Oaxaca official arrested in alleged extortion network probe
El Diario de Chihuahua reports that authorities arrested an Oaxaca municipal cultural official and five others in an investigation into an alleged ASAEO extortion network targeting merchants and transport workers in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán and the Oaxaca metropolitan area.
Authorities in Oaxaca arrested a municipal cultural official and five other people in an investigation into an alleged extortion network operating in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán and other parts of the Oaxaca metropolitan area, according to El Diario de Chihuahua and a state prosecutor’s statement.
The official was identified as working in the municipal Secretariat of Art and Culture, directed by Alicia Bueno. Authorities said the group known as the Alliance of Unions and Associations of Oaxaca State, or ASAEO, allegedly charged small and medium-sized business owners, market vendors, street vendors and transport workers—including taxi, motorcycle-taxi and app-based drivers—for permission to work. Investigators also described alleged “gota a gota” lending operations and seized mobile phones that may contain information about the collection network.
El Diario de Chihuahua reported that the six detainees included the official’s private employee, three other men and a woman. The prosecutor’s office said ASAEO’s strongest area of influence was Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, less than five kilometers from the state capital, while alleged activity also extended into Oaxaca City. Authorities have continued operations tied to allegations including extortion, racketeering-style payments, dispossession, contract killings and intentional homicide. In August, state and federal authorities arrested nine people identified as ASAEO members, including leader Sharon Italia Curiel, for allegedly directing criminal activity. The source also reported that investigators are examining a possible link between the organization and the July killing of journalist Alejandro Leyva in San Pablo Etla.