9 Michoacán Municipalities Suffer CJNG Violence in One Day

“HEARST” and “Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat

Michoacán experienced a day full of violence on July 14 2021. Alleged members of the Cartel Jalisco New Generation shot up and burned buildings, created road blockades, and ended the day with another confrontation with their rival Carteles Unidos.

El Kiro & Buenavista Municipality

Ángel Gutiérrez Aguilar, alias “El Kiro”, was kidnapped on Sunday, July 11, 2021. El Kiro is believed to belong to the Carteles Unidos (CU). He is reportedly a close confidant of Juan Farias Alvarez, alias “El Abuelo”, the leader of the Tepalcatepec Cartel is part of the CU.

According to La Opinion, El Kiro is considered to be one of the three founders of the self-defense movement in the Michoacán, along with his friend Juan Farias Alvarez, alias “El Abuelo” and Hipolito Mora Chavez from La Ruana.

Reports indicate that El Kiro was traveling with his family from Tepalcatepec to the municipality of Apatzingán, where he was going to go for a medical consultation, when he was abducted. Right before his kidnapping, he allegedly called a relative on the phone and warned that his car was being followed in Buenavista. He then disappeared.

In response to El Kiro’s kidnapping, leaders of the Carteles Unidos threatened to take over Buenavista in order to free him. They also blamed the disappearance on Santiago Quintero Magallón, alias “El Maguey”, the alleged head of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG) group that is operating in Buenavista. 

On July 14 2021, a Carteles Unidos member detailed in an interview with Azucena Uresti for Grupo Fórmula that El Kiro was sucessfully rescued alive. The member said the rescue occurred in the early hours of the morning. He added “Yes, it was purely by chance, because he began to scream, he had been there for two days and a child said he heard screams and that is how they found his companions there.”

The doctor who is treating El Kiro said in an interview for Grupo Fórmula that the vigilante leader is dehydrated but stable. And he added that, although he has some bruises, he has no signs of torture or of having been beaten excessively during his abduction.

“He is in delicate health, as he suffers from hypertensive problems, he has had previous heart surgery, but he is stable, I have him a little sedated because he arrived shocked with everything that happened, two days without eating, without drinking water, with dehydration, decompensated, I had to sedate him,” he said.

So, now we’ve got them. Now we’ve got their vehicles seized. Yeah, we’ve got their vehicles seized. We secured El Chuchins car, he’s that one individual who was stationed at La Ruana. Among the vehicles we seized there’s also a Lincoln. Take a look at this. 

Tangamandapio Municipality

Sometime between 6-7:00 AM on July 14 2021, heavily armed men riding aboard a convoy of vehicles rode into the main square of the town of Tarecuato, in the municipality of Tangamandapio. The men exited their vehicles and began shooting towards the Tenancy Headquarters building. Volleys and volleys of rounds made impact with the façade of the headquarters building. 

Vehicles parked near the headquarters were also targeted by the gunmen and destroyed by their gunfire. In particular, a community police patrol vehicle was damaged beyond repair by their attack. Residents report that two local businesses, one a wine shop and another a coffee shop were also attacked by the armed men, who threw Molotov cocktails at the buildings until they had successfully been burned down. 

Residents who had awoken to the sound of the gunfire, sheltering inside their homes, listened until the gunfire stopped and waited until they heard the sound of the men leaving by vehicle. Once the coast was clear, residents emerged and tried to put out the buildings on fire. 

Found in the burned out ashes of the coffee shop, the remains of a person who died in the fire was found. The Michoacán Police later confirmed to the media that the person found in the coffee shop was the only deceased or injured person they found related to this event.