Cartel de la Sierra Interferes In Tortilla Market, Mandates Low Prices In Iguala, Guerrero

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

The Cartel de la Sierra has made several attempts to regulate the market for tortillas over the last two years in Iguala, Guerrero. Most recently, last week, they announced through a barrage of narco messages posted around the city that they are lowering the price of tortillas in order to help out local consumers. 

Photo: Proceso

The messages read:

Starting the day of August 15, in order to support the families of Iguala, the price of

Kilo tortillas: 21 pesos

Kilo dough: 12 pesos

Kilo price for taco salesmen: 19 pesos

Sincerely, La Sierra

According to local news sources, about 60 of the handwritten messages were posted around the city at various tortilla stores. Proceso reported that the messages caused alarm among some merchants, who shuttered their businesses. These concerns are well founded; for the past several months, many chicken salesmen have been killed by organized crime in the nearby city of Chilpancingo, as reported by Borderland Beat. 

These auspicious narco messages occur when high inflation is hurting Mexican consumers, and food insecurity is on the rise. They attempt to establish the criminal group's reputation as a helper of the people, especially when the government has failed to alleviate the effects of economic downturn for many Mexicans.

Despite the reopening of the economy, food insecurity rates are higher now than during the peak of the Covid-19 lockdowns, according the ENSANUT, a government health poll. Part of this is caused by high rates of inflation, which are felt my Mexicans when buying food. In addition to this, organized crime has caused artificial shortages of key staple foods through the targeting of merchants for extortion. 

The Cartel de la Sierra, also known as Los Tlacos, is a violent, regional criminal group which operates primarily in the state of Guerrero, in southwest Mexico. They are embedded in the local extortion markets, especially in food staples.

Past Related Events

According to Proceso, this is not the first time the Cartel de la Sierra has interfered in the local tortilla market. In October of 2021, similar messages appeared at tortilla stores around the city. At this time, high inflation and pandemic lockdowns were affecting the economic well-being of many Mexicans.

Photos: Journalist Alejandro Ortiz

The messages from October 2021 read:

Actions not words, supporting the people starting today:

Kilo tortillas: 26 to 23 pesos

Kilo dough: 15 to 12 pesos

ZERO FEES AND EXTORTION!

Sincerely, La Sierra

Noventa Grados reported that months after that, in June of 2022, the same criminal group ordered tortilla shops to raise their prices, in order to make enough money to pay their extortion fees.

Sources: El Financiero, Proceso, Noventa Grados, Animal Politico, El Economista, ENSANUT Data

Read More

16 Year Old Killed In Guerrero As Extortion-Related Violence Of Chicken Sellers Continues

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

This morning around 7 a.m., a 16 year old chicken salesman was shot and killed in Chilpancingo, Guerrero. This killing is likely linked to extortion by violent criminal groups in the area.

The victim has been identified as José Eduardo N. He was driving a red Nissan pickup truck on Vicente Guerrero Boulevard of Colonia López Portillo when he was shot and killed. Photos of the event show his body sitting slumped in the drivers seat, struck and killed by gunfire.

According to Quadratin Guerrero, pistol caliber casings were found at the crime scene. There are no suspects yet.

In July, Milenio reported that the spate of killings of chicken salesmen in Chilpancingo was perpetrated by organized crime groups who extort them. The murders frightened the sellers so much that for days, local market stalls were empty, and people could not purchase chicken.

While the plight of the sellers no longer reaches headlines, criminal groups continue their violent oppression.

Sources: InfSinCensuraMX Twitter, Quadratin Guerrero, Milenio

Read More

Newspaper in Monterrey under extortion threat

Employees of El Norte news daily in Nuevo Leon state were threatened with "consequences" if the newspaper failed to pay MEX $3,000 a month in protection money, according to Mexican news accounts.

A Thursday news article featured in AnimalPolitico.com said that a truck driven by a distributor carrying 800 copes of the newspaper was stopped Tuesday by armed suspects who apparently hit the driver, pointed weapons and left the message of the demand.

El Norte, as with many newspapers in northeastern Mexico, are under near constant threat of harm from organized crime, crime including threats of harm if information is published to extortion, a crime which is the most pervasive in Mexico.

Drug war news in Tamaulipas is at a premium due to threats from organized crime, especially in Nuevo Laredo, the home of Los Zetas drug cartel.

According to the AnimalPolico.com article, El Norte offices was attacked three times last July, two of them on July 10th including attacks using hand grenades in their La Silla and Linda Vista offices in Monterrey  Almost three weeks later, the offices for the Sierra Madre edition was firebombed.

Newspapers are not the only victims of organized crime. Offices of Televisa and other television stations have been attacked in the past in Monterrey as well as in Tamaulipas' border cities.

The threat issued to El Norte specifically demanded payment of protection money to continue distributing newspapers in northern Monterrey.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburgcom and Borderlandbeat.com. His latest work of non-fiction, the Wounded Eagle, Volume 2, can be found at Smashwords and Amazon.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

Read More