Cartel threats and one attack against a popular group scared promoters and artists into canceling a yearly music festival and town fair in in central Mexico.
The threats began last week when La Familia Michoacana hung six banners throughout Metepec, warning artists to not perform to avoid bloodshed. The criminal organization named a promoter who apparently had not paid a fee to perform in their territory.
“Respect our plaza and we will respect your lives,” the cartel stated. State authorities removed the banners and set out a security operation to protect the festival, however, several big-name musicians canceled after the threat.
Over the weekend, the popular Banda group La Adictiva held their performance. As they were leaving the event, gunmen shot up their tour bus.
According to information released by state authorities, the musical group was leaving the town when a gunmen in a Volkswagen Jetta pulled up next to them and began firing. No one was injured.
In the aftermath, festival promoters canceled their events, however, city officials revealed they would continue to hold daytime activities as part of their arts and culture fair.
La Familia Michoacana is one of Mexico’s most violent criminal organizations and one of the cartels responsible for most of the violence in Guerrero and Michoacan where they fight against Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion(CJNG). While dominant in southern and western Mexico, cells of La Familia have active drug trafficking and distribution leads in California, Texas, Washington state, Oregon, and other U.S. regions.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and other areas to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Jose Luis Lara, a former leading member who helped start the Self-Defense Movement in Michoacán.
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