Mica for cartelinsider.com
Although its main stronghold is located in Mexico City (CDMX), the Tepito Union has managed to expand its criminal enterprises to other states in the Mexican Republic. This is the case in Morelos, where it is in a dispute for control of Cuautla with three other criminal cells.
In mid-February, the head of the State Commission for Public Security in Morelos, José Antonio Ortiz Guarnero, confirmed the presence of the “Chilango cartel” in the state, mainly in the eastern region of the municipality of Cuautla.
The confirmation of Guarnero took place after an armed attack on January 23rd on the Cuautla-Cuernavaca road, in which a man was killed and a woman and two minors were injured.
The arrival of the Tepito Union was exposed at the end of December last year, when marcomanas were displayed in Cuautla, Tepalcingo, and Villa de Alva that were signed by La Familia Michoacana, one of its main rivals.
“Anyone who hangs out with Barbas and El Miltón from the Tepito Union and is caught threatening businesses and venues at the central market and extorting protection fees will be dealt with severely,” warned the narcomessage.
With that, it was noted that the dispute between Union Tepito and the Familia Michoacana had to do with the series of extortions that had been registered in Cuautla and surrounding municipalities, where restaurants, tortilla shops, bars, hotels, and nightclubs are forced to pay a fee in exchange for “protection.”
However, the organization led by the Hurtado Olascoaga brothers, Johnny and Alfredo, is not the only one that has faced the Unión Tepito. According to journalist Pedro Tonantzin from Excélsior, there are three other criminal cells seeking to control Cuautla.
One of them is the “Tlahuica Command”, a group that was formed with remnants of Guerreros Unidos and members of New Guerrero Blood. In addition to extortion and assassination, its members have threatened to take over the distribution of drinking water in the municipality.
The Colombians are another of the groups that are involved in the crimes of extortion and protection money collection in Cuernavaca and Cuautla, according to reports from Pablo Ojeda Cárdenas, Secretary of Government. It is presumed that its members maintain ties with the Sinaloa Cartel, although authorities have not confirmed it.
The Colombians maintain a dispute in Cuautla with the Linos, whose operations extend to the municipalities of Yautepec, Jiutepec, Emiliano Zapata, Cuernavaca and Tlaltizapán. Their main criminal activities include extortion, assassination, homicide and drug dealing.
In this way, the Union Tepito has not only had to confront the Michoacan Family in Morelos, but in their attempt to establish themselves in Cuautla, they have faced the Tlahuica Command, the Colombians, and the Linos.
According to figures from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP), 236 cases of extortion were recorded throughout the state of Morelos in 2023, which represented a slight increase compared to the previous year, when 147 were reported.
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Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
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