Drug cartels delivered toys and pastries to needy families throughout Mexico during the Epiphany celebration in yet another attempt to improve their public image. The very public outreach efforts come as Mexico’s government remains unable to curb the escalating violence taking place across the country.
In several parts of Mexico, the celebration of the Epiphany is known as the Día de Reyes or the “Day of the Kings.” Children routinely receive toys while adults share a pastry known as Rosca de Reyes, similar to Kings Bread.
As Breitbart Texas reported, one faction of the Gulf Cartel delivered several pastries in the town of El Mezquital, near Matamoros. Soon after, a state police officer was quoted by local media claiming that they had been patrolling the roads and the Gulf Cartel had not delivered pastries or presents.
Those claims have since been disproven by numerous photographs taken by members of the Titan group of the Gulf Cartel as they delivered pastries and presents to families not only in El Mezquital, but also to several rural communities near the border town of Nuevo Progreso.
Just like the Gulf Cartel, in the Western state of Michoacán, gunmen claiming to be with Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) delivered toys to needy families in the town of El Aguaje. That region witnessed extensive fighting as CJNG attempts to take key territories away from an alliance known as Carteles Unidos — including Los Viagras, Familia Michoacana, and several “self-defense” groups.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.