LA FAMILIA: ANOTHER DEADLY MEXICAN SYNDICATE-George W. Grayson

LA FAMILIA: ANOTHER DEADLY MEXICAN SYNDICATE


by George W. Grayson


The death toll related to narco-trafficking in Mexico morethan doubled last year, from 2,275 in 2007 to 5,207 in2008.[1] An increasingly important contributor to thisghastly mayhem is the shadowy Michoacana family, or LaFamilia. Its center of operations is the Pacific Coast stateof Michoacan, home to trafficking routes and sophisticatedfactories for producing methamphetamine, as well as the portLazaro Cardenas, an open sesame for drug imports.
Although organized several years earlier, La Familia burstinto the limelight on September 6, 2006, when 20 maskeddesperados stormed into scruffy Sol y Sombra night spot inUruapan, Michoacan, fired shots into the air, ran up to thesecond floor from where they tossed five human heads ontothe black and white dance floor.
They left behind a message, written on cardboard: "Thefamily doesn't kill for money. It doesn't kill women. Itdoesn't kill innocent people, only those who deserve to die.Know that this is divine justice."
Club owner Carlos Alvarez nervously defended the assailants."These men didn't come here to hurt anyone, they workagainst bad people, those men whose heads they cut were likebugs," reported National Public Radio.
Victor Alejandro, the owner of a small shop across the roadfrom the dance hall, says he's afraid to be seen talking toa stranger. "There are informants everywhere," he says.
The day before, the killers had seized their victims from amechanic's shop and hacked off their heads with bowie kniveswhile the men writhed in pain. "You don't do something likethat unless you want to send a big message," said a U.S. lawenforcement official.[2]
A similar self-righteous message appeared at the foot of ablack cross in Apatzingan, in the heart of the TierraCaliente, which embraces 32 municipalities at theintersection of Michoacan, Guerrero, and Mexico State. Inthis highly productive zone, La Familia, Los Zetasparamilitaries linked to the powerful Tamaulipas-based GulfCartel, and the local Milenio Cartel of the Valencia familyengage in bloody warfare for control of growing areas andtransit routes.
In addition, Michoacan finds the several criminalorganizations fighting for the cocaine and precursorchemicals for methamphetamine that arrive through LazaroCardenas, the state's largest port, or through nearby entrypoints. This was the gateway for multimillionaire Chinese-Mexican Zhenli Ye Gon, who is now under arrest in the U.S.,to import chemicals for the meth production in the super-laboratories throughout the state. The port of LazaroCardenas' importance lies in its strategic location: Half ofMexico's population lives within 186 miles of this coastalcity.
ORIGINSVarious currents have fed into the heterogeneousorganization, which emerged in 2004with the stated "mission"of eradicating trafficking in meth, or "ice," and othernarcotics, kidnappings, extortion, murder-for-hire, highwayassaults, and robberies, according to one of its founders,Nazario "The Craziest One" Moreno Gonzalez.[3] La Familiamay have begun as vigilantes determined to thwart themanufacture and transport of meth by the Michoacan-basedMilenio Cartel, a stalwart ally of Joaquin "Shorty" or "TheUncle" Guzman Loera and his Sinaloa Cartel, the majorcompetitor to his Gulf counterparts.
There is also the possibility that they sprang to life toprevent Los Zetas from entering their bailiwick. Narco-criminal Carlos Rosales Mendoza, formerly a member of thelocal Milenio cartel, switched his loyalty to the GulfCartel. In response to his new ally's request, Gulf bossOsiel Cardenas Guillen dispatched Los Zetas led by EfrainTeodoro Torres or "Zeta 14" and Gustavo "The Erotic One"Gonzalez Castro, to help Rosales Mendoza protect his plazaat La Union, a municipality in Guerrero near Petacalco andLazaro Cardenas on the Pacific Coast. Another Gulf Cartelaccomplice was Carlos Pinto Rodriguez, a native of Huerta deGambara in the Tierra Caliente. Pinto Rodriguez became evenmore violent after his son died in a shoot-out. AfterRosales Mendoza participated in an unsuccessful attempt tofree Cardenas Guillen from La Palma high-security prison,the Army captured him at his attractive residence in theColonia Lomas de Santa Maria, Morelia, on October 24, 2004.EsMas and Reforma reported that Rosales Mendoza offered ahuge bribe if his captors would release him.
