New video posted this week on social media shows dozens of cartel gunmen announcing a new push for control of a state in central Mexico.
Gunmen from Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) wearing body armor, tactical gear, and masks pose with weapons while an unidentified speaker lists off threats in the footage.
The speaker claims to be under the orders of CJNG leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes. They are tasked with taking over the state of Morelos. In the video, the leader reads a series of towns and regions in which they claim to have a presence.
The gunmen also issue threats to individuals and local politicians.
The video threats come at a time when the head of the Morelos Security State Commission, José Antonio Ortiz Guarneros, warns of 14 different organizations fighting for local turf. Since the start of the year, the small region has seen 40 murders.
Morelos governor and former soccer star Cuauhtémoc Blanco has previously been singled for ties to organized crime, particularly CJNG, after photographs surfaced of him posing with cartel leaders.
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.