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La Familia Michoacana

April 16, 2023

La Familia Michoacana, (English: The Michoacán Family) La Familia (English: The Family), or LFM[3][4] is a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate based in the Mexican state of Michoacán. They are known to produce large amounts of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories in Michoacan.[5] Formerly allied to the Gulf Cartel—as part of Los Zetas[6][7]—it split off in 2006.[6][8] The cartel was founded by Carlos Rosales Mendoza, a close associate of Osiel Cárdenas. The second leader, Nazario Moreno González, known as El Más Loco (English: The Craziest One),[9] preached his organization's divine right to eliminate enemies. He carried a "bible" of his own sayings and insisted that his army of traffickers and hitmen avoid using the narcotics they produce and sell.[10][11] Nazario Moreno's partners were José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, Servando Gómez Martínez and Enrique Plancarte Solís, each of whom has a bounty of $2 million for his capture,[12] and were contesting the control of the organization.[13]

La Familia Michoacana Cartel
  Area of influence of La Familia Michoacana
Founded1980s
Founded byCarlos Rosales Mendoza
Founding locationLa Piedad, Michoacán, Mexico
Years active1980s–present
TerritoryMexico:
Michoacán, Edomex, Guerrero
United States:
California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana
EthnicityMexican
Leader(s)Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga
Criminal activitiesDrug trafficking, people smuggling, money laundering, racketeering, extortion, kidnapping, murder, arms trafficking, assault, counterfeiting[1]
Allies Sinaloa Cartel
Menace of Destruction
Mara Salvatrucha
[2]
RivalsBeltrán-Leyva Cartel
Los Tequileros
Guerrero's Unidos
Knights Templar Cartel
Juarez Cartel
Jalisco New Generation Cartel
Tijuana Cartel
Los Zetas (Since 2004)
Los Viagras
Rural Defense Force
La Nueva Familia Michoacana Organization

In July 2009 and November 2010, La Familia Michoacana offered to retreat and even disband their cartel, "with the condition that both the Federal Government, and State and Federal Police commit to safeguarding the security of the state of Michoacán."[14] However, President Felipe Calderón's government refused to strike a deal with the cartel and rejected their calls for dialogue. According to federal and state sources, La Familia Michoacana has been increasingly involved in Michoacán's politics, impelling their favorite candidates, financing their campaigns, and forcing other parties to renounce their candidacies.[15][16] As of 2011, La Familia Michoacana still exists, mostly active in Estado de Mexico,[17][18] despite the killing of its founder and leader Nazario Moreno González.[13][19][20] Several leaders split off after his death to form the Knights Templar.[21]

History

Mexican analysts believe that La Familia formed in the 1980s with the stated purpose of bringing order to Michoacán, emphasizing help and protection for the poor.[22] In its initial incarnation, La Familia formed as a group of vigilantes, spurred to power to counter interloping kidnappers and drug dealers, who were their stated enemies.[22] Since then, La Familia has capitalized on its reputation, building its myth, power and reach to transition into a criminal gang itself.

La Familia came to the foreground in the 1990s as the Gulf Cartel's paramilitary group, designed to seize control of the illegal drug trade in Michoacán state from rival drug cartels. While it initially trained with Los Zetas,[23] in 2006 the group splintered off into an independent drug trafficking operation. La Familia has a strong rivalry with both Los Zetas and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, but strong ties with the Sinaloa Cartel of Joaquin Guzman. La Familia Michoacana was one of the strongest and fastest growing cartels in Mexico.[24]

After the death of Nazario Moreno González, José de Jesús Méndez Vargas (El Chango Méndez) took control of the cartel.[13] However, his authority was disputed by the cartel co-founders Enrique Plancarte Solís and Servando Gómez Martínez (La Tuta),[19] who formed an offshoot of La Familia calling itself Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar).[13][19][20] Méndez Vargas was captured on June 21, 2011, by Mexican police in the state of Aguascalientes.[25] The Mexican Federal Police declared that the cartel has been disbanded.[17][18] However, the organization continued to exercise its power and influence throughout Michoacán and Guerrero states.

