Dionisio Loya Plancarte

Dionisio Loya Plancarte (born 21 October 1955) is a Mexican drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Knights Templar Cartel, a quasi-religious criminal organization based in the state of Michoacán. He is the uncle of Enrique Plancarte Solís, another former high-ranking leader of the cartel. Since 2009, he was listed as one of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords, with a $30 million pesos (US$2.3 million) bounty for information leading to his capture. He was arrested by the Mexican Army in Morelia, Michoacán on 27 January 2014.

Dionisio Loya Plancarte
Born	(1955-10-21) 21 October 1955 (age 68) Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico
Other names	El Tío ('The Uncle')^[1]
Employer	Knights Templar Cartel
Criminal status	Captured
Relatives	Enrique Plancarte Solís (Nephew)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Loya and the second or maternal family name is Plancarte.

Criminal career

Dionisio Loya Plancarte was born on 21 October 1955 in Apatzingán, Michoacán, Mexico.^[2][3] During the 1980s, organized crime activities in the Mexican state of Michoacán were overseen by a group known as La Empresa, which was founded by Carlos Rosales Mendoza. By 2006, La Empresa was transformed into La Familia Michoacana following disagreements with the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas in Michoacán.^[4] Among the founders of the new cartel were Nazario Moreno González (alias "El Chayo"), Servando Gómez Martínez (alias "La Tuta"), Enrique Plancarte Solís (alias "La Chiva"), Arnoldo Rueda Medina (alias "La Minsa"), José de Jesús Méndez Vargas (alias "El Chango"), Loya Plancarte (alias "El Tío"), among others.^[5][6] Loya Plancarte is the uncle of Plancarte Solís.^[7] Unlike other traditional drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, La Familia Michoacana also posed as a vigilante and religious group. Its members were given "bibles" written by Moreno González with saying and conduct guidelines.^[8] At the same time, however, the cartel was responsible for shipping multi-ton shipments of narcotics to the United States from Mexico, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.^[9] During the 2000s, Loya Plancarte's organization was among the fastest growing criminal organizations in Mexico; besides drug trafficking, the cartel diversified its criminal agenda by controlling numerous "counterfeiting, extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, prostitution and car dealership" rings in Michoacán and its neighboring states.^[10][11] By mid-2009, La Familia had managed to establish a foothold in about 20 to 30 urban areas across the United States.^[11] While he was at large, the Mexican government listed Loya Plancarte in 2009 as one of country's 37 most-wanted drug lords, offering a $30 million pesos (US$2.3 million) bounty for information leading to his capture.^[12]

As a high-ranking lieutenant in La Familia Michoacana, Loya Plancarte coordinated the buying of narcotics, managed the cartel's finances, and took on the role of the organization's press figure and spokesperson. He managed the cartel's public relations and justified kidnappings and killings by stating that they were done to protect law-abiding citizens.^[13][14] In July 2009, he allegedly coordinated an attack that killed 12 Mexican federal police officers in Michoacán two days following the arrest of Arnoldo Rueda, one of La Familia Michoacana's leaders.^[15][16] In early 2010, La Familia Michaocana leaders formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel in opposition to Los Zetas, which had separated from their former allies, the Gulf Cartel.^[17] Los Zetas, on the other hand, joined forces with the Juárez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel, and the Beltrán Leyva Cartel.^[18] In December 2010, La Familia Michoacana's spiritual leader Moreno González was killed in a two-day shootout with the Mexican federal police in Michoacán.^[19] With his death, Loya Plancarte was placed as a top security priority by the Mexican government.^[20] The death of the leader led to an internal power struggle within La Familia Michoacana; Gómez Martínez, Planarte Solís, and Loya Plantarte left the criminal organization and formed the Knights Templar Cartel in 2011 to counter forces with Méndez Vargas, who remained in La Familia Michoacana.^[21][22]

In a gunfight between gunmen of the Knights Templar and soldiers of the Mexican Army, Loya Plancarte was reported dead on 15 March 2013.^[23]

Kingpin Act sanction

On 25 February 2010, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned Loya Plancarte under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with twenty-one other international criminals and ten foreign entities.^[24] The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.^[25]

Arrest

Loya Plancarte was arrested by the Mexican Army in Morelia, Michoacán on 27 January 2014.^[26] He was transferred to SEIDO, Mexico's organized crime investigatory agency, following his capture.^[27] On 29 January 2014, he was transferred by federal agents to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 (commonly referred to as "Altiplano"), a maximum security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico.^[28]

References

1. . El Universal (in Spanish). 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
2. Evans, Sandra E. (3 March 2010). "Federal Register: Vol. 75, No. 41" (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
3. "Templario se escondió en un clóset, SNSP". Terra Networks (in Spanish). 27 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
4. . CNNMéxico (in Spanish). 22 June 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
5. "2010: Sube violencia del narco". Zeta (in Spanish). 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
6. Rexton Kan 2012, p. 43.
7. . Univision (in Spanish). 1 June 2012. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
8. Booth, William (13 June 2009). . The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
9. . United States Department of Justice. October 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
10. Benson, Rodney G. (4 October 2011). "Is Merida Antiquated? Part Two: Updating US Policy to Counter Threats of Insurgency and Narco-Terrorism" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. p. 6. (PDF) from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
11. Wilkinson, Tracy (31 March 2009). . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
12. Olson, Alexandra (23 March 2009). "Mexico offers $2 million for top drug lords". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
13. Grayson, George W. (February 2009). . Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
14. Gómez, Francisco (12 December 2010). . El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
15. "Mexican police, soldiers killed in multicity attacks by drug gang". CNN. Time Warner Company. 12 July 2009. from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
16. "A 'El Tío' lo habían dado por muerto en 2013". Milenio (in Spanish). 27 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
17. "Mexican Drug Cartels". NPR. 19 March 2010. from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
18. Logan, Samuel (7 April 2010). . International Relations and Security Network. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
19. Grillo, Ioan (18 June 2012). . MSNBC. Reuters. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
20. Torres, Rubén (12 December 2010). "El Tío José, el líder real de La Familia". El Economista (in Spanish). from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
21. Morales, Alberto (22 June 2011). "Cae jefe de cártel de La Familia". El Universal (in Spanish). from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
22. . La Opinión (in Spanish). 19 December 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
23. "Abaten a "El Tío", uno de los líderes de Los Caballeros Templarios". Proceso (in Spanish). 15 March 2013. from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
24. (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 15 May 2014. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
25. (PDF). United States Department of the Treasury. 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
26. Aguiar, Rodrigo (27 January 2014). "Fuerzas federales detienen al líder 'templario' Dionicio Loya Plancarte". CNNMéxico (in Spanish). Turner Broadcasting System. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
27. "Dionisio Loya Plancarte continúa declarando en la SEIDO". Noticieros Televisa (in Spanish). 29 January 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
28. Mosso, Rubén (29 January 2014). "Va 'El Tío' a penal del Altiplano". Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2014.

Bibliography

• Rexton Kan, Paul (2012). Cartels at War: Mexico's Drug-Fueled Violence and the Threat to U. S. National Security. Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1597977074.