installing and even kidnapping political candidates in México state as they seek favorable conditions to operate under after the June 6 elections The newspaper Reforma spoke with local leaders of several political parties who revealed that threats have been made against their candidates in Valle de Bravo all municipalities in southern México state criminal groups blocked Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) Mayor Eliza Ojeda from seeking reelection Criminal groups demanded that Carmen Albarrán be installed as the mayoral candidate for a coalition made up of the PRD the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN) Those three parties formed an alliance in December to increase their chances of beating Morena party candidates in many municipalities and federal and state electoral districts across Mexico coalition candidate Luisa Martínez González has received threats from organized crime The PRD has reported the threats to México state electoral authorities but the state government has not publicly commented on organized crime’s intervention in the electoral process criminal groups also allegedly “imposed” the Morena party candidate for mayor part of México state’s Tierra Caliente region PRI-PAN-PRD candidate Rigoberto López has received threats a popular tourist town and weekend destination for Mexico City residents organized crime took an even more hands-on approach this week mayoral candidate for the PRI-PAN-PRD coalition was kidnapped on Monday while she was campaigning at the Velo de Novia waterfall in Avándaro The former sprinter and hurdler who competed at the 2008 Olympic Games was allegedly abducted by members of the Familia Michoacana cartel According to witness accounts cited by noted political columnist Raymundo Riva Palacio in a piece published by the news website Eje Central on Thursday Rodríguez was approached by two people and subsequently forced into a vehicle Riva wrote that the candidate was driven 64 kilometers to Tejupilco where a “person soaked in alcohol surrounded by an armed group” told her: “’Look I just ask you to hide and drop out of the campaign.’” Rodríguez asked whether she should leave the country and the person — who Riva said has been identified as Familia Michoacana leader Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga also known as “El Pez” (The Fish) — reiterated that she should go into hiding and withdraw her candidacy for mayor Hurtado and his brother José Alfredo lead a faction of the Familia Michoacana that has operated for more than a decade in the Tierra Caliente region of Guerrero and which controls the “criminal corridor” between Arcelia He said the criminal cell is currently in an alliance with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel generally considered Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organization “’El Pez’ could have killed Rodríguez without any problem but it’s clear that wasn’t his final intention They [the Familia Michoacana] wanted to intimidate her They wanted her to abandon her electoral campaign without violence and without attracting national attention they achieved it: after the same criminals who abducted her at the Velo de Novia [waterfall] returned her to Avándaro who hadn’t been seen in public since her abduction appeared in a video on Thursday in which she said that she was well She thanked her team for their “unconditional support” but didn’t speak about her political campaign or ask citizens to vote for her on June 6 Riva wrote that the motivation for the Familia Michoacana’s actions was to help the Morena party mayoral candidate The Olascoaga brothers had injected resources into electoral campaigns according to people with knowledge of the political life in the south of México state install their people in the municipal ministries of Security and Public Works or to pressure and extort council members … What is unprecedented is that they bet on a specific candidate,” he wrote At the same time as Rodríguez was kidnapped federal customs chief Horacio Duarte — in concert “deliberately or coincidentally” with the criminals — arrived unannounced at the offices of the current PRI mayor of Valle de Bravo to warn him to withdraw his support for the PRI-PAN-PRD candidate allegedly threatened to have the federal tax agency investigate the mayor if he didn’t do as he was told Citing information provided by people who personally know Rodríguez Riva also wrote that people identified as members of Morena are watching her house to see who is visiting her is to infer whether the former athlete still plans to contest the June 6 election “… The state can’t allow actions of this nature in which a criminal group meddles in an electoral process where — if their apparent candidate is successful — they will implant criminal power into public power,” the columnist wrote He urged the federal government to investigate Rodríguez’s abduction and the actions of Duarte to determine “his alleged responsibility in the criminal events” of this week “The symptoms shown by the microcosm of Valle de Bravo are clearly those of narco-politics,” Riva wrote adding that given the increasing number of examples of criminal involvement in politics the federal government cannot continue to stand on the margins and not act against “this accelerated deterioration of public life.” Source: Reforma (sp), Eje Central (sp)  ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC At least 10 presumed cartel members were killed in a clash with police in México state on Tuesday morning The confrontation occurred during an operation in southern México state