In 2017, former La Familia leader Arnoldo Rueda-Medina, who was arrested in Mexico in 2009, was extradited to the United States and sentenced to 45 years in prison in 2018 after being convicted on drug trafficking charges.[26]

References to religion

La Familia cartel is sometimes described as quasi-religious since its leaders, Moreno González and Méndez Vargas, refer to their assassinations and beheadings as "divine justice."[27] The cartel may have direct or indirect ties with devotees of the New Jerusalem religious movement, which is noted for its concern for justice issues.[28][29][30][31][32][33] La Familia's boss and spiritual leader Nazario Moreno González, (a.k.a.: El Más Loco or The Craziest One) published his own 'bible,'[27][34] and a copy seized by Mexican federal agents reveals an ideology that mixes evangelical-style self-help with insurgent peasant slogans. Moreno González, who was killed on December 9, 2010,[35][36] seems to have based most of his doctrine on a work by Christian writer John Eldredge, using his own understanding of the idea in Eldredge's message that every man must have "a battle to fight, a beauty to rescue and an adventure to live." The Mexican justice department stated in a report that Gonzalez Moreno has made Eldredge's book Salvaje de Corazón (Wild at Heart) required reading for La Familia gang members and has paid rural teachers and National Development Education (CONAFE) to circulate Eldredge's writings throughout the Michoacán countryside.[37][38] La Familia cartel emphasizes religion and family values during recruitment and has placed banners in areas of operations claiming that it does not tolerate substance abuse or exploitation of women and children. According to Mexico Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna, it recruits members from drug rehabilitation clinics by helping addicts recover and then forcing them into service for the drug cartel or be killed.[39] Advancement within the organization depends as much on regular attendance at prayer meetings as on target practice.[10] The cartel gives loans to farmers, businesses, schools and churches,[40] and it advertises its benevolence in local newspapers in order to gain social support.[38]

On July 16, 2009, Servando Gómez Martínez (La Tuta), the cartel operations chief, contacted a local radio station and stated: "La Familia was created to look after the interests of our people and our family. We are a necessary evil." When asked what La Familia really wanted, Gómez replied, "The only thing we want is peace and tranquility." President Felipe Calderón's government refuses to strike a deal with the cartel and rejected their calls for dialogue.[41][42]

On April 20, 2009, about 400 Federal Police agents raided a christening party for a baby born to a cartel member.[43][44] Among the 44 detained was Rafael Cedeño Hernández (El Cede), the gang's second in command and in charge of indoctrinating the new recruits in the cartel's religious values, morals and ethics.

Alliances

In February 2010, the major cartels aligned in two factions. One was made up of the Juárez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, Los Zetas, and the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel. The other faction was made up of the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, and La Familia Michoacana.[45] La Familia Michoacana became a rival of its splinter group Knights Templar.[20] Mexican Attorney General (PGR) reported that La Familia Cartel was "exterminated" by 2011.[46]

Operations

La Familia has been known to be unusually violent.[39] Its members use murder and torture to quash rivals, while building a social base in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It once was the fastest-growing cartel in the country's drug war and is a religious cult-like group that celebrates family values.[10][47] In one incident in Uruapan in 2006, the cartel members tossed five severed heads onto the dance floor of the Sol y Sombra night club along with a message that read: "The Family doesn't kill for money. It doesn't kill women. It doesn't kill innocent people, only those who deserve to die. Know that this is divine justice."[48]

Like other cartels, La Familia used the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán to import narcotics from Peru and Colombia. They also produced large amounts of methamphetamine along the highlands of the Sierra Madre.[49] The cartel has moved from smuggling and selling drugs and turned itself into a much more ambitious criminal organization which acts as a parallel state in much of Michoacán. It extorts "taxes" from businesses, pays for community projects, controls petty crime, and settles some local disputes.[50] Despite its short history, it has emerged as Mexico's largest supplier of methamphetamines to the United States, with supply channels running deep into the Midwestern United States, and has increasingly become involved in the distribution of cocaine, marijuana, and other narcotics. Michael Braun, former DEA chief of operations, states that it operates "superlabs" in Mexico capable of producing up to 100 pounds of meth in eight hours. However, according to DEA officials, it claims to oppose the sale of drugs to Mexicans.[39] It also sells unlicensed DVDs, smuggles people to the United States, and runs a debt-collecting service by kidnapping defaulters. Because oftentimes they use fake and sometimes original uniforms of several police agencies, most of their kidnap victims are stopped under false pretenses of routine inspections or report of stolen vehicles, and then taken hostage.

La Familia has also bought some local politicians.[51] 20 municipal officials have been murdered in Michoacán, including two mayors. Having established its authority, it then names local police chiefs.[52] In May 2009, the Mexican Federal Police detained 10 Michoacán mayors and 20 other local officials suspected of being associated with the cartel.[51]

On July 11, 2009, a cartel lieutenant—Arnoldo Rueda Medina—was arrested. La Familia members attacked the Federal Police station in Morelia to try to free Rueda shortly after his arrest. During the attacks, two soldiers and three federal policemen were killed.[53] When that failed, cartel members attacked Federal Police installations in at least a half-dozen Michoacán cities in retribution.[54]

