Santa Muerte T-shirts In Support Of AMLO Are Being Sold In The Domains Of La Unión Tepito.

Mica for cartelinsider.com

Less than two kilometers separate “Pejelandia” from the heart of the “Barrio Bravo,” birthplace of the only “Chilango Cartel,” La Union Tepito, the same place where figures of Santa Muerte coexist with drug warehouses and counterfeit items that are sold on every street surrounding the main square of Mexico City, just a few steps away from where the federal Executive, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), works.

This weekend, the legend “A real man never speaks ill of López Obrador” printed on a t-shirt with the image of the Santa Muerte went viral. The Morena party itself circulated the image on its official social media, while opposition parties accused it of being a “threat” to voters leading up to the upcoming June 2nd elections.

Far from the political topic, the t-shirts are sold in “Pejelandia”, one of the many street stalls located near the National Palace, except that they only offer items associated with the so-called 4T and its main leader and figure: AMLO.

The Santa Muerte shirts in support of AMLO were created by the brand “Camisetas Pendejas”, dedicated to the manufacture of clothing with humorous designs or controversial messages, without necessarily supporting a political or religious ideology.

AMLO himself – questioned for the image and content labeled as “sexist” – assured in his morning conference this Tuesday that Mexico is a country with religious freedom.

“We must be respectful towards believers and non-believers. That is what a secular state and religious freedom are all about. It is only during this time when everything becomes a topic of discussion, and that is okay because it leads to debate and controversy, which are essential elements of democracy.” – AMLO.

Something that did not escape the eyes of some opponents was the alleged relationship between the Santa Muerte and the narco – mainly in the capital – now together in an image that supports the president of Mexico during election times.

And we must remember that from the opposition, there have been reports of alleged links between Morena and organized crime. In states like Sinaloa and Tamaulipas, for example, there are hypotheses that suggest that the drug cartels financially supported the campaigns of Rubén Rocha Moya and Américo Villarreal.

In both states, journalist investigations and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) have detected cults of the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel worshiping Santa Muerte; even in 2011, they seized 700 grams of methamphetamine along with a sculpture of the so-called “White Girl” in an operation in the state of Arizona. According to the DEA, Santa Muerte is a symbol of empowerment, wealth, and terror among drug traffickers.

That is why when the image of Santa Muerte appeared on a shirt supporting AMLO and sold just a few blocks from where the “Cártel Chilango” was born, the hypotheses linking it to La Unión Tepito took only a few hours to emerge.

It is worth remembering that the “Lime Cartel” not only controls the majority of criminal activities – including extortion, theft, and protection fees – in the downtown area of Mexico City; in raids on properties related to its leaders, satanic altars and the Santa Muerte have been discovered.

In addition to this, there are journalist reports that mention the worship of Santa Muerte by some leaders of the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel in the past; the beliefs of Arturo Beltrán Leyva “El Barbas” in black magic and santería have also been documented. It’s worth noting, that El Barbas got high on his own supply, and was a junkie when he died.

It is not clear if “El Barbas” acquired his taste for santeria from Juan Juarez Orozco “El Abuelo”, the first leader and founder of La Union Tepito; what is certain is that the “Cártel Chilango” – as journalist Antonio Nieto named it – is one of the current criminal groups most related to the Santa Muerte; hence, the surprise of the appearance of images in support of AMLO right in the territories that both claim to dominate: the Historic Center of Mexico City.

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Mica

Email: mica@cartelinsider.com

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