A borough in Mexico City directly responded to a video where the hyperviolent La Familia Michoacana Cartel announced its presence in the metropolitan area. Cartel members claimed they would be spreading out to search for their rivals. Authorities deployed 200 officers to the streets and published a video announcing the security operation.
This week, officials from the Milpa Alta Borough published a video on social media showing the arrival of more than 50 police vehicles with 200 officers from Mexico City’s Police (SSC). The convoy also included members of the Mexican Military and National Guard who would join in patrolling the area. As part of the security operation, the police officers will be stopping vehicles and checking people to “prevent crime.”
While the video makes no direct reference to drug cartels and simply claims that the police actions are “for your security,” the government response came soon after gunmen from La Familia Michoacana released an expletive-laden video where they claimed to be in Milpa Alta and would be taking control of the surrounding areas.
The cartel video was widely shared on social media where it showed many gunmen carrying various rifles while one of them issued a series of threats. The gunmen claimed to be part of a Familia Michoacana cell led by El Zarco and said they would be hunting their rivals. The group did not reveal what cartel they would be fighting but revealed a series of obscure nicknames of rival operators they would be hunting. In the video, the gunmen claimed they would be patrolling the town.
The cartel video and the police response come at a time when, contrary to the claims by public officials, Mexico continues to experience a spread of cartel violence throughout the country. The violence is now reaching various parts of the country that had previously not been touched by cartel turf wars.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to Mexico City and the states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “E.F Robles” from Jalisco.