Three days later, on July 14, 2009, the cartel tortured and murdered twelve Mexican Federal Police agents and dumped their bodies along the side of a mountain highway along with a written message: "So that you come for another. We will be waiting for you here."[54] The federal agents were investigating crime in Michoacán state;[55] President Calderón, responded to the violence by dispatching additional 1,000 Federal Police officers to the area. The infusion, which more than tripled the number of Federal Police officers patrolling Michoacán, angered Michoacán Governor Leonel Godoy Rangel, who called it 'an occupation' and said he had not been consulted. Days later, 10 municipal police officers were arrested in connection with the slayings of the 12 federal agents.[54]

The governor's half-brother Julio César Godoy Toscano, who was elected July 5, 2009 to the lower house of Congress, was accused of being a top-ranking member of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel and of providing political protection for the cartel.[54][56] Based on these charges, on December 14, 2010, Godoy Toscano was impeached from the lower house of Congress and therefore lost his parliamentary immunity; he fled and remains a fugitive.

President Calderón stated that the country's drug cartels had grown so powerful that they now posed a threat to the future of Mexican democracy. His strategy of direct confrontation and law enforcement is not popular with some segments of Mexican society, where battling violent drug gangs has brought out several human rights charges against the Mexican military.[57]

Project Coronado

 
Kilograms of cocaine seized
 
Small part of US currency seized

On October 22, 2009, U.S. federal authorities announced the results of a four-year investigation into the operations of La Familia Michoacana in the United States dubbed Project Coronado. It was the largest U.S. raid ever against Mexican drug cartels operating in the U.S.[58][59] In 19 different states, 303 individuals were taken into custody in a coordinated effort by local, state, and federal law enforcement over a two-day period. Seized during the arresting phase was over 62 kilograms (137 lb) of cocaine, 330 kilograms (730 lb) of methamphetamine, 440 kilograms (970 lb) of marijuana, 144 weapons, 109 vehicles, two clandestine drug laboratories, and $3.4 million in U.S. currency.[58][60]

Since the start of "Project Coronado," the investigation has led to the arrest of more than 1,186 people and the seizure of approximately $33 million. Overall, almost 2 metric tons (2.2 short tons) of cocaine, 1,240 kilograms (2,730 lb) of methamphetamine, 13 kilograms (29 lb) of heroin, 7,430 kilograms (16,380 lb) of marijuana, 389 weapons, 269 vehicles, and the two drug labs were seized.[58]

Multi-agency investigations such as Project Coronado were the key to disrupting the operations of complex criminal organizations like La Familia. The investigative efforts in Project Coronado were coordinated by the multi-agency Special Operations Division, comprising agents and analysts from the DEA, FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service and ATF, as well as attorneys from the Criminal Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section. More than 300 federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies contributed investigative and prosecutorial resources to Project Coronado through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.[61]

Project Delirium

In July 2011, the United States Department of Justice announced that a 20-month-long operation known as "Project Delirium" had resulted in more than 221 arrests of La Familia cartel members in the United States, along with significant seizures of cash, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Outside of the United States, the operation resulted in the arrest of more than 1,900 members. Cartel members were arrested across the United States, and face charges in Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, D.C.[62] This announcement came just a month after Mexican authorities announced the capture of cartel leader José de Jesús Méndez Vargas.[63]

The Interstate 75 Connection

It has been known that La Familia has certain connections with the Flores Camargo cartel, a small drug trafficking group that operates in Atlanta. Flores Camargo moves large quantities of high grade marijuana and cocaine through the I-75 corridor for distribution in Detroit, supplying the city and its outskirts and suburbs. The local authorities haven't been able to dismantle this trafficking group because of its experience. They have made several arrests but have never been able to locate Flores Camargo's heads. It is known that two cousins originally from the Mexican state of Guanajuato run it, but no photos or names have been obtained by authorities. This shows how trafficking groups are becoming more cunning in hiding from federal authorities. The federal authorities have known that the group smuggles high grade marijuana and cocaine from Guanajuato, traveling up to the border and passing under secret tunnels. DEA agents have received tips saying the groups move up to 2 tons of high grade marijuana to a central hub in Atlanta, then up through I75 to Detroit where it is repackaged into small quantities and spread throughout the city. The money is never tracked because no bank accounts are used. This group is known to have military style weapons obtained from their cartel connections in the United States and Mexico. They show off their luxury life on social networks but the authorities don't have any evidence to arrest the two cousins or other known associates.

Knights Templar

The alleged death of Nazario Moreno González on December 9, 2010, led to a split among cartel leaders José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, Enrique Plancarte Solís, and Servando Gómez Martínez. This led the former leaders of La Familia Michoacana, Plancarte and Gomez, to form the Knights Templar cartel,[21] while Jesús Méndez kept the leadership of the formerly disbanded La Familia Michoacana.

