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2011-01-02 Caribbean-Latin America
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La Familia may be nearing its end
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by Chris Covert
Just two weeks ago, Mexican president Felipe Calderon Hinojosa and his government were standing on what appeared to be a precipice of a lot of bad news.
La Familia de Michoacan, the drug cartel based in the west Mexican coast state of Michoacan, has just warned the federal government to leave Michoacan on pain of a guerrilla/terrorist war and Calderon's political rivals smelled blood in the water, heavily criticizing the federal government for such offenses as an uneven hand in dealing with drug crime amongst the various states.
A skinny man-child from Australia,
Julian Assange, released US state department secret cables which framed Calderon's government as lost and ineffective in its war against its own drug cartels, about 50 Central American illegal immigrants were kidnapped by Los Zetas in southern Mexico, and Guatemala was beginning its opening moves in dealing with Mexican drug criminals. Within Guatemala's borders a rather lightning speed declaration of a state of siege in its Alta Verapaz department was issued. Guatemala's move seemed to demonstrate how a strong government can quickly move to deal with its problems and achieve the kind of political consensus the Mexican government cannot or is unwilling to achieve.
What a difference three weeks, another bust and a new year can make.
Last Thursday one of the central figures in La Familia de Michoacan was arrested along with a number of associates, along with the usual amount of drug war contraband such as drugs and weapons.
Francisco Lopez Villanueva, alias El Bigotes, a former Los Zetas operative, was arrested along with four of his security team in the villages of La Mira and Guacamayas last Thursday. The operation, unlike the massive Policia Federal operation three weeks ago, had no shootouts. Mexican security forces used only a close cooperation among Policia Federal, the Mexican Army and Mexican Marines in surrounding the two villages where Lopez Villanueva was hiding.
The arrest was characterized as disruptive by Policia Federal spokesman, Luis Cardenas Palomino, who is head of the Division de Seguridad Regional for the Policia Federal, but subsequent information provided in the press conference and elsewhere could better describe the arrest as devastating to the drug cartel.
Three weeks ago a Policia Federal operation in Michoacan lasting more than 36 hours and spanning 5,000 square kilometers in Michoacan killed a leader of La Familia, Nazario Moreno Gonzolez, alias El Chayo. This killing forced a public reaction from the criminal gang that threatened a full scale guerrilla war if the Policia Federal and army troops did not leave Michoacan by December 24th. The warning was backed up by text aimed at ordinary citizens in Michoacan asking them to stay away from select public places and to cooperate with local drug criminals. The implication was that the guerrilla war could take on the form of terrorist attacks if Mexican Federal security forces did not leave Michoacan.
Yet, four days after the deadline the expected war failed to materialize. Reading from the Justicia section of the daily El Sol del Morelia, it was business as usual for the capital of Michoacan.
Instead came the federal response: the arrest of El Bigote and four of his security staff.
In the press conference Cardenas Palomino described a criminal organization reeling from the loss of one of its leaders, running out of cash and forced to do the things a common criminal gang would do to make the rent exclusive of the drug trade: extortion, kidnapping and armed robbery.
While details of the crimes committed since the death of Moreno Gonzalez to fund La Familia was not forthcoming what was revealed by Cardenas Palomino was the fact that the arrest of of Lopez Villanueva may well be a signature of the irreversible end of a criminal enterprise in Calderon's very home state.
As a practical matter, Cardenas Palomino said that only a few leaders are left to be arrested by Policia Federal. For example, its founder, and its main leader, Servando Gomez MartÃnez, alias La Tuta, is still at large.
Even so, the arrest of Lopez Villanueva is a significant break within the structure of the criminal organization that Cardenas Palomina called disjointed.
Elements of La Familia were having a hard time meeting payroll. López Villanueva was dangerous not just because of his alleged ties to Los Zetas and to Miguel Angel Treviño Morales alias Z40, a top Los Zetas operative who controls drug trade crossings in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas,. He also headed a group of 12 to 15 heavily armed associates which were used by Gomez Martinez as an enforcement arm of the cartel.
Lopez Villanueva allegedly also used the group for its other criminal enterprises in extortion and kidnapping.
According to information at the Policia Federal website, Lopez Villanueva's armed group was involving itself in crimes with the aim of paying its members, to include auto theft and armed robbery. While armed robbery is a time honored method of fund raising for leftist groups in Latin American, it is clearly no way for a drug cartel to make payroll. This group's activities go a long way to explaining why La Familia is not only unable to carry out its threat of terrorism, but also explains why the cartel is probably nearing its end.
Politically, the dissolution of La Familia has implications for upcoming state gubernatorial elections in 2011 in Mexico state, Guerrero, Michoacan, Nayarit and Baja California Sur, all west coast states, all near Michoacan and two bordering Michoacan.
The Partido Revolucionario Institutional (PRI) having won a tremendous string of state government elections in 2010 under the leadership of Beatriz Parades, is facing the 2011 elections with a new untested leader in Coahuila governor Ruben Moreria. Additionally with the probable dissolution of La Familia, PRI must now face up to the embarrassment of attacking Calderon's anti drug cartel strategy. It is hard to think Calderon and Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) won't turn that criticism against PRI should La Familia break up.
The same applies to the Partido Revolucion Democratica (PRD), especially with PRD national president Jesse Ortega's charge two weeks ago that Calderon used uneven methods in applying his forces against cartels in states other than Michoacan. The charge is arguably true, but the problem Ortega has is Michoacan operations have clear positive results for Mexico and Calderon.
