The Mexican government has launched an offensive against at least 12 drug cartels operating in Michoacán, where in the last month the mayor of Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, and the leader of citrus producers, Bernardo Bravo, were murdered.
The offensive was outlined during a meeting at the XXI Military Zone, headquartered in Morelia, which was attended by the Secretary of Security, Omar García Harfuch; the Secretary of Defense, Ricardo Treviño; the Secretary of the Navy, Raymundo Pedro Morales; the commander of the National Guard, Hernán Cortés; and the governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla.
At the meeting, Raúl Zepeda Villaseñor, Secretary of Government of Michoacán, confirmed that the offensive against organized crime will focus on 12 cartels, although it could be expanded if other criminal groups are identified.
«We will combat all criminal groups operating in the entity, where more than 12 have already been identified. The crime, according to authorities, stems from a dispute between the CJNG and the Knights Templario. This case adds to that of Bernardo Bravo Manríquez, president of the Association of Citriculture of the Apatzingán Valley (ACVA), who was murdered on October 19 by César Sepúlveda Arellano, alias 'El Botox', leader of the Los Blancos de Troya cartel, according to the state prosecutor's office».
In Michoacán, there are 40,000 hectares of lemon orchards that supply the national market through 52 packing companies that process the citrus and send it to other parts of the country.
«The governor has already commented, there are more than 12 identified groups,» Zepeda Villaseñor specified.
According to criminal maps prepared by the Army, the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and the State Prosecutor's Office (FGE), at least 12 criminal organizations operate in Michoacán.
The 12 cartels operating in Michoacán These criminal groups call themselves the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Tepalcatepec Cartel, Los Blancos de Troya, Los Viagras, Reyes Cartel, Knights Templario, Acahuato Cartel, Costa Cartel, La Familia Michoacana, Zicuirán Cartel, Pueblos Unidos and Correa Cartel.
The operational force of the National Guard and the Army in Michoacán is 10,506 agents, who were mainly deployed in Uruapan and Apatzingán, considered «high priority» areas for national security.
These elements are joined by 1,781 Navy agents, who are in charge of operations in the Pacific Ocean and in the municipalities of Lázaro Cárdenas, Aquila and Coahuayana.
This deployment is due to social discontent over the murder of Carlos Manzo, mayor of Uruapan, who was killed on the night of November 1 by a 17-year-old teenager.
Manzo was shot seven times with a 9-millimeter pistol in the main square of Uruapan during a Day of the Dead celebration.
«The hitman was subdued by Manzo's bodyguards and killed seconds later, so the FGE opened an investigation».