End of activity

By May 2020, all 39 non-Jalisco New Generation cartels operating in Guerrero were splinter cartels.[64] In June 2020, it was reported that the Cartel del Abuelo and Los Viagras, as well as to a lesser extent the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, were the active cartels in Michoacán.[65] Criminal activity in the State of Mexico was also now only contested by Los Rojos, dissidents from the Beltrán Leyva Organization, splinter groups from La Familia Michoacana and criminal gangs from Mexico City.[65]

See also

References

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April 16, 2023
familia, michoacana, this, article, needs, updated, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, april, 2020, english, michoacán, family, familia, english, family, mexican, drug, cartel, organized, crime, syndica. This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information April 2020 La Familia Michoacana English The Michoacan Family La Familia English The Family or LFM 3 4 is a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate based in the Mexican state of Michoacan They are known to produce large amounts of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories in Michoacan 5 Formerly allied to the Gulf Cartel as part of Los Zetas 6 7 it split off in 2006 6 8 The cartel was founded by Carlos Rosales Mendoza a close associate of Osiel Cardenas The second leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez known as El Mas Loco English The Craziest One 9 preached his organization s divine right to eliminate enemies He carried a bible of his own sayings and insisted that his army of traffickers and hitmen avoid using the narcotics they produce and sell 10 11 Nazario Moreno s partners were Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas Servando Gomez Martinez and Enrique Plancarte Solis each of whom has a bounty of 2 million for his capture 12 and were contesting the control of the organization 13 La Familia Michoacana Cartel Area of influence of La Familia MichoacanaFounded1980sFounded byCarlos Rosales MendozaFounding locationLa Piedad Michoacan MexicoYears active1980s presentTerritoryMexico Michoacan Edomex Guerrero United States California Nevada Arizona New Mexico Texas Michigan Oregon Washington Kentucky Illinois Ohio IndianaEthnicityMexicanLeader s Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga Jose Alfredo Hurtado OlascoagaCriminal activitiesDrug trafficking people smuggling money laundering racketeering extortion kidnapping murder arms trafficking assault counterfeiting 1 AlliesSinaloa CartelMenace of DestructionMara Salvatrucha 2 RivalsBeltran Leyva CartelLos TequilerosGuerrero s UnidosKnights Templar CartelJuarez CartelJalisco New Generation CartelTijuana CartelLos Zetas Since 2004 Los ViagrasRural Defense ForceLa Nueva Familia Michoacana OrganizationIn July 2009 and November 2010 La Familia Michoacana offered to retreat and even disband their cartel with the condition that both the Federal Government and State and Federal Police commit to safeguarding the security of the state of Michoacan 14 However President Felipe Calderon s government refused to strike a deal with the cartel and rejected their calls for dialogue According to federal and state sources La Familia Michoacana has been increasingly involved in Michoacan s politics impelling their favorite candidates financing their campaigns and forcing other parties to renounce their candidacies 15 16 As of 2011 La Familia Michoacana still exists mostly active in Estado de Mexico 17 18 despite the killing of its founder and leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez 13 19 20 Several leaders split off after his death to form the Knights Templar 21 Contents 1 History 1 1 References to religion 1 2 Alliances 2 Operations 2 1 Project Coronado 2 2 Project Delirium 2 3 The Interstate 75 Connection 2 4 Knights Templar 3 End of activity 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory EditMexican analysts believe that La Familia formed in the 1980s with the stated purpose of bringing order to Michoacan emphasizing help and protection for the poor 22 In its initial incarnation La Familia formed as a group of vigilantes spurred to power to counter interloping kidnappers and drug dealers who were their stated enemies 22 Since then La Familia has capitalized on its reputation building its myth power and reach to transition into a criminal gang itself La Familia came to the foreground in the 1990s as the Gulf Cartel s paramilitary group designed to seize control of the illegal drug trade in Michoacan state from rival drug cartels While it initially trained with Los Zetas 23 in 2006 the group splintered off into an independent drug trafficking operation La Familia has a strong rivalry with both Los Zetas and the Beltran Leyva Cartel but strong ties with the Sinaloa Cartel of Joaquin Guzman La Familia Michoacana was one of the strongest and fastest growing cartels in Mexico 24 After the death of Nazario Moreno Gonzalez Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas El Chango Mendez took control of the cartel 13 However his authority was disputed by the cartel co founders Enrique Plancarte Solis and Servando Gomez Martinez La Tuta 19 who formed an offshoot of La Familia calling itself Caballeros