Son of 'El Chango Méndez' Captured In Apatzingán

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Morelia, Michoacán— Jesús Méndez also known as El Chuchín, son of El Chango Méndez, is one of the 44 arrested in Apatzingán from the shootout that occurred on January 6, because of the removal of the mayor, which left nine dead.  During the investigations carried out by the Mexican Army to confirm the identities of those involved, they identified someone who had identified himself as Juan Mendoza Rosales; discovering that it was one of the sons of El Chango Méndez, founder of La Familia Michoacana.

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He Denied Their Existence; Eight Months Later, Fausto Vallejo Wants Dialogue

By: Záyin Dáleth Villavicencio

After eight months with the emergence of the community guards in Michoacán, the governor, Fausto Vallejo Figueroa, anticipates that amid the critical situation that occurs throughout the state, he will finally talk with the leaders of the self-defense groups that maintain their presence in at least six municipalities in the state.

This occurs just after the violent weekend that the state suffered through, with the attempt to uprise a new self-defense group in the municipality of Apatzingán on Saturday October 26, when about 3,000 demonstrators were attacked in front of the town hall in the presence of the Mexican Army.

However, since the emergence of the first armed civil groups in the municipalities of Tepalcatepec and Buenavista on February 24, the state government not only denied the existence of the groups, but was also responsible for minimizing the situation in the region of Tierra Caliente.

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Electrical substations, Gas stations attacked in Michoacan and Morelia, also Water Facility and Wells Damaged in Morelia

Borderland Beat

Assailants early Sunday blew up at least twelve electrical power plants in Michoacan in one of Mexico's most troubled states, triggering blackouts that gunmen then used as cover to torch gasoline stations, residents and authorities said.

The attacks in Michoacan state, west of the capital, did not cause deaths or serious injuries, authorities said. But they served as a pointed reminder of the strength of drug gangs and other criminals.

Shortly after midnight, attackers armed with Molotov cocktails almost simultaneously disabled electrical substations in at least twelve cities and towns in Michoacan, plunging an estimated 1 million people into darkness. The power was out for 15 -18 hours.

CFE in Sahuayo

CFE in Sahuayo

Simultaneously, groups attacked four gas stations in Morelia, one in Apatzingán and another in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, again without any injuries.

Gunmen then torched four gasoline stations, and two in the state capital of Morelia, a popular tourist destination. a pump was burned down in Francisco I. Madero de Apatzingán Avenue and another on the Morelia-Uruapan Highway, 10 kilometers from Patzcuaro, where there was also damage to a convenience store.

The delegation of the Attorney General's Office (PGR) reported that a damage was detected 18 electrical substations, 6 gas station Michoacan and Morelia, as well as there were water facility attacks in Morelia. The mechanical, electrical, operating system for the treatment of drinking water was damaged at the Mintzita Spring. At the Morelia in Salamanca, Guanajuato, where an important plant  is located, the aggressors didn't detonate bombs against any mechanism, but more than 100 petrol bombs were found at the scene.

Along with the attacks to on the CFE electrical plants, the attacks affected the operation of 14 wells in Morelia. There was damage to the water treatment plant of La Mintzita, which supplies water to 35 per cent of the population,  This led to several colonias not receiving water on Sunday, said a  water, and sanitation and sewerage official. Augusto Arriaga Caire, director of water utility and waste water(OOAPAS) reported that after the power outage in 14 wells and Mintizita treatment plant for a period of 16 hours, energy was restored at 18:00 hours on Sunday, and immediately began trial assessment  investigation including computer synchronization, in order restart and restore water service in the city of Morelia.

Michoacan for years has been controlled either by the Knights Templar or its predecessor La Familia Michoacan cartels that specialize in methamphetamine distribution to the United States and have controlled many city halls and police departments. 

More recently, groups of citizens have taken up weapons forming self defense groups to protect communities from CT infiltration and domination.

MILENIO consulted state and federal sources who estimated 420, 000 people were left without electric power for about 18 hours, up to seven in the evening. The service in some affected areas was restored 95 percent.The assaulted CFE electric substations are located in Morelia, Apatzingán, Zamora, La Piedad, Ciudad Hidalgo, Uruapan, Sahuayo Tarímbaro, Zinapécuaro, Queréndaro, Tuxpan and Aguililla.

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Ex-State Secretary General PAN Killed in Apatzingán

Borderland Beat

Police sources at the Michoacan State Attorney General, confirmed  Wednesday morning, they found the body of Octavio Contreras, who formerly worked  with Federal Consumer Protection in Michoacan and former also as the secretary general of the PAN.

The victim was found at the gates of City Hall, in the heart of the city of Apatzingán.  , Passers-by the gates alerted authorities to the discovery of a deceased person in the early hours of Wednesday.

Octavio Contreras, originally from Apatzingán, was a successful entrepreneur who was involved in the sale of wooden furniture.

PAN lashes authorities strongly to curb impunity after murder of Octavio Contreras
PAN state leadership condemned the act and made a strong appeal to federal and state authorities, those supposedly responsible for providing security, to seek justice for the action to achieve an end to the impunity for the wave of violence and insecurity that plagues the region Tierra Caliente and the rest of Michoacan.

PAN is appalled, disgusted and has become essentially incapacitated by such violence that has befallen the Michoacan victims. This clearly paints a picture of  the political institution, said Miguel Angel Chavez, PAN leader in the state of Michoåcan, referring to the kidnapping and subsequent execution of Octavio Contreras in Apatzingán. 

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Narcomantas and Brochures litter Michoacan directed at the government

Borderland Beat

More Leaflets
More leaflets appeared in cities in Michoacan saying variations of the same thing as the banners mentioned in earlier ones, but Historias del Narco interpreted the mantas being from a group an actual group calling itself guerrilla who detected a full-fledged government plot to flood the area with criminals , more than just pointing to bad political strategies and taking advantage of impressionable people by deceiving them. No other paper had previously had that take. 

In Apatzingán a short narcofolleto read: "Friends, the Knights Templar are distributing this letter to Apatzingán, to make the people believe that they are good and the Community Police and the Government are bad, the good thing is that no one believes them and their lies."

The flyers delivered in Apatzingán in black and red, and concluded with: "No more killing, no more violence, Michoacan wants to live in peace and under rule of law! "
A group calling itself guerrilla  left twenty blankets in at least six municipalities in the state of Michoacan, which alleges a plot by the state government, in collaboration with the federal forces, to "import" criminals to that entity.

The messages appeared between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning in the cities of Lázaro Cárdenas, Apatzingán, Morelia, Zamora and La Piedad Jiquilpan:

"This is a federal government plot , marine, military, paramilitary want to put criminals in Michoacán state and get us," reads one of the blankets placed in the municipality of La Piedad.

"Michoacán is no longer for more experiments like those conducted Felipe Calderon Hinojosa," says another of the texts.

The leaflets delivered in Uruapan and Apatzingán are assumed to also be 'guerrilla': "We want to make clear that we are in guerrilla Michoacán thanks to poor government strategies, under the strategy of divide and conquer, same as what they used in Colombia with General Naranjo and is a government policy. "

In these writings-that explicitly assign the blame toself-defense groups of the entity for the deaths in the Tierra Caliente region "for their ill-founded actions", in addition , they say, the Navy, the Army and the Federal Police support "members of a cartel (Jalisco), which only caused deaths and kidnappings in Michoacan."

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