In reaction to Los Zetas' incursion, Juan Jose "TheGrandfather" Farias, leader of the local Rural Guards, auniformed Mexican army auxiliary linked to the 43rd MilitaryZone in Apatzingan, took the offensive. He sought to expelthe intruders from his region as if he were an agent of theFrench Resistance fighting the Nazis. Meanwhile, he wassuspected of being a major narco-trafficker in the region.He is believed to have worked with Ruben Oseguera Cervantes,also called Nemesio, who is the cousin of Abigail and JoseMendoza Valencia, relatives of Armando Valencia Cornelio,the chief of the Milenio Cartel until his imprisonment in LaPalma.[4] In retaliation for Farias' opposition, Los Zetasdecapitated cheese-maker Raul Farias Alejandres, a relativeof The Grandfather, on September 4, 2006. A note next to thecorpse warned: "One by one you go falling. Greetings. LaFamilia sends its regards." Four more beheadings followed.
The Grandfather, the intrepid Zeta fighter who ownsrestaurants, hotels, and orchards, has disappeared, perhapsbecause the Attorney General's Office (PGR) is investigatinghis possible connections Ye Gon. He and his followers areallied with the Valencias and the Sinaloa Cartel.
In 2007, Uriel Farias Alvarez, The Grandfather's brother anda PRI stalwart, won a landslide victory for the mayorship ofTepalcatepec, which, along with Aguililla, Apatzingan, andBuenavista Tomatlan, lies in a drug-smuggling corridor thatconnects the Tierra Caliente with Jalisco. He pooh-poohs theidea that he or his relatives have ties to the underworld:"My brother only kept a lookout on orders of the Army. Andas a result they said he was a narco."[5]
HOW LA FAMILIA DESCRIBES ITS GOALSHandwritten, poorly-spelled, enigmatic missives showed upnext to the decapitated heads in Uruapan as part of itsintense propaganda campaign designed to intimidate bothfoes, terrorize the local population, and inhibit action bythe government. Like Los Zetas, La Familia disseminates newsof its deeds nationally by conventional media as well as byinternet videos and carefully placed banners.
On the heels of the Uruapan atrocity, La Familia took out ahalf-page advertisement in newspapers claiming to be crime-fighters. El Sol of Morelia and La Voz de Michoacan both ranthe group's manifesto. Such expressions of civic virtueaside, 18 of 32 police officers in the Tepalcatepec arearesigned after receiving death threats from La Familia,while local newspapers exercise self-censorship concerningthe sinister band.
On August 18, 2006, the organization decapitated JesusRodriguez Valencia, a member of the Milenio Cartel, placingthe following message next to his cadaver: "All that risesfalls of its own weight, it would be like this, the familygreets you." Three months later, the police discovered twobodies on the Zamora-La Barca highway, next to which was anote that said: "For those who sell ice. This is divinejustice. Sincerely, La Familia." "Divine justice. No to themeth makers, La Familia," was the text discovered alongsidea body found on the Jacona-Los Reyes highway. The messageappeared on a green card, reflecting the color that LaFamilia uses on its emblems, placards, and communications.
In all, authorities attributed 17 decapitations to LaFamilia in 2006 alone. Between the murder of RodriguezValencia that August and December 31, 2008, La Familiakilled scores, if not hundreds, of people. There were 233executions in Michoacan, most of whose victims belonged toone criminal band or another.
What may have begun as a small group of armed men on theprowl to protect their children from meth has turned into amajor criminal outfit that is just as well-armed andorganized as any top-tier drug smuggling organization inMexico. The Attorney General's Office claims that elementsof organization not only sell narcotics in many of themunicipalities of their home state, but also seek todominate the distribution route to the U.S. border thatsnakes through territory traditionally in the hands of theSinaloa cartel. To this end, they have established safehouses as refuges for their traffickers at strategic pointsalong the route northward. While originating in Michoacan,La Familia has extended its activities to Mexico State,where it controls or has conducted operations in numerousmunicipalities.
