“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is maintaining an offensive in western Michoacan, which has put the Michoacán can cartels led by Alfonso Fernandez Magallon, alias “Poncho La Quiringua”, and Luis Barragan Chavez, alias “Güicho el de Los Reyes”, on alert.
Since 2022, following the breakup of the CJNG with its armed wing “Pájaros Sierra,” western Michoacan has been plunged into a spiral of violence, with constant homicides and confrontations in the municipalities of Cotija, Jiquilpan, Jacona, Los Reyes and Sahuayo, and the entire strip that divides Jalisco and Michoacan.
The offensive has recently focused on Cotija, Jacona and Los Reyes, the latter a stronghold of the United Cartels and their bosses “Poncho La Quiringua” and “Güicho el de Los Reyes,” who flourished under the government of Silvano Aureoles Conejo.
This, together with state operations in conjunction with the Army to pacify the area in the face of constant clashes between cartels, have made the local bosses nervous.
Villagers interviewed by the national press have acknowledged that the local cartels had barricades to protect themselves from the CJNG incursion, but these were removed by the authorities.
“The government came in and removed all the people who were fighting, because it was a war zone, and the government just left, and then the CJNG came up,” said one of the residents interviewed.
This highlighted the fear that exists among Michoacan plaza bosses due to the advance of the CJNG, who are trying to pass themselves off as self-defense groups in order to maintain their control in the region.
