Two mayors in central Mexico have been taken into custody on federal racketeering charges, while a search is underway for a third. All three mayors hail from the Morelos state.
This week, Mexico’s Security Cabinet announced the arrests of Agustín Toledano, the current mayor of Atlafcan, and Irving Sánchez, the former mayor of Ecapistla. Authorities are still looking for Jesús Damian Corona, the mayor of Cuautla.
These arrests are part of the ongoing Operation Beehive, which aims to dismantle cartel-linked extortion rackets allegedly backed by city officials across the country. In various regions, city authorities have been reported to work alongside criminal groups to extort local enterprises.
The focus of the operation has mainly been in central Mexico, leading to several political arrests. One notable case involved the mayor of Tequila, Jalisco, who earlier this year was linked to the Jalisco New Generation cartel in his campaign, which facilitated widespread extortion in the area, particularly targeting alcohol producers.
Interestingly, Operation Beehive has largely steered clear of Tamaulipas, a border state where both the Gulf Cartel and the Los Zetas Cartel del Noreste operate without much challenge, often with the cooperation of local authorities.
Reports indicate that in Matamoros, city officials were collecting extortion fees from local business owners. The issue was highlighted by entrepreneur Julio Almanza, the head of the local chamber of commerce. Unfortunately, he was murdered in April 2020 in an unsolved case, shortly after he spoke out against the extortion.
Ildefonso Ortiz is a journalist with a focus on cartel issues. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project within the Breitbart News Foundation.
Brandon Darby serves as managing director at Breitbart Texas and has also been involved in the Cartel Chronicles project.
