The power of cartels in parts of Mexico rivals and often surpasses government to the point where gunmen collect “taxes” and deliver corporal justice.
A recent video captured by alleged gunmen with Cartel Jalisco New Generation in the town of Magdalena shows a group of hooded men paddling a man who they caught allegedly stealing women’s lingerie from a store. The video has since been shared on social media to document the violence in Mexico.
The gunmen forced the alleged thief to wear women’s underwear, pulled his pants down, and is repeatedly paddled. The alleged thief is forced to say that he was being punished for stealing lingerie and was warned that next time, he would not be as lucky.
The town of Magdalena continues to be one of the strongholds for CJNG, one of the most violent cartels in Mexico. Soon after the first video was uploaded, images of other common thieves being paddled in the same area began to be shared on social media.
The move appears to be an attempt by the cartel to earn public favor by “delivering justice” in a country where most crimes go unpunished. As Breitbart Texas reported, the practice has also been carried out by the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. In the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, a faction of Los Zetas called Cartel Del Noreste delivers toys during the Christmas holidays and other celebrations.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Nuevo León and other areas to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Jose Luis Lara, a former leading member who helped start the Self-Defense Movement in Michoacán.