Templarios Knights Templar 13 19 20 Mendez Vargas was captured on June 21 2011 by Mexican police in the state of Aguascalientes 25 The Mexican Federal Police declared that the cartel has been disbanded 17 18 However the organization continued to exercise its power and influence throughout Michoacan and Guerrero states In 2017 former La Familia leader Arnoldo Rueda Medina who was arrested in Mexico in 2009 was extradited to the United States and sentenced to 45 years in prison in 2018 after being convicted on drug trafficking charges 26 References to religion Edit La Familia cartel is sometimes described as quasi religious since its leaders Moreno Gonzalez and Mendez Vargas refer to their assassinations and beheadings as divine justice 27 The cartel may have direct or indirect ties with devotees of the New Jerusalem religious movement which is noted for its concern for justice issues 28 29 30 31 32 33 La Familia s boss and spiritual leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez a k a El Mas Loco or The Craziest One published his own bible 27 34 and a copy seized by Mexican federal agents reveals an ideology that mixes evangelical style self help with insurgent peasant slogans Moreno Gonzalez who was killed on December 9 2010 35 36 seems to have based most of his doctrine on a work by Christian writer John Eldredge using his own understanding of the idea in Eldredge s message that every man must have a battle to fight a beauty to rescue and an adventure to live The Mexican justice department stated in a report that Gonzalez Moreno has made Eldredge s book Salvaje de Corazon Wild at Heart required reading for La Familia gang members and has paid rural teachers and National Development Education CONAFE to circulate Eldredge s writings throughout the Michoacan countryside 37 38 La Familia cartel emphasizes religion and family values during recruitment and has placed banners in areas of operations claiming that it does not tolerate substance abuse or exploitation of women and children According to Mexico Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna it recruits members from drug rehabilitation clinics by helping addicts recover and then forcing them into service for the drug cartel or be killed 39 Advancement within the organization depends as much on regular attendance at prayer meetings as on target practice 10 The cartel gives loans to farmers businesses schools and churches 40 and it advertises its benevolence in local newspapers in order to gain social support 38 On July 16 2009 Servando Gomez Martinez La Tuta the cartel operations chief contacted a local radio station and stated La Familia was created to look after the interests of our people and our family We are a necessary evil When asked what La Familia really wanted Gomez replied The only thing we want is peace and tranquility President Felipe Calderon s government refuses to strike a deal with the cartel and rejected their calls for dialogue 41 42 On April 20 2009 about 400 Federal Police agents raided a christening party for a baby born to a cartel member 43 44 Among the 44 detained was Rafael Cedeno Hernandez El Cede the gang s second in command and in charge of indoctrinating the new recruits in the cartel s religious values morals and ethics Alliances Edit In February 2010 the major cartels aligned in two factions One was made up of the Juarez Cartel Tijuana Cartel Los Zetas and the Beltran Leyva Cartel The other faction was made up of the Gulf Cartel Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana 45 La Familia Michoacana became a rival of its splinter group Knights Templar 20 Mexican Attorney General PGR reported that La Familia Cartel was exterminated by 2011 46 Operations EditLa Familia has been known to be unusually violent 39 Its members use murder and torture to quash rivals while building a social base in the Mexican state of Michoacan It once was the fastest growing cartel in the country s drug war and is a religious cult like group that celebrates family values 10 47 In one incident in Uruapan in 2006 the cartel members tossed five severed heads onto the dance floor of the Sol y Sombra night club along with a message that read The Family doesn t kill for money It doesn t kill women It doesn t kill innocent people only those who deserve to die Know that this is divine justice 48 Like other cartels La Familia used the port city of Lazaro Cardenas Michoacan to import narcotics from Peru and Colombia They also produced large amounts of methamphetamine along the highlands of the Sierra Madre 49 The cartel has moved from smuggling and selling drugs and turned itself into a much more ambitious criminal organization which acts as a parallel state in much of Michoacan It extorts taxes from businesses pays for community projects controls petty crime and settles some local disputes 50 Despite its short history it has emerged as Mexico s largest supplier of methamphetamines to the United States with supply channels running deep into the Midwestern United States and has increasingly become involved in the distribution of cocaine marijuana and other narcotics Michael Braun former DEA chief of operations states that it operates superlabs in Mexico capable of producing up to 100 pounds of meth in eight hours However according to DEA officials it claims to