to apprehend a leader of the Familia Michoacana crime group according to a report by the newspaper El Universal The state Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) said state police came under attack by a heavily armed group on the Toluca-Texcaltitlán highway in the municipality of Texcaltitlán located about 65 kilometers southwest of Toluca Officers responded with “legitimate force,” it said The FGJ said that 10 aggressors – presumably members of the Familia Michoacana – died at the scene of the clash and four others were injured The FGJ also said that police arrested seven people – four men and three women – and seized weapons marines and members of the National Guard provided support to the state police Three state police were wounded in the clash and two required medical treatment and were taken to hospital by helicopter The FGJ reported that they were out of danger the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and smaller local criminal groups operate in southern México state where police have been targeted on several previous occasions In Coatepec Harinas, which borders Texcaltitlán, 13 police were killed in March 2021 in a clash against the Familia Michoacana while four officers were wounded last month when armed men attacked a police station in the municipality of Sultepec With reports from El Universal  Crime groups control or are seeking to control public markets commercial districts and the distribution of basic foodstuffs across much of Mexico — and in many cases they’re willing to use violence to achieve their goals The tactics used by organized crime have come into sharp focus this week due to events in Guerrero and Chiapas but the happenings there are preceded by similarly distressing occurrences in other states Organized crime’s desire to make money via extortion and broader criminal control of markets commercial districts and food supply chains is far from unique to those cities and business owners who don’t comply with criminals’ demands run the risk of paying for their decisions with their lives president of the national small business association ANPEC told the newspaper Milenio that the only states where crime is not a significant problem in markets and other shopping areas are Yucatán an increase in extortion demands and general insecurity has put businesses “against the wall,” he said Official data shows that México state has the worst extortion problem in the country with almost 1,400 reported cases in the first four months of the year The other states in the top five for extortion between January and April were Nuevo León many such cases – if not the majority – go unreported In Guanajuato, 32 people have been killed in the businesses where they worked so far this year, according to Milenio. All but three of the attacks occurred in Celaya, a city where extortion has long been a problem Among the businesses where the murders have occurred are auto repair shops Milenio also reported that decapitated human heads have been left outside public markets in Celaya on at least two occasions this year four vendors of food products have been murdered this year Two of the victims were butchers in Coatzacoalcos who were apparently killed for refusing to make extortion payments Two female fruit and vegetable vendors were murdered in Cosoleacaque for the same reason last November Milenio reported that the failure to make extortion payments has also led to businesses being set on fire and homes being shot at in the Gulf coast state Violence related to the refusal to pay extortion has been a problem in Veracruz for years criminal groups have controlled the distribution and sale of products such as chicken cigarettes and construction materials for years according to residents who spoke with Milenio a municipality on the border with Guerrero say that the prices for many products are high because criminals monopolize the market Extortion is also a major problem in the metropolitan area of Toluca where fresh chicken shops have been one of the main targets Four chicken and egg vendors at the city’s main wholesale market were murdered in 2020 for failing to make extortion payments In neighboring Guerrero, former bishop Salvador Rangel Mendoza said late last year that the distribution of beer and soft drinks was among the activities of crime groups. Earlier this month, violence and threats from organized crime forced tortilla shops, schools and public transport to shut down in Zihuatanejo Rivera said that crime groups control markets for certain products in the cities of Acapulco Chilpancingo and Taxco – all located in Guerrero – as well as in Ixtapan de la Sal a México state municipality close to the border with Guerrero they steal goods from distributors and sell them themselves but crime groups’ main way of controlling a market is by collecting extortion payments from business owners and/or forcing them to buy products at inflated prices from certain suppliers under their influence referring to crime group’s influence over retailers The ANPEC chief also said that the size of typical extortion payments – usually paid monthly or weekly – has increased from 200 pesos to 500 pesos (about US $25) in some places “The geography of crime in the country is marking life in at least two-thirds of the national territory. The symptoms are noted in the southeast, in places like Oaxaca, Michoacán, Guerrero, … in Mexico City in boroughs like Cuauhtémoc and Miguel Hidalgo [and] in Coahuila “… These groups focus on stable businesses like taco restaurants [small inexpensive eateries called] fondas [and] shops and people