The curtain falls for ‘Los Malportados’
Omar García Harfuch, the Secretary of Security, took the stage of ‘Mañanera’ with news that sounds like a low blow. In a coordinated move between CDMX and the State of Mexico, the authorities detained ten alleged criminals. Among them, the head: Adrián Michel, alias ‘Terry’, identified as the head of the so-called New Empire Cartel or ‘Los Malportados’.
“This organization is dedicated to drug dealing, extortion and robbery in different forms,” explained García Harfuch from the National Palace.
The accusation is heavy. Charges for kidnapping and organized crime are added to the list of common crimes. It’s not a small fish. It is the type of capture that tries to send a message.
Beyond the headline: the loot in Tijuana
While the focus was here, on another front the story continued. In Tijuana, another search revealed a huge find. More than a ton and a half of methamphetamine seized in a property linked to another group. That’s street, that’s money, that’s intercepted power.
The figures given by the secretary paint the complete picture of these months. Since last October:
- Almost 50 thousand people detained.
- More than 25 thousand weapons secured.
- Nearly 500 tons of drugs seized.
They are numbers that want to talk about a machine in motion, not isolated occurrences.
And there is a specific line against extortion cancer. The national strategy has received more than 180 thousand calls to 089 since July. Each one is an open investigation folder, a case that before perhaps remained a stifled cry.
What does all this mean? In the great theater of national security, today a main actor was removed from the poster and an important part of the script was confiscated: drugs. But the public, you, know that one performance does not make the season. The question that remains is whether this pace of arrests and seizures can be sustained to really change the argument on the streets.
