EXCLUSIVE: Sister of Captured Cartel Boss Terrorizes Coastal Mexican State

The sister of a recently captured cartel boss has taken the reigns of his organization and is leading the terror-inducing fight against rivals in the coastal state of Colima. Her gunmen have shot and killed hot dog stand vendors and other innocents in random acts of violence.

In recent days, the once peaceful state of Colima has seen a spike in daytime gun fights, drive-by shootings, torched property, and other forms of violence without effective government intervention.

Most of the violence is linked to the recent arrest of Jose Bernabe “La Vaca” Brizuela Meraz, the leader of the Cartel Independiente de Colima or “Los Mezcales.” Mexico City Police Chief Omar Harfuch announced La Vaca’s arrest on August 18, claiming the capital would not be a refuge for violent cartel bosses.

Following the high-profile arrest, Blanca Elizabeth “La Paloma” Brizuela Meraz and her lieutenant, Carlos Miguel “El Abulon” Meraz Mercado, began setting vehicles and businesses on fire to force La Vaca’s release.

La Paloma has become the de facto leader of La Vaca’s group and is now fighting former allies. La Vaca was once a regional leader of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most violent criminal organizations. In recent months, La Vaca and other allies broke away from CJNG and formed an independent organization that has since fractured. La Vaca made headlines earlier this year when he publicly claimed that the leader of CJNG, reclusive Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, had died from an illness. El Mencho’s vital status remains unknown.

Since La Vaca’s defection, CJNG has seen other violent fractures around Mexico.

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.