oppose the sale of drugs to Mexicans 39 It also sells unlicensed DVDs smuggles people to the United States and runs a debt collecting service by kidnapping defaulters Because oftentimes they use fake and sometimes original uniforms of several police agencies most of their kidnap victims are stopped under false pretenses of routine inspections or report of stolen vehicles and then taken hostage La Familia has also bought some local politicians 51 20 municipal officials have been murdered in Michoacan including two mayors Having established its authority it then names local police chiefs 52 In May 2009 the Mexican Federal Police detained 10 Michoacan mayors and 20 other local officials suspected of being associated with the cartel 51 On July 11 2009 a cartel lieutenant Arnoldo Rueda Medina was arrested La Familia members attacked the Federal Police station in Morelia to try to free Rueda shortly after his arrest During the attacks two soldiers and three federal policemen were killed 53 When that failed cartel members attacked Federal Police installations in at least a half dozen Michoacan cities in retribution 54 Three days later on July 14 2009 the cartel tortured and murdered twelve Mexican Federal Police agents and dumped their bodies along the side of a mountain highway along with a written message So that you come for another We will be waiting for you here 54 The federal agents were investigating crime in Michoacan state 55 President Calderon responded to the violence by dispatching additional 1 000 Federal Police officers to the area The infusion which more than tripled the number of Federal Police officers patrolling Michoacan angered Michoacan Governor Leonel Godoy Rangel who called it an occupation and said he had not been consulted Days later 10 municipal police officers were arrested in connection with the slayings of the 12 federal agents 54 The governor s half brother Julio Cesar Godoy Toscano who was elected July 5 2009 to the lower house of Congress was accused of being a top ranking member of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel and of providing political protection for the cartel 54 56 Based on these charges on December 14 2010 Godoy Toscano was impeached from the lower house of Congress and therefore lost his parliamentary immunity he fled and remains a fugitive President Calderon stated that the country s drug cartels had grown so powerful that they now posed a threat to the future of Mexican democracy His strategy of direct confrontation and law enforcement is not popular with some segments of Mexican society where battling violent drug gangs has brought out several human rights charges against the Mexican military 57 Project Coronado Edit Kilograms of cocaine seized Small part of US currency seized On October 22 2009 U S federal authorities announced the results of a four year investigation into the operations of La Familia Michoacana in the United States dubbed Project Coronado It was the largest U S raid ever against Mexican drug cartels operating in the U S 58 59 In 19 different states 303 individuals were taken into custody in a coordinated effort by local state and federal law enforcement over a two day period Seized during the arresting phase was over 62 kilograms 137 lb of cocaine 330 kilograms 730 lb of methamphetamine 440 kilograms 970 lb of marijuana 144 weapons 109 vehicles two clandestine drug laboratories and 3 4 million in U S currency 58 60 Since the start of Project Coronado the investigation has led to the arrest of more than 1 186 people and the seizure of approximately 33 million Overall almost 2 metric tons 2 2 short tons of cocaine 1 240 kilograms 2 730 lb of methamphetamine 13 kilograms 29 lb of heroin 7 430 kilograms 16 380 lb of marijuana 389 weapons 269 vehicles and the two drug labs were seized 58 Multi agency investigations such as Project Coronado were the key to disrupting the operations of complex criminal organizations like La Familia The investigative efforts in Project Coronado were coordinated by the multi agency Special Operations Division comprising agents and analysts from the DEA FBI U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Internal Revenue Service U S Customs and Border Protection U S Marshals Service and ATF as well as attorneys from the Criminal Division s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section More than 300 federal state local and foreign law enforcement agencies contributed investigative and prosecutorial resources to Project Coronado through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force 61 Project Delirium Edit In July 2011 the United States Department of Justice announced that a 20 month long operation known as Project Delirium had resulted in more than 221 arrests of La Familia cartel members in the United States along with significant seizures of cash cocaine heroin and methamphetamine Outside of the United States the operation resulted in the arrest of more than 1 900 members Cartel members were arrested across the United States and face charges in Alabama California Colorado Georgia Kansas Michigan Minnesota Missouri New Mexico North Carolina Tennessee Texas and Washington D C 62 This announcement came just a month after Mexican authorities announced the capture of cartel leader Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas 63 The Interstate 75 Connection Edit It has been known that La Familia has certain connections with the Flores Camargo cartel a small drug trafficking group that operates in Atlanta Flores Camargo moves large quantities of high grade marijuana and cocaine through the I 75 corridor for distribution in Detroit supplying the city and its outskirts and suburbs The local authorities haven t been able to dismantle this trafficking group because of its experience They have made several arrests but have never been able to locate Flores Camargo s heads It is known that two cousins originally from the Mexican state of Guanajuato run it but no photos or names have been obtained by authorities This shows how trafficking groups are becoming more cunning in hiding from federal authorities The federal authorities have known that the group smuggles high grade marijuana and cocaine from Guanajuato traveling up to the border and passing under secret tunnels DEA agents have received tips saying the groups move up to 2 tons of high grade marijuana to a central hub in Atlanta then up through I75 to Detroit where it is repackaged into small quantities and spread throughout the city The money is never tracked because no bank accounts are used This group is known to have military style weapons obtained from their cartel connections in the United States and Mexico They show off their luxury life on social networks but the authorities don t have any evidence to arrest the two cousins or other known associates Knights Templar Edit The alleged death of Nazario Moreno Gonzalez on December 9 2010 led to a split among cartel leaders Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas Enrique Plancarte Solis and Servando Gomez Martinez This led the former leaders of La Familia Michoacana Plancarte and Gomez to form the Knights Templar cartel 21 while Jesus Mendez kept the leadership of the formerly disbanded La Familia Michoacana End of activity EditBy May 2020 all 39 non Jalisco New Generation cartels operating in Guerrero were splinter cartels 64 In June 2020 it was reported that the Cartel del Abuelo and Los Viagras as well as to a lesser extent the Jalisco New Generation Cartel were the active cartels in Michoacan 65 Criminal activity in the State of Mexico was also now only contested by Los Rojos dissidents from the Beltran Leyva Organization splinter groups from La Familia Michoacana and criminal gangs from Mexico City 65 See also Edit Mexico portal Law portalList of Mexico s 37 most wanted drug lordsReferences Edit McCAUL MICHAEL T A Line in the Sand Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border PDF HOUSE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY Archived from the original PDF on September 11 2011 Retrieved October 12 2011 McEnroe Paul As ATF nominee U S Attorney Jones faces distrust from some agents judges prosecutors Star Tribune March 19 2013 Familia Michoacana March 27 2017 Detienen en Ecatepec a 6 de LFM La Policiaca Archived from the original on April 7 2012 Retrieved October 4 2011 La Familia Michoacana Fact Sheet Archived November 29 2010 at the Wayback Machine DEA a b La Familia un cartel que se volvio un Estado paralelo Mercosurnoticias com Archived from the original on July 21 2009 Retrieved May 20 2012 En el imperio de La Familia Michoacana Impre com Retrieved May 20 2012 Mexico offers 2m for drug lords BBC News March 24 2009 Retrieved May 20 2012 Fainaru Steve Booth William June 13 2009 A Mexican Cartel s Swift and Grisly Climb The Washington Post Retrieved May 20 2012 a b c Tuckman Jo July 5 2009 Teetotal Mexican drugs cartel claims divine right to push narcotics The Guardian London Retrieved August 14 2009 Ruiz Gustavo December 12 2010 Mexicans march in support of Craziest kingpin Boston com Associated Press Retrieved December 14 2010 Mexico offers 2 million for top drug lords El Paso Times March 23 2009 Archived from the original on November 23 2012 Retrieved August 15 2009 a b c d Preven arrecie lucha por lugar del Chayo en Michoacan Reforma in Spanish Terra May 29 2011 Archived from the original on June 1 2011 Retrieved May 29 2011 Ovemex La Familia Michoacana Retreats Offers to Disband Blog Borderland Beat Retrieved November 11 2010 Matan a alcalde mexicano antes de elecciones en su estado 3 November 2011 Fox News Latino November 3 2011 Retrieved November 7 2011 Los Caballeros Templarios responsables del asesinato del Alcalde Ricardo Guzman Noticias 40 November 5 2011 dead YouTube link a b Surgieron cuatro grupos del narco en 2011 el chapo es el mas poderoso Narcotrafico en Mexico in Spanish August 7 2011 Retrieved February 11 2012 a b Vega Aurora November 2 2011 Templarios dominan Michoacan donde habra elecciones el dia 13 Excelsior in Spanish Retrieved February 10 2012 a b c History of mexico vg www mexico vg Archived from the original on June 25 2011 a b c https www bbc co uk news world latin america 13586 dead link a b One capo falls others move in Mexico Unmasked Archived from the original on October 4 2015 Retrieved October 4 2015 a b John P Sullivan Samuel Logan August 17 2009 Mexico s Divine Justice International Relations and Security Network Retrieved August 20 2009 Cook Colleen W ed October 16 2007 Mexico s Drug Cartels PDF CRS Report for Congress Congressional Research Service p 