Police arrest 27 suspected Viagras drug cartel members in western Mexico
Published April 13, 2016 EFE
A total of 27 suspected members of the Los Viagras drug cartel have been arrested, with five of the apprehensions occurring on Wednesday, in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, where roads have been blocked and vehicles torched for three straight days, officials said.
The latest violence was triggered by the arrests of five cartel members during a police operation in the city of Zamora, the Michoacan Attorney General's Office said.
State and federal law enforcement agents have been targeting Los Viagras, a criminal organization that produces and sells "crystal," or "ice," a type of methamphetamine.
Gunmen on the cartel's payroll forced motorists out of at least four compact cars, two trucks and a bus on Wednesday, using the vehicles to block the highways that link Apatzingan with the towns of Aguililla, Buenavista Tomatlan and Nueva Italia.
Cartel gunmen set fire to a truck near the community of Chandio.
State police, Federal Police officers and army troops are patrolling the Tierra Caliente region, where the cities are located, in search of Los Viagras members.
The crime-ridden Tierra Caliente region, which gets its name from the high temperatures in the area, straddles Michoacan, Guerrero and Mexico states.
Michoacan Gov. Silvano Aureoles on Monday ordered an operation targeting the cartel, which he blamed for a series of crimes.
The security forces captured 15 cartel members on the first day of the operation, with the gang responding by blocking roads and burning 18 vehicles in 14 cities across Michoacan.
On Tuesday, police arrested seven more cartel members, leading the gang to block the roads in three cities, burn four vehicles and attack a service station and three stores.
A number of different drug trafficking organizations, including the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, La Nueva Familia, Los Caballeros Templarios, H-3, Los Viagras and several smaller gangs operate in Michoacan.
EFE
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