SPREADING CONFLICTLa Familia has corrupted and or intimidated law-enforcementpersonnel. In August 2008, a drug distributor in the Vallede Toluca accused Jose Manzur Ocana, the well-connectedformer PGR delegate in the state, of providing protection toLos Zetas and La Familia. Although placed in a witness-protection program, the informant was among those executedin the La Marquesa bloodbath discussed below.
In early November 2008, 100 local police in Chalco, justoutside Mexico City, demanded the dismissal of their chief,Carlos Adulfo Palafox, whom they accused of having ties withLa Familia. Mexico State's Attorney General Alberto Bazbazalso cited Jesus Garcia Carrasco, commander of the state'sJudicial Police, as a possible collaborator after hereportedly received 70,000 pesos per month to provideinformation to La Familia.[6]
La Familia's rivals have struck back. In August 2008, threebodies, bearing grotesque torture marks and their hands andfeet tied, turned up in San Pablito in the Tultepecmunicipality. The "narco-message at the scene stated: "Allof the Michoacan Family will die, but I leave [these bodies]so that you believe me." In September 2008, enemies pumped18 bullets into the body of Jose Luis "El Jaguar" CarranzaGalvan, whom the PGR identified as a principal operator ofLa Familia.
La Familia has not made all police kowtow. After law-enforcement agents took into custody Miguel "The King"Carvajal in the Valle de Bravo in January 2008, theyreceived a telephone death threat if they "touched" theirprisoner. In a similar vein, El Rey told the police: "don'thit me [for] I come in the spirit of peace; my chiefs arenow in conversations with your commanders to strike a deal."Despite this bravado, the extortionist and hit man for LaFamilia remained behind bars.
In September 2008, in the Nicolas Romero municipalityauthorities captured Lazaro "The Indian" Bustos AbarcaNicolas Romero, who commanded a band of 20 kidnappers linkedto La Familia. Ten days later, the PGR reported the murderof 24 people in La Marquesa park in Mexico State. Officialshypothesized that the murders arose from a clash between LaFamilia and the Beltran Leyva brothers over control ofHuixquilucan, a strategic plaza for drug shipments. In mid-November, the federal police took into custody Pedro JaimeChavez Rosales, former director of public safety for themunicipality, who was believed to be involved in themultiple executions.
In Mexico City, on July 31, 2008, a body was found in thetrunk of a Chevrolet Corsa parked in the capital's southernborough of Coyoacan. A note attached to the corpse said:"For not paying. Sincerely, La Familia."[7] The westernboroughs of Miguel Hidalgo and Cuajimalpa also have become azone for money-laundering and drug transit, exciting araging conflict among Colombian traffickers, Los Zetas, andLa Familia. The competitors dispatch their foes with high-powered weapons, decapitations, and asphyxiation withplastic bags. Next to three bodies discovered in September2008 lay the message: "I was victim of a kidnapping by thosewho call themselves La Familia Michoacana; thus, I amcarrying out justice by my own hand."
SEPTEMBER 2008 GRENADE ATTACK IN MORELIAThe PGR initially accused La Familia of carrying out theSeptember 15, 2008, grenade attack in Morelia's MelchorOcampo plaza. Authorities advanced the theory that thefanatical band sought to attract a greater contingent offederal police and military to the state in order to thwartLos Zetas from consolidating their trafficking routes. Inresponse to such allegations, the organization immediatelyrevved up its public relations apparatus. It dispatched atext message to local reporters and residents denyingparticipation in the tragedy and placing the blame on LosZetas, which responded with its own communiques in the formof banners unfurled in prominent spots in Puebla, Reynosa,Cancun, Oaxaca, and Nuevo Laredo. It offered a $5 millionreward in dollars, Euros, or another currency to anyone whocould help capture members of La Familia, which it allegedproduced the mayhem: "The Gulf cartel energetically condemnsthe September 15 attack against the Mexican people. We offerour aid for the arrest of the leaders who call themselves'La Familia'."[8] The narco-banners specifically mentionedsuch chiefs as Moreno Gonzalez, Jesus "El Chango" MendezVargas, and Enrique "El Kiki" Tlacaltepetl.[9]
The Gulf organization followed up this challenge by placinga red ice chest in the center of Lazaro Cardenas. The headof a member of its sworn enemies lay inside the container,next to which a green poster proclaimed: "Greetings Chayo,Rogaciano and Changa [reference to leaders of La Familia].This is for the collection of queers who support theterrorists of La Familia; we do not kill innocent people; wekill terrorists like this one _ We don't kidnap and we wantneither to work with you nor to have contact with you andthose you rely on _ Thanks for those who are supporting us.Sincerely: Gulf Cartel 100 percent."
