Austin Adult Entertainment: Dealing a Major Blow to Mexico’s Masters of Meth
La Familia’s carnage is far worse in Mexico, where in recent years it has begun to terrorize Michoacán and neighboring states. It announced itself in 2006 when its hitmen rolled the severed heads of five rivals onto the dance floor of a Michoacán discotheque one night. More recently, in a taped conversation transcribed in Mexican law enforcement documents obtained by TIME, a La Familia boss called Mariano promises vengeance on federal police cracking down on the group’s operations. “Anyone who messes with [us] is going to die,” Mariano is quoted as saying. “I am not going to [prison].” Indeed, last summer, La Familia launched a wave of attacks on federal police bases, using grenades and other heavy weapons, killing 15 officers. A dozen corpses were dumped on a mountain highway.
And like other cartels, La Familia has broadly corrupted Mexican officialdom. The documents seen by TIME list a long La Familia payroll of public servants, including a mayor allegedly receiving $20,000 a month from the gang and a state police commander suspected of pocketing $35,000. Informants also describe how La Familia entertains those officials with raucous parties and truck loads of prostitutes.
See the full article from “TIME”