GRAPHIC EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Mall Shooting Identified as Cartel Hit

A fatal shooting inside a mall last week in the Mexican state of Michoacán was a cartel hit as rival criminal organizations continue to fight for control, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas.

Last week, a shootout at the Las Americas shopping center in Morelia, Michoacán caused widespread panic. As Breitbart Texas reported, two individuals died in the shopping center’s parking lot during that shooting. The Michoacan Attorney General’s Office previously identified the victims as Francisco “N” and a police officer assigned as his bodyguard, Diego “N.”

Breitbart Texas later learned that the victim was Francisco Javier “Franky Boy” Valencia Perez. He is described as a local attorney who worked for Francisco Vargas Patino, a local crime boss known as “Paquito Brother” who had been a top lieutenant of the now defunct Knights Templar cartel but now operates his own organization.

Law enforcement sources revealed that the target of the mall shooting was Vargas Patino, who was meeting with his lawyer in the shopping center. However, when the shooting began, Valencia and his bodyguard died while Vargas managed to escape and called for help from his gunmen.

The shooting is believed to have been ordered by Cesar “El Boto” Sepulveda Arellano, who leads a cell called Los Blancos de Troya, currently an ally of the Viagras Cartel.

After the fatal shooting at the mall, a gunman and a female associate fled the scene in a dark sedan. Due to the police response, the pair parked their vehicle and boarded a public transportation van to blend in with the public.

Shortly after, a team of gunmen, presumably sent by Paquito Brother, tracked them down and began shooting at the vehicle. The gunmen hit the two individuals, a female passenger, and her 13-year-old son. The driver of the van rushed the victims to a local hospital where medical personnel tended to the victims. The male gunman died on the way to the hospital.

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.     

Jose Luis Lara from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.