Journalists for Proceso magazine reported that the policereceived an anonymous tip indicating the whereabouts of thealleged perpetrators of the violence. After meeting withmembers of La Familia near the Cuitzeo security barracks,authorities seized, blindfolded, handcuffed, and arrestedthree Zetas for the tragedy. Family members of the prisonersclaimed that they were subjected to physical andpsychological torture. In the words of a sister and wife:
"They asked him why he had thrown the grenades, which he denied. Later they tied his hands with packing tape and beat him with boards. He told us that later they dragged him to a river and left him there all night. He also says that they had him with his arms up all day, always blindfolded."
The newspaper Milenio has reported the appearance of LaFamilia in Guanajuato, where it emulates the Italian mafiaby controlling the small outlets that sell cocaine andmarijuana to individuals. When a local distributor refusedto cooperate, he was killed. In the past, Juan Jose "TheBlue One" (so called because of his bluish skin color)Esparragoza Moreno, an ally of El Chapo, controlledGuanajuato. In a negotiation between capos, El Azulrelinquished the plaza to La Familia, thus avoiding violentconfrontation. Dominance in Guanajuato helps La Familiaimpede its rivals' access to Michoacan.
ORGANIZATION AND RESOURCESJournalist Richard Ravelo asserts that the 4,000 members ofLa Familia were born and raised in Michoacan, that they earnbetween $1,500 and $2,000 per month, and that they are wellconnected with state and local officials. They reportedlyattend church regularly, carry Bibles, and distribute theGood Book in local government offices.[10] They claim toenjoy grassroots' support because they provide assistance tocampesinos, construct schools, donate books, prevent thesale of adulterated wine, and employ "extremely strongstrategies" to bring order to the Tierra Caliente.[11] Thus,they offered a contrast to the Milenio Cartel, which hasrecruited outsiders called Antizetas.
They acquire resources by selling protection to merchants,street vendors of contraband, hotels, local gangs, andsmall-scale drug sellers. Rather than speak in terms ofextortion, La Familia claims to "protect" its clients.[12]Members the organization wear uniforms, carry arms, anddrive vehicles similar to those of the Federal Agency ofInvestigation. This allows them greater freedom to movearound their areas of interest.[13] Still, leaders of thegroup have become so brazen that they have designed theirown outfits to mark their identity and distinguish theirmembers from adversaries.
Reports indicate the fragmentation of La Familia, whoseleadership-known as "Los Sierras"-holds sway in the TierraCaliente. These factions include:
* Los Historicos, who have links with Los Zetas;
* "Los Extorsionistas, composed of businessmen and growers who concentrate on extorting money from anyone from surgeons to municipal mayors;
* Los Cobradores de Deudas ("Debt Collectors"), who are allied with the Milenio and Sinaloa cartels and who traffic in meth; and
* An unnamed group that concentrates on selling pirated films and DVDs.[14]
La Familia's current leaders, Bible-toting fanatics MorenoGonzalez and Mendez Vargas, may have direct or indirect tieswith devotees of the New Jerusalem movement. Dionisio "TheUncle" Loya Plancarte, once a Zeta, now presents himself asthe spokesman for the organization. The 53-year-oldMichoacan native, who manages press and public relations forLa Familia, claims that through kidnappings and executionsthe cartel is ensuring "a peaceful climate for law-abidingcitizens." In addition, he cited as his organization'sprincipal targets "El Chapo Guzman and the Beltran Leyvabrothers because they were responsible for methamphetamineaddiction in Michoacan communities."[15]
In October 2008, authorities captured Wenceslao AlvarezAlvarez, an ally of La Familia who ran an internationaloperation out of Nueva Italia, a Michoacan municipalitywhere, ironically, in November 1938, President LazaroCardenas established the first communal farm, promising tomake it a model of progress for the nation. Like many othergrowers in the Tierra Caliente, Alvarez Alvarez producedavocados. He claims to have turned to narcotrafficking toavenge the 1999 kidnapping and murder of his father by avicious local gang, Los Arcila. Led by Jorge Alvarez Arcila,a local farmer, and Daniel Farias, the former warden of thePatzcuaro prison, these brigands enjoyed impunity as theycarried out a dozen kidnappings in the Tierra Calientebetween 1996 and 2000.
