Arrest of Alleged Extortion Leader in Michoacán
In a joint operation by federal and state forces, a man identified as Rigoberto “N”, allegedly the operational head of a criminal cell responsible for collecting protection money and extorting lime producers in the Apatzingán Valley, was detained in Michoacán.
According to the head of the SSPC, Omar García Harfuch, the arrest followed investigations after the murder of Bernardo Bravo Manríquez, the leader of the citricultivators in the Valle de Apatzingán, who was recently killed in Michoacán.
Rigoberto, known as El Pantano, is accused of being an operator for the Los Blancos de Troya criminal group, allied with Los Viagras and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
The detained man is suspected of being the intellectual author of Bravo’s murder and one of the main perpetrators of collecting protection money from lime producers in the region.
Bravo’s assassination adds to at least six cases of farmers in the state since 2018, linked to extortion incidents. Among them are Raúl Fierros Fierros, Luis Alberto García Bastián, J. Jesús Sánchez Ochoa, Rubén Mendoza Estrada, and Hugo García Hernández, agronomic engineers reported by civil organizations as victims of attacks in the Uruapan region between 2018 and 2020.
In June 2023, Hipólito Mora Chávez, a former leader of self-defense groups and lime producer in La Ruana, was also killed.
Limonero Resistance Against Extortion
The limonero resistance against extortion gained momentum in July 2023 when the Association of Citricultivators of the Valle de Apatzingán, led by Bernardo Bravo, organized the first general strike in the industry. The producers denounced the collection of “protection money,” amounting to one peso per kilogram, split between cutting and commercializing the fruit. The protest halted agricultural activity and packing houses for weeks until the government promised to address the complaints.
However, the calm was short-lived; in August 2024, limonero producers from Apatzingán, Buenavista, and Parácuaro suspended their activities after denouncing the collection of “criminal taxes” by at least three cartels demanding between two and three pesos per kilogram of lime, leading to an economic crisis in the region.
A Long-Standing Problem
Experts consulted by El Economista stated that the crime’s control over agricultural production in Michoacán is not a new or isolated phenomenon but the result of years of authorities’ neglect and collusion.
Cristina Pablo Dorantes, a scholar at the Autonomous State University of Mexico and an expert in security, noted that “extortion of farmers is not recent; it has been happening in Michoacán for over two six-year terms. The serious issue is that it was allowed to grow like all organized crime.”
She recalled that since the creation of self-defense groups during Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration, the state failed to stop the expansion of criminal organizations that began imposing quotas on producers and controlling local markets.
Alberto Guerrero, a consultant and security specialist, explained that the problem extends throughout the Tierra Caliente region —from Apatzingán to Guerrero’s borders— where criminal bands imposed a type of “criminal tax” on farmers.
“For every kilogram of lime sold for five pesos, two go directly to criminal organizations, one to the producer, and the rest barely covers the payment for cutters. It’s a red-numbered economy,” he detailed.
The expert highlighted that these groups, in addition to extorting, have penetrated local political structures. “First, they finance campaigns, then they collect from municipal offices. They control security, inspection, surveillance, and tenders. It’s a criminal business,” he affirmed.
To reverse the situation, both experts consider that, in addition to security operations and measures, there should be accountability, transparency, public policies with a citizen security vision, and an integral intervention based on criminal and financial intelligence rather than just military operations.
Crime in the State
According to a report by the DEA and the Mexico Security and Defense Atlas, at least five cartels and smaller criminal organizations operate in the state, competing for control of synthetic drug production, control of the Lázaro Cárdenas port, extortion of farmers, and gasoline theft.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), considered the main criminal group in the state, uses a franchise-like structure and its financial capacity to dispute Michoacán territory through violent confrontations with local groups.
The Family Michoacana (LFM), although it emerged in 2006, operates as a conglomerate of factions, including the New Family Michoacana (LNFM) and Cárteles Unidos. These groups maintain a strong presence in the coastal corridor and around the entity’s port.
Los Viagras (led by Nicolás Sierra Santana) and the Zicuirán-La Hermandad H-3 (headed by Miguel Ángel Gallegos Godoy) operate in alliances with the CJNG. Additionally, there are other groups like La Nueva Empresa and Las Moicas.