Calderon has to move carefully in Michoacan, however. Michoacan is a PRD state, and elsewhere PAN is planning a number of alliances with PRD in 2011 elections. Michoacan's governorship may well be a bargaining chip, potentially for both sides with this victory in his war on the cartels.
Continued from Page 1
A skinny man-child from Australia,
Julian Assange, released US state department secret cables which framed Calderon's government as lost and ineffective in its war against its own drug cartels, about 50 Central American illegal immigrants were kidnapped by Los Zetas in southern Mexico, and Guatemala was beginning its opening moves in dealing with Mexican drug criminals. Within Guatemala's borders a rather lightning speed declaration of a state of siege in its Alta Verapaz department was issued. Guatemala's move seemed to demonstrate how a strong government can quickly move to deal with its problems and achieve the kind of political consensus the Mexican government cannot or is unwilling to achieve.
What a difference three weeks, another bust and a new year can make.
Last Thursday one of the central figures in La Familia de Michoacan was arrested along with a number of associates, along with the usual amount of drug war contraband such as drugs and weapons.
Francisco Lopez Villanueva, alias El Bigotes, a former Los Zetas operative, was arrested along with four of his security team in the villages of La Mira and Guacamayas last Thursday. The operation, unlike the massive Policia Federal operation three weeks ago, had no shootouts. Mexican security forces used only a close cooperation among Policia Federal, the Mexican Army and Mexican Marines in surrounding the two villages where Lopez Villanueva was hiding.
The arrest was characterized as disruptive by Policia Federal spokesman, Luis Cardenas Palomino, who is head of the Division de Seguridad Regional for the Policia Federal, but subsequent information provided in the press conference and elsewhere could better describe the arrest as devastating to the drug cartel.
Three weeks ago a Policia Federal operation in Michoacan lasting more than 36 hours and spanning 5,000 square kilometers in Michoacan killed a leader of La Familia, Nazario Moreno Gonzolez, alias El Chayo. This killing forced a public reaction from the criminal gang that threatened a full scale guerrilla war if the Policia Federal and army troops did not leave Michoacan by December 24th. The warning was backed up by text aimed at ordinary citizens in Michoacan asking them to stay away from select public places and to cooperate with local drug criminals. The implication was that the guerrilla war could take on the form of terrorist attacks if Mexican Federal security forces did not leave Michoacan.
Yet, four days after the deadline the expected war failed to materialize. Reading from the Justicia section of the daily El Sol del Morelia, it was business as usual for the capital of Michoacan.
Instead came the federal response: the arrest of El Bigote and four of his security staff.
In the press conference Cardenas Palomino described a criminal organization reeling from the loss of one of its leaders, running out of cash and forced to do the things a common criminal gang would do to make the rent exclusive of the drug trade: extortion, kidnapping and armed robbery.
While details of the crimes committed since the death of Moreno Gonzalez to fund La Familia was not forthcoming what was revealed by Cardenas Palomino was the fact that the arrest of of Lopez Villanueva may well be a signature of the irreversible end of a criminal enterprise in Calderon's very home state.
As a practical matter, Cardenas Palomino said that only a few leaders are left to be arrested by Policia Federal. For example, its founder, and its main leader, Servando Gomez MartÃnez, alias La Tuta, is still at large.
Even so, the arrest of Lopez Villanueva is a significant break within the structure of the criminal organization that Cardenas Palomina called disjointed.
Elements of La Familia were having a hard time meeting payroll. López Villanueva was dangerous not just because of his alleged ties to Los Zetas and to Miguel Angel Treviño Morales alias Z40, a top Los Zetas operative who controls drug trade crossings in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas,. He also headed a group of 12 to 15 heavily armed associates which were used by Gomez Martinez as an enforcement arm of the cartel.
Lopez Villanueva allegedly also used the group for its other criminal enterprises in extortion and kidnapping.
According to information at the Policia Federal website, Lopez Villanueva's armed group was involving itself in crimes with the aim of paying its members, to include auto theft and armed robbery. While armed robbery is a time honored method of fund raising for leftist groups in Latin American, it is clearly no way for a drug cartel to make payroll. This group's activities go a long way to explaining why La Familia is not only unable to carry out its threat of terrorism, but also explains why the cartel is probably nearing its end.
Politically, the dissolution of La Familia has implications for upcoming state gubernatorial elections in 2011 in Mexico state, Guerrero, Michoacan, Nayarit and Baja California Sur, all west coast states, all near Michoacan and two bordering Michoacan.
The Partido Revolucionario Institutional (PRI) having won a tremendous string of state government elections in 2010 under the leadership of Beatriz Parades, is facing the 2011 elections with a new untested leader in Coahuila governor Ruben Moreria. Additionally with the probable dissolution of La Familia, PRI must now face up to the embarrassment of attacking Calderon's anti drug cartel strategy. It is hard to think Calderon and Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) won't turn that criticism against PRI should La Familia break up.
The same applies to the Partido Revolucion Democratica (PRD), especially with PRD national president Jesse Ortega's charge two weeks ago that Calderon used uneven methods in applying his forces against cartels in states other than Michoacan. The charge is arguably true, but the problem Ortega has is Michoacan operations have clear positive results for Mexico and Calderon.
Calderon has to move carefully in Michoacan, however. Michoacan is a PRD state, and elsewhere PAN is planning a number of alliances with PRD in 2011 elections. Michoacan's governorship may well be a bargaining chip, potentially for both sides with this victory in his war on the cartels. 
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Posted by badanov 2011-01-02 00:00||
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Posted by Dale 2011-01-02 10:40||
2011-01-02 10:40||
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Posted by trailing wife 2011-01-02 13:38||
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Posted by Dale 2011-01-02 18:00||
2011-01-02 18:00||
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