Alvarez Alvarez's cocaine network allegedly extended fromColombia through Guatemala and Mexico to Atlanta and otherU.S. cities. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration hasidentified him as a lieutenant of Miguel "El L-40" TrevinoMorales, a top figure in Los Zetas. Alvarez Alvarez calledthe charges against him "false," insisting that he was onlya grower of tomatoes, peppers, mangos, and other crops onland rented by his entire family.[16] In addition to hisunderworld exploits, he also has an interest in "LosMapaches" of Nueva Italia, a second-division soccer teamthat he purchased for 1 million pesos.
CONCLUSIONThe group known as La Familia bears similarities toColombia's United Self-Defense Forces (AUC), an amalgam ofrightwing vigilantes, rural self-defense militia, formermilitary and police personnel, who oppose anyone believed tobe supportive of the guerrillas belonging to the ColombianRevolutionary Armed Forces (FARC). The religious zeal of LaFamilia manifests itself in preference for executions overnegotiations. So strong is the organization that it hasgained a major beachhead in Michoacan, eclipsed Los Zetas inMexico state, crossed swords with the ruthless Beltran Leyvabrothers in Mexico state, and ousted a faction of theSinaloa cartel from Guanajuato. La Familia is extremelyvolatile because of its diverse components and bloodthirstyfanaticism. Mexico's heavily armed, vicious groups areincreasingly conducting operations north of the Rio Grande.Too long ignored by Washington, this threat from the Mexicancartels--and their Andean suppliers--must become a priorityof the Obama administration.
----------------------------------------------------------Notes
[1] "National Section," La Reforma, Jan. 6, 2009.
[2] James C. McKinley Jr., "Mexican Drug War Turns Barbaric,Grisly," New York Times, Oct. 26, 2006 www.nytimes.com.
[3] "Toma 'La Familia' ley en Michoacan," Reforma, November24, 2006.
[4] "La SIEDO ya investiga sobre los decapitados ynarcorrecados," MiMorelia.com, Aug. 22, 2008.
[5] Pablo C‚sar Carrillo, "Acusaci¢n de narco me da risa,"Excelsior, Nov. 13, 2007.
[6] "Seguridad," Terra, October 17, 2008.
[7] "La familia: Society's Saviours or Sociopaths,"http://cyanide257.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/La-Familia.
[8] "'Cartel del Golfo': recompense por captura de autoresde atentado en Morelia," Milenio.com, Oct. 4, 2008.
[9] Carlos Figueroa, "Aparecen narcomantas en dos estados;ofrecen recompensas por l¡deres de La Familia, La Jornada deOriente, Oct. 6, 2008.
[10] "La familia: Society's Saviours or Sociopaths."
[11] Luis Astorga, Seguridad, traficantes y militares(Mexico City: Tusquets Editorial, 2007): 190.
[12] "Mexico's Hydra," Security in Latin America,www.networkedintelligence.wordpress.com/tag./la-familia/>.
[13] "Dominar al pa¡s, plan de la Familia,"www.deyaboo.forumcommunity.net.
[14] "El Cartel La Familia, sospechose del narcoatentado enMichoacan, E-Consulta, Sept. 18, 2008.
[15] Alejandro Jimenez, "Atentados en Morelia Investiganligas entre alcald¡as y 'Familia'," El Universal, September19, 2008; and Sam Logan and Kate Kairies, "U.S. Drug HabitMigrates to Mexico," Americas Policy Program Special Report,February 7, 2007 www.americas.irc-online.org.
[16] "Entra 'Wencho' al narco en busca de revancha,"Reforma, Nov. 12, 2008.