11 retrieved August 9 2009 Mexico Arrests Important Familia Michoacana Boss Archived June 13 2012 at the Wayback Machine 2009 Latin American Herald Tribune Hernandez Rene Shoichet Catherine E June 21 2011 Top cartel leader captured CNN News Retrieved June 22 2011 La Familia Michoacan Drug Cartel Leader Sentenced to 43 Years in Federal Prison April 11 2018 a b Gibbs Stephen October 22 2009 Family values of Mexico drug gang BBC News Retrieved October 23 2009 Grayson George W February 19 2009 La Familia Another Deadly Mexican Syndicate RSD Reports Archived from the original on October 9 2011 Retrieved August 16 2009 Grayson George W La Familia Drug Cartel Implications for U S Mexican Security PDF Strategic Studies Institute Retrieved July 17 2012 La ideologia de La familia Lamafiamexicana blogspot com Retrieved June 30 2013 La Familia Michoacana Todosobrenarcotraficoenmexico blogspot com August 29 2010 Retrieved June 30 2013 Hola companeros hermanos de la Familia Michoacana Lafamiliamich foroactivo com Retrieved June 30 2013 El cartel de La Familia Michoacana esta dispuesto a desaparecer Archived February 22 2013 at archive today Suite101 net Grillo Loan July 24 2009 Mexico drug cartel with its own bible The UK Telegraph London Retrieved August 14 2009 Lange Jason December 10 2010 Mexican drug lord Moreno gunned down Reuters Retrieved December 10 2010 Cops Chief of La Familia Cartel Nazario Moreno Believed Dead After Shootout CBS News Reuters December 10 2010 Retrieved December 10 2010 Focus on the Family outreach Mexican drug decapitation cartel La Familia demand and preach James Eldredge s Muscular Christianity June 2009 Archived from the original on September 14 2009 Retrieved August 16 2009 a b La nueva fe de los narcos La Familia Salvajes de Corazon Milenio in Spanish Monterrey Mexico June 1 2009 Archived from the original on June 6 2009 a b c La Familia Cartel Targeted Police Arrest More Than 300 Across U S Associated Press October 22 2009 Retrieved January 1 2010 Por El Universal July 21 2009 El inmenso poder de la La Familia Michoacana Zocalo com mx Retrieved May 20 2012 Matthew Weaver and agencies July 16 2009 Mexican gang leader offers drug war truce The Guardian London Retrieved May 20 2012 Jo Tuckman in Mexico City and Ed Vulliamy July 19 2009 Cartel declares war on Mexican state The Guardian London Retrieved May 20 2012 Keeley Graham April 21 2009 Mexican police arrest 44 in baptism raid on drugs cartel The Times London Retrieved August 16 2009 Un bautizo termina con 44 presuntos narcos detenidos en el oeste de Mexico Noticieromexicano com Archived from the original on January 28 2016 Retrieved May 20 2012 Roebuck Jeremy March 9 2010 Violence the result of fractured arrangement between Zetas and Gulf Cartel authorities say The Brownsville Herald Archived from the original on March 13 2010 Retrieved October 23 2010 Vega Aurora August 7 2011 Surgen cuatro grupos del narco en 2011 El Chapo es el capo mas poderoso Excelsior in Spanish Retrieved August 7 2011 Cocaine cartel uses religion to control its killers The Irish Times July 7 2009 Retrieved May 20 2012 Grayson George W February 2009 La Familia Another Deadly Mexican Syndicate Foreign Policy Research Institute Archived from the original on September 3 2009 Knight Meribah July 31 2010 Families Fear Phone Call From Mexico s Cartels New York Times Retrieved June 29 2012 La Familia cobra impuestos en Michoacan El Universal in Spanish August 16 2009 Retrieved August 17 2009 a b Wilkinson Tracy May 31 2009 Mexico drug traffickers corrupt politics Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on June 12 2009 Retrieved May 20 2012 Mexico Taking On the Unholy Family The Economist July 23 2009 Retrieved May 20 2012 Mexican police Soldiers killed in multi city attacks by drug gang CNN July 11 2009 Retrieved May 20 2012 a b c d 10 Mexican police officers held in killings of 12 federal agents CNN News July 19 2009 Retrieved August 14 2009 Sara Miller Llana July 15 2009 Mexico s drug war Cartel kills 12 federal officers Csmonitor com Retrieved June 30 2013 2 Mexican politicians sought drug cartel link alleged CNN News July 15 2009 Retrieved August 14 2009 Whitford Ben December 15 2010 Mexico On the Brink The Guardian London Retrieved May 20 2012 a b c Richey Warren October 22 2009 US strikes at Mexican cartel s drug and gun trade The Christian Science Monitor Pilkington Ed October 23 2009 Crackdown on La Familia cartel leads to more than 300 arrests across US The Guardian London Finnegan William 2010 Silver or Lead The New Yorker No May 31 2010 Conde Nast pp 39 51 Retrieved July 10 2011 DEA Project Coronado Usdoj gov October 22 2009 Retrieved May 20 2012 Project Delirium Results in Nearly 2 000 Arrests During 20 Month Operation Seizures of More Than 12 Tons of Drugs and 62 Million in U S Currency Fbi gov Retrieved May 20 2012 Authorities arrest dozens in surgical strike against Mexican cartel CNN July 21 2011 Retrieved May 20 2012 La guerra cotidiana Guerrero y los retos a la paz en Mexico May 4 2020 a b Why the Jalisco Cartel Does Not Dominate Mexico s Criminal Landscape June 11 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title La Familia Michoacana amp oldid 1141996387, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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