the PGR.

Despite these indications, Rodimiro Barrera became a federal deputy [congressman]for the PRI at the end of his triennium, succeeding him as Mayor,  his brother Gildardo. He returned to the mayor's office in 2018, for a period of 3 years.

As for Gabino Barrera Estrada, since 2014 he was identified by the state government as a member of the “Los H3” criminal group, which arose as a result of the self-defense groups, and was identified as a leader in Churumuco and La Huacana.

Gabino Barrera Cartel splits from Viagras steals Covid support

With the arrival of the coronavirus, Churumuco was again the subject of news, since the Gabino Barrera Cartel, who apparently became independent from Los Viagras, assaulted and fled from the  dozens of older adults who came after March 18, to collect extraordinary support from the federal government for the health crisis,  several months of resources were brought forward to cope with the quarantine.

One of the needs ignored by Herrera Tello and Silvano Aureoles in their "comprehensive strategy" - the residents had to leave Churumuco to collect the Covid19 resources, and upon their return, they were assaulted and pushed out of  the municipality by the criminal group headed by the brother of the PRI mayor.

Days later, on April 17, Rogelio López Gaona and Anibar López Calderón, father and son, ranchers and farmers, were deprived of liberty, tortured and murdered, by Gabino Barrera group. The bodies were abandoned in the Puerto del Ahuijote community.

As can be seen, the “comprehensive strategy” for Churumuco announced by Carlos Herrera - Silvano Aureoles' right-hand man who even distanced him from his responsibility as Mayor of Zitácuaro to position him as a candidate in the 2021 elections - was never implemented and to date, the PRD government has not reported a single result, finding in the coronavirus a way to campaign in its favor and to hide its spectacular failure in the biggest challenge facing the entity: violence. 

Comparing the first semester of 2020 with the same semester of 2019, it is observed that murders have increased 30% and homicides of women have doubled. Likewise, if you compare the first semester of 2015 (months before Aureoles Conejo took power), the murders have doubled, going from 434 to 1,094.