The seizures lead to nearly a dozen narco blockades in the area. Several areas were isolated for over 3 days. At least eight of the blockades were led by local Mayors who are members of the PRI, PRD, and Morena.
Producers of melons, mangos, and lemons complained that it was impossible for them to move their products. Classes were suspended. The towns were left without public transportation, as the drivers were forced to join the blockades. The same happened with carriers and merchants. People had to walk kilometers in search of food, according to local media reports.
Last Thursday there was a meeting of the Table for the Construction of Peace, in Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero. Eleven mayors from Tierra Caliente and the Northern Region decided not to attend the meeting. They alleged that they had been threatened by organized crime, specifically by the Los Tlacos group, through text messages.
The following day, the State Attorney General’s Office carried out a search of a Pungarabato warehouse. There, the agents found high-end vehicles including:
Chevrolet El Camino – $25,000-$50,000 & Unknown Sedan
Custom Hummer – $110,000
The trucks were yellow and red: the colors that distinguish the cars of José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, known as El Fresa.
The Hummer and luxury cars were black and white: the favorites of Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, who is nicknamed El Pez.
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From last October to date, more than 30 properties have been seized from the brothers, and some cell leaders of their group have been apprehended.
Mayor Led Blockades & Protests
Hours after the seizure against the leaders of La Familia Michoacana, blockades were unleashed in Pungarabato, Altamirano, Tlapehuala, Arcelia, Coyuca, Cutzamala, Tlalchapa, and Petatlán. The residents demanded the immediate departure of the agents. “They come to steal because they don’t have search warrants,” said the Mayor of Pungarabato, Cuauhtémoc Mastachi. The Mayor of Tlapehuala, José Luis Antúnez, accused the ministries of carrying out operations “arbitrarily.”
The blockades were joined by the Mayor of Arcelia, Bulmaro Torres; Mayte Arce, President of Cutzamala; and Eusebio Echeverría, Mayor of Coyuca as the Municipal Presidents of San Miguel Totolapan, Fredy Vázquez, and Tlalchapa, Tania Mora Eguiluz.
All of them took the lead in the mobilizations, with signs that accused “The Prosecutor’s Office is corrupt” and, as if to clear up any doubt, they clarified: “We are the people.” Also, the Mayors were joined by federal and local deputies, such as the PRD member Elzy Camacho, who accused the agents of carrying out “looting and raids without a search warrant.” The Secretary General of the Government, Ludwig Marcial Reynoso, denounced that the mobilization of carriers had been ordered by organized crime.
