Mexico's federal police say that the once-fearsome La Familia drug cartel has been "completely dismembered" and has broken down into small groups that commit robberies to pay their members.
The cartel has dominated the western state of Michoacan for several years, making money by trafficking methamphetamines and extorting protection money from businesses there. It has also become known for its bloody ambushes of federal police.
La Familia has been thrown into disarray, however, by the recent arrest and deaths of top members, including cartel leader Nazario Moreno, nicknamed "The Craziest One", who was killed in a shootout with police on December 9.
"Following the death of Nazario, the Familia Michoacana, as we know it, has been completely dismembered," federal police official Luis Cardenas Palomino told a news conference on Friday as he announced the arrest of one of La Familia group's leaders: Francisco Lopez Villanueva, known as "El Bigotes," or "The Mustache."
"What are left are little groups that are isolated and completely disorganised," Cardenas Palomino said. "They have been committing bank robberies and robbing businesses to get money. ... This makes them more vulnerable."
In a series of banners found strung across roadways in Michoacan earlier this week, however, the gang has denied it is responsible for a recent wave of robberies in the state.
"They say it was La Familia Michoacana, they want to blame us," read the banners. "Don't be deceived. The federal police came to rob, humiliate and kill our people."
The cartel has demanded that federal police be removed from the state because of alleged abuses against the civilian population. La Familia depicts itself as the "protector" of Michoacan residents, and common robberies would clash with the image the gang tries to cultivate.
The cartel offered to cease its activities if federal police agreed in exchange to protect Michoacan against La Familia's rivals, the Zetas gang. Government officials said they would not negotiate with any drug cartels.
Lopez Villanueva, arrested Thursday, was responsible for some of the recent bank robberies, police said. They said he was a former Zeta - the two gangs were once allies - before he went over to La Familia.
He was also unusual, Cardenas Palomino said, because he was a native of neighbouring Guerrero state, not Michoacan. The cartel prides itself on a membership of Michoacan natives.
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