Familia Michoacána Seeks To Control the Basic Food Basket; Now It’s Going After Tortillas in the State of Mexico

According to the investigation, the criminals had a list of tortilla shop owners in the municipalities of Tenancingo and Malinalco.

The Familia Michoacana cartel has sought to enrich itself by charging taxes and now does so through the basic food basket.

The Attorney General’s Office of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) revealed that, through various actors, they have forced tortilla vendors to buy their product in exchange for letting them work and not harming them, a method similar to the one they used with chicken and egg traders in previous months.

This way of operating was revealed once they announced the arrest of the former municipal president of Almoloya de Alquisiras, Ari Patrick Mendiola, who was captured this same week by authorities in the framework of the ‘Operativo Enjambre’, carried out in Toluca.

Along with him, his brother Baltazar “N” and Guillermina “N”, a merchant from the municipality, were arrested. The investigation indicates that they allegedly extorted tortilla makers on behalf of the Hurtado Olascosga brothers’ cartel.

The investigation indicates that they had a list of tortilla shop owners in the municipalities of Tenancingo and Malinalco, both located in the south of the State of Mexico, and that they forced them to do two things: buy the corn they sold for the production of the food and pay a fee as part of the “right of way” exclusively for working.

The profits were apparently sent to the Michoacán cartel.

One of the merchants refused to buy the corn they were storing, and in retaliation, the three suspects prevented him from opening his tortilla shop, according to the investigation. This same victim reported them, and an investigation was launched against them.

Warehouse with 100 tons of corn, documents, and luxury cars seized

Ari Patrick Mendiola’s criminal activity led him to accumulate houses, documents that prove the alleged extortion of tortilla makers, and luxury vehicles.

This evidence was gathered at a home in Toluca, where he was arrested along with his brother, Baltazar ‘N’. Authorities found “documents that prove commercial activity selling corn and a relationship with businesses dedicated to tortilla makers in the municipalities of Tenancingo and Malinalco, among others.”

This corresponds to the investigations against him for alleged acts of hoarding and extortion”.

What caught their attention is that next to his home there was a warehouse stocked with packages of corn, totaling about 100 tons, product that was apparently sold by force to the tortilla makers of Malinalco and Tenancingo.

They also located a truck that was used to transport the raw material and is related to various acts of extortion.

In addition to the product, they identified several vehicles, including a BMW X6 pickup truck, a Chevrolet Cheyenne and a Honda CR-V, among other units that were apparently used for this criminal activity.

In this logistical scheme, Guillermina ‘N’, who is also a businesswoman from Almoloya de Alquisiras, was in charge of collecting the money and eventually delivering it to the criminals.

The Familia Michoacána seeks to acquire basic food baskets; they had already stockpiled eggs and chicken

The State of Mexico prosecutor’s office had identified other basic food basket products as having anomalies. In January 2024, they reported that, based on a financial, market, and criminal analysis, they had caused an increase in the price of eggs and chicken.

It was reported that, through various individuals, they charge wholesalers 2 pesos per kilo of the product and retailers 5 pesos. The case of the five workers at a “chicken slaughterhouse” located in Toluca was reported and exposed the scope of this criminal group.

As part of this operation, the prosecutor’s office seized 24 properties in the municipalities of Lerma, Otzolotepec, San José del Rincón, Temoaya, Tenango del Valle, Toluca, and Zinacantepec, where the product was stored and distributed.

Overall, this operation resulted in the freezing of up to 800 million pesos from the Familia Michoacana cartel, of which 360 million pesos came from the seizure of 24 properties and 440 million pesos from extorting the properties.

Sources: Milenio, El Informante, tvurbana