Alejandro García "El Pelon" was the Target of Michoacan Massacre at his Mother's Funeral

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

At least 40 hitmen intercepted, removed, and shot 17 people at the wake of the mother of "El Pelón" as part of an internal CJNG dispute.

On February 27, Michoacán experienced the worst massacre in many years, as reported by Borderland Beat. At least 17 people were shot at the gate of a home after they were taken from a wake. At first, no reasons or motives were given by the criminals, but this March 1, the Ministry of Public Security (SSP) gave its report.

According to the state agency, this tragedy suffered in San José de Gracia would have derived from an act of revenge between the heads of two groups linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). "A difference where there are interests of a personal and family nature between the heads of two cells," said the Undersecretary, Ricardo Mejía.

The twenty hitmen, presumably led by Abel, "El Toro" or El Viejón, broke into the mourning ceremony of the mother of Alejandro "El Pelón", identified as Elisa, to gun him down since he did not have permission to enter this territory due to a conflict between these two leaders.

Through an interview with Azucena Uresti, Jorge Luis Anguiano, Mayor of Marcos Castellanos, Michoacán, stated that six municipal police officers went to the scene of the events to carry out the corresponding protocol in response to the alert of armed civilians, but upon detecting a large number of hitmen and the power of their weapons, they decided to return to the barracks to request reinforcements.

“Reports were made to the corresponding authorities, in fact, the first contingent of security elements arrived in the area. The six police officers, seeing the situation, returned to the barracks and requested more support. The secretary says that the first people to arrive must cordon off the area, but six elements for such a dangerous job?"

The Mayor justified the withdrawal of the elements of the Municipal Police present in San José de Gracia at the time of the attack against Alejandro García, "El Pelón," and more than a dozen people, in addition, to ensure that the timely report of the facts was carried out, contrary to what was declared by the state prosecutor's office.

The mayor claimed to have in his possession physical evidence of the alert that was issued to the state authorities, which the head of the Attorney General of the State of Michoacán (FGE), Adrián López Solís denied that it existed, which led to a response belated by agency staff, who came across a tampered crime scene.

López Solís said that upon arrival at the scene, no victims were located; however, it was found that the floor had just been washed and two plastic bags were found, one containing remains of brain matter, which was packed for analysis, and another containing cleaning product containers. A hundred firearm cartridges of calibers 9mm, 7.62mm, 5.56mm, and .45 were collected at the scene.

The staff of the Prosecutor's Office, with the support of the Secretary of National Defense (SEDENA), the National Guard (GN), and the Secretary of Public Security (SSP), carry out various tours in the vicinity of the municipal capital, to locate possible victims of the aggression that, after the events, were removed from the place by the aggressors themselves or people related to them.

Local press reports have estimated between 10 and 17 fatalities, but Michoacán authorities said it is still too "early" to take such figures for granted. "We can not confirm any number because there are no bodies," said the undersecretary of Public Security, Ricardo Mejía Berdeja. The President himself, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, assured that there is still not enough information that could verify the alleged massacre and criticized the "misinformation" generated about the crime and the "determined" attacks of conservatism.

Alejandro Garcia "El Pelon" and Abel "El Toro have a long history of feuding over territory and kidnapping family members.

Alejandro began his criminal career at the age of 18. The first group he was part of was Los Zetas. However, over time he was also placed in the ranks of the Familia Michoacana and Los Caballeros Templarios. During 2010, when he was in Los Caballeros Templarios, he met the 18-year-old El Toro. A year later he joined the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, in which he served as Plaza Chief from Tizapán el Alto to Mazamitla.

It was on July 17, 2014, when everything began to fall because El Pelón was arrested and detained in the Social Reintegration Center (Cereso) of Jalisco, a situation that Abel took advantage of to take control of the square.

Already with power in the territory, El Toro prohibited him, with death threats, from entering San José de Gracia, where he lived with his family. Despite them, they both stood firm in their positions and started a war. In the first instance, it was learned that El Toro gave the instruction to pick up and kidnap El Pelón's brother, Ricardo N, known as Chocorrol; this would take place in 2018, while his brother was still serving his sentence behind bars in the Cereso.

These situations led Pelón to leave the ranks of that CJNG cell in 2019, to go to Colima and/or Zapopan and work with another criminal leader of the same group. Thanks to this change, his power grew, and in December 2021 he took revenge and murdered José "N", El Chepe, the criminal leader of Tizapán and El Toro's younger brother.

According to the version issued by the SSP of Michoacán, El Pelón arrived in the wake of his mother, who died on February 27, to give her the last goodbye, despite the fact that he should not be there. His family questioned his arrival at the home, but he assured that "he had permission" from the CJNG commanders to watch over his mother. It was estimated that he would have arrived accompanied by approximately 15 assassins.

Despite his guard and the presumed permission, everything ended badly. Just a few minutes after his arrival, some 40 assassins with long weapons arrived at the house aboard 15 trucks. Given this, El Pelón left the wake to find his hitmen subdued by him and, while he tried to communicate on his phone, El Toro shot him four times in the head.

An abandoned safehouse with homemade explosives was discovered nearby after the massacre. 

After the massacre that occurred in San José de Gracia, agents from Michoacán and federal elements deployed operations in which they located a safe house with explosive devices in the same municipality of Marcos Castellanos where the internal confrontation between members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) took place.

The Michoacán Prosecutor's Office explained that the explosives are known as homemade potatoes. They also seized cylinders with stabilizers used for launching from drones. While the Ministry of Public Security specified that there would be at least 20 artifacts that include the handmade spoilers. According to security reports, the property is located between Estancia and Sabino, where troops from the Army, National Guard, and State Police went. Supposedly it is a farm in a state of abandonment.

Sources Infobae Infobae Infobae FGE Michoacan Infobae La Opinion