don’t report them because in a lot of areas the line between police and criminals isn’t clear The crime economy is very active,” he said taking control of … the distribution and commercialization of products This is [a] very delicate [situation],” Rivera said before adding that decisive action could stop the problem from getting worse Another place where criminal activity has affected the availability of chicken is Ciudad Hidalgo located about 100 kilometers east of the state capital of Morelia Residents were left without chicken and red meat earlier this year due to a dispute between the Los Correa Cartel and a cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel called Grupo X “We closed due to insecurity,” said Óscar Mañón a chicken vendor in the Emiliano Zapata market “… They’re letting us work now but I don’t know whether [the same thing] could happen again.” According to Ciudad Hidalgo Mayor José Luis Téllez butcher shops and chicken shops closed after receiving threats from both crime groups involved in the dispute a group of armed men attacked the municipal slaughterhouse and killed five workers extortion complaints have increased in the coastal municipalities of Santiago Pinotepa Nacional and Santiago Jamiltepec over the past three months Business owners say they have received phone calls and messages from criminals demanding payments and threatening consequences if they don’t comply The extortionists have acted on those threats in Pinotepa Nacional where a butcher and two other people were recently killed Extortion is also a problem thousands of kilometers to the north in Tijuana, Baja California, especially in Sánchez Taboada which has been described as the most dangerous neighborhood in the country’s most dangerous city According to Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Iván Carpio criminals collect extortion payments from a range of businesses in the area authorities are making progress in their fight against the crime With reports from Milenio A shocking ancient Aztec massacre comes to light in Mexico City Human remains have been found at an archaeological site at Zultépec revealing mass slaughter of Aztecs by Spanish conquistadors was revealed by INAH (the National Institute of Anthropology and History) exploring how Aztec culture fell under the onslaught of arch conqueror Hernán Cortés Quoted by Mexico News Daily site director Enrique Martínez Vargas refers to a main thoroughfare stretching 120 meters It was here that “skeletons of a dozen women were found who appeared to be ‘protecting’ the bones of 10 children” The positioning indicates the sheltering women were turned inwards Their graves appear to have been dug quickly post-demise Martínez believes this is evidence of an attack mentioned in Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s ‘The True History of the Conquest of New Spain’ (1632) Another source is Cortés’ own ‘Third Letter of Relation to the Emperor Carlos V’ (1522) Led by Cortés’ lieutenant Gonzalo de Sandoval the massacre forms an alarming chapter in the history of Spanish conquest Between 1519-21 Aztec territory was breached with extreme violence Other factors such as traveling diseases also played a part in the conflict which culminated in the taking of ancient capital Tenochtitlan The answer lies in another name for Zultépec… Tecoaque translating from Nahuatl as “the place where they ate them” The Daily Mail describes the Conquistador attack as a “retaliatory raid” The Guardian writes it was made up of “15 male Spaniards 45 foot soldiers who included Cubans of African and Indigenous descent” An additional 350 Indigenous allies completed the party a conquistador sent on the order of Cuba’s governor Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar The official wanted Narváez to intercept Cortés Whether the convoy was there to stop Cortés or otherwise women and children suffered a horrific fate The Daily Mail writes the visitors were “kept prisoner in doorless cells where they were fattened up for ritual sacrifices” Over a period of 8 months the captives met their end Skeletal markings show how meat was carved away Skulls were attached to racks and other bones became trophies The Guardian writes about how one of the men was destroyed and his remains burned as a grim tribute to the gods The Mail reports that several thousand Aztecs attended Tecoaque Animals accompanying the convoy were consumed Though the Aztecs avoided eating Spanish-brought pigs who were effectively alien creatures to them Aztec defences proved no match for Gonzalo de Sandoval And so one terrible event happened in revenge over another Temples were set on fire and statues wrecked Martínez and colleagues found evidence of concealment by the Acolhua They hid the Europeans’ remains and personal possessions in places like wells Seems they were fully aware of the potential consequences for their actions The team from INAH believe Zultépec/Tecoaque represents a pivotal moment in Cortés plans and the Indigenous response to them Another Article From Us: Very Rare Mummies with Gold Tongues Discovered in Egyptian Temple The latest find may be chilling but it also presents itself at a crucial time 2021 is the 500th anniversary of Tenochtitlan’s capture A stark reminder of times past is needed for the milestone And they don’t come much starker than this… Sites he contributes to include The Vintage News His short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books linkedin.com/in/steve-palace-91399144/?originalSubdomain=uk Join 1000s of subscribers and receive the best Vintage News in your mailbox for FREE