It’s good to review what the cartels are doing from time to time because the news media will not do that and as a result, the American public remains largely ignorant.
Today, I thought that spotlighting a small cartel that you may never have heard about would be interesting. La Unión Tepito is such an organization/cartel/cult.
A couple weeks ago, on 22 October 2019 Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City (Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana de la Ciudad de México – SSC CDMX) of Mexico City, the Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de Justicia de la Ciudad de México – PGJ-CDMX), and the Secretariat of the Navy of Mexico (Secretaría de Marina – SEMAR) conducted counternarcotics operations in in the Bravo district of Tepito, Mexico City. This coordinated raid took place because La Unión Tepito apparently is not paying off the Federal Government of Mexico, which has a policy of hugging, not fighting with cartels. The sub rosa message is that if you pay, you’re hugged, if not, you’re mugged. (yeah, I’m a poet, how about that?)
Over 30 alleged members were arrested while the group’s leader Oscar Flores aka ‘el Lunares’ (“The Moles”) escaped on a motorcycle. Authorities discovered two laboratories used to produce synthetic drugs along with 50 kilos of chemicals used in drug production, which had been constructed inside of a tunnel complex under Mexico City. (link – in Spanish)
The tunnel system ran under several residences in the neighborhood using false walls, hidden latches, and custom created tunnels. 2.5 tons of marijuana, 20 kilos of cocaine and 4 kilos of methamphetamine were seized. 31 suspects were initially arrested, however, 27 of them were released 3 days later by a judge that alleged the security forces fabricated evidence. The normal assumption is that somebody got to the judge.
Two days following the raid authorities announced that there was evidence to suggest that 120 police officers were on the payroll of La Unión Tepito. Those numbers are typical for a smaller operation. Many Mexican police officers are paid off by more than one cartel, supplementing their miserably small salary.
The Mexican Navy (SEMAR) discovered a tunnel that connected one of the properties being searched to a warehouse on a nearby street. Half a million pesos, 5 hand grenades and over 13 automatic weapons were also discovered including the warhead from a rocket launcher.
In one of the residences agents discovered numerous religious shrines and altars. Many of these contained human remains and traces of blood. More than 55 skulls, dozens of bones, and an unidentified fetus of human or animal origin were discovered. The newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico reported that according to a statement by a witness the members of La Unión performed quote ‘satanic’ rituals every third day to have good fortune in their illegal activities in addition to being immune to bullets. (more here)
The skulls found in some of the ngangas were victims of murder by the gang. Another shrine at the scene features numerous images of folk saints frequently found among traffickers including Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde. Ritual homicides have been documented in the U.S. and Mexico involving the torture and sacrifice of victims to Santa Muerte.
Nasty bunch. Keep posting this stuff. I, for one, am very interested at what's going on.
So what is one to do? What you have done is one answer, but there is not enough room in this country or planet for all of us to do that. Is the answer: " If you can't beat them, join them "; or is it " to pass by on the other side of the road "? I guess that if you had a better answer, you would have shared it with us. Well, I'm old, I'll die in not too many years and then I won't have to think about this situation.
Paul L. Quandt
Senior officials of the Mexican Government asked me that question a few years ago and this is how I answered them:
US Citizens can't undertake the necessary culling because we'd be beat to death by our own for creating a humanitarian crisis. There is one group who could be hired to do the work – Russian mercenaries. They have the requisite cunning, the tradecraft, the ruthlessness, and have no burdensome 'duty to humanity'. Turn them loose to hunt and kill narcos with some Mexican oversight. Kill them all including their support infrastructure (mothers and grandmothers being key to the social family support that narco males find necessary). Then when you judge that the Russians have done it, kill them.
At the same time USGOV needs to harden the border and cull as they are able to do manage legally north of the border.
It would buy you a few years and the price of drugs would skyrocket, but the demand, such as it is, would have new narcos, new routes, and maybe new drugs.
I'll do what I can to keep you all informed.
What a lovely bunch of people. Whilst ever there’s a need for recreational drugs, and extra cash needed by bent coppers, so it will continue. Apparently, 80% of young people over here are passing on the vodka and cokes in favour of getting another kind of “ cokey “ or high on ket.
Ketamine is a particularly nasty drug. Lots of bad side effects. Most of it comes out of Red China.
Maybe if you encouraged vodka/tonic with half a lime squeezed – over ice, it could lure them back from the brink. (vodka and Coke sounds vile)
Just the kind of people you want to know… sigh
Evil religious practices used to justify anything is as old as humans. Seems the cartels have embraced it as an excuse for any activity. Do you see this as a reaction to Catholicism?
Where do the indigenous/minority populations in Mexico fit in with the cartels or are they on the outs?
Welcome to the jungle…..
"Then when you judge that the Russians have done it, kill them"
else they set up their own cartels.
When you have a catholic background with all it's "patron saints", you'll come up with a few of your own.
The crazy is always so close to the surface.
I don't grasp why so many people fail to understand that Civilization is the only way to keep the crazy from becoming the norm.
I mean, I understand the lure of the crazy. Part of the Human brain (mine, anyway – obviously others, judging by world history) thinks it would be awesome to be that. But it only works if you are the only one (or small group) doing it, and you can get away with it.
Once everyone is doing it, everything goes right to (literal) Hell, and the alternatives really only come down to Civilization, or everyone being crazed maniacs.
I like the amazing Golden Age of wealth luxury, comfort, and plenty much better.
-Kle.
Yeah
It depends where you stand, but many of the cartels prey on the locals. In other situations, it's a lot like Robin Hood where they help the poor. El Chapo used to help the poor and they still sing songs about him.
We live in a golden age, but I don't know how long it will last with enemies within and without that want it ended.
Makes for good novels, except the real part is worse than most people could dream up.
I don't think they so much want it ended as they want to be in control of it.
Every single move that the progs make to control it will end it.
Post and comments all interesting. Thank you, LL.
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