- Key Tláhuac Cartel members, including La Marrana, face justice as strategic operations unfold.
- Mexico City heightens security, deploying additional forces in targeted areas.
- Despite numerous arrests, the cartel’s regional influence remains undeterred.
Lucio Romero Martínez, alias La Marrana, a prominent member of the Tláhuac Cartel, was sentenced to over six years in prison. The conviction came after he was found guilty of crimes against health in the form of possession for trade purposes and possession of cartridges for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
In a strategic operation, the head of Mexico City’s Secretariat for Citizen Security (SSC), Omar García Harfuch, highlighted the arrest of another key figure of the cartel on August 2. “I want to highlight the arrest of a priority target identified as Julio César N, alias El Chato Venegas, who was one of the main leaders of a criminal group with a presence in Tláhuac, which was located in the state of Puebla in collaboration with authorities of that entity and the Secretariat of the Navy,” reported the head of the SSC.
Romero Martinez’s arrest occurred when members of the Mexican Federal Ministerial Police executed a search warrant at a residence in the municipality of Texcoco, State of Mexico, in January 2021. At the location, officers from the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) discovered La Marrana with 13.6 grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, seven clonazepam pills, 34 cartridges, cash in local currency, eight cell phones, an electronic tablet, and a gram scale.
García Harfuch also emphasized another significant operation in the Iztapalapa mayor’s office, leading to the capture of two of El Chato Venegas’s collaborators. “These three subjects had arrest warrants obtained by the Attorney General’s Office of Mexico City for aggravated criminal association,” he added.
In an official statement, the Mexican Attorney General’s Office revealed, “In an abbreviated procedure, the Mexican Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), assigned to the Specialized Unit for the Investigation of Crimes against Health, obtained enough evidence for the judge to sentence him to six years, three months, and 18 days, which he must serve in the Social Reinsertion Center (CERESO) Neza-Bordo in Nezahualcoyotl, State of Mexico.”
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The Iztapalapa-Tláhuac operation, which began recently, will see an additional deployment of 130 vehicles, including patrol cars, vans, and motorcycles of the Secretariat of Security of the capital. This is in conjunction with the deployment of 500 more police officers in the aforementioned municipalities.
For the capital authorities, the Tláhuac Cartel is associated with a myriad of criminal activities, including the sale and distribution of drugs. They are also implicated in extorting merchants and businessmen. Furthermore, the group is linked to property theft, kidnapping, illegal sale of hydrocarbons, known locally as huachicol, and even homicides.
“These arrests represent a severe blow to their criminal infrastructure, and we are confident they will contribute to reducing high-impact crimes in the municipalities of Iztapalapa, Tláhuac, and Xochimilco,” remarked García Harfuch.
Despite the recent crackdown, the Tláhuac Cartel’s influence remains palpable. Even though they’ve witnessed several arrests and lost key leaders, such as six years ago when members of the Secretariat of the Navy eliminated Luis Felipe de Jesús Pérez Luna, alias El Ojos, the top leader of this criminal syndicate, the group has managed to extend its operations to other regions neighboring the city.