6 Hitmen, 1 Soldier Killed in Tarecuato, Michoacán

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat

One soldier and six hitmen died in a confrontation between members of organized crime and the Mexican Army in Tangamandapio, Michoacán. 

On August 20, 2021, Army (SEDENA) soldiers were conducting surveillance patrols in the Purépecha indigenous town of  Tarecuato in Tangamandapio municipality. According to unofficial versions reported by EJE Central, they discovered heavily armed men congregating in the orchard of a farm. This discovery came at around 4:30 pm, according to Tabasco Hoy.  According to the official statement given by the Attorney General’s office the “SEDENA personnel were attacked by gunfire”. There are no further details on how the confrontation occurred or if support elements were called in to reinforce the SEDENA soldiers.

All that is known about the incident is that by 5:00 pm personnel from the Forensic Services and Crime Scene Unit (USPEC) were requested at the farm due to an aggression against military personnel where the confrontation occurred. They located at the farm one dead SEDENA soldier and six dead cartel hitmen, all male. Initial reports, like those from Noticaribe and Alerta Michoacán, alleged that eight cartel hitmen had died but the SEDENA statement later confirmed that it was only six deceased hitmen and one military personnel.

The statement goes on to say that one person was arrested at the scene and they will be handed over to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR). Eight firearms, 200 rounds of ammunition and “other tactical objects” were also seized by authorities.

The cartel affiliation of the six deceased hitmen has not been reported at the time of the writing of this story. Tangamandapio municipality is in north western Michoacán. Multiple cartel figures are known to be operating in this north western region.

The Carteles Unidos alliance has the group “Los Reyes” suitably operating in the municipality of Los Reyes. Their leaders are Alfonso Fernández Magallón, alias “Poncho La Quiringua” and Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, alias “El R-5”.  

In the far north, the CJNG has the group Los Guerreros, thought to be led by Eduardo Bautista Hernández, alias “Lalo Pelos”. And in the west, the CJNG is believed to have the plaza of Cotija under a Los Valencia figure named Miguel Valencia Valencia. 

In Zamora, there were competing factions as of 2020, with the Carteles Unidos’s El Moco leaving threats threatening CJNG elements in Zamora in June 2020. And in the center of all these competing influence sits the town of Tarecuato, in Tangamandapio.

Warning: Graphic photos below this point.

Sources: Riodoce, Proceso, Mi Morelia, Noticaribe, Infobae, A Tiempo, EJE Central, Tabasco Hoy, Primera Plana, Quadratin, Alerta Michoacán, Vanguardia

Photo Credit: ElBlogDeLosGuachos