Authorities in Mexico released a cartel boss they had just captured after his gunmen took several police officers hostage. In the aftermath of the scandal, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has publicly defended hostage-taking, claiming that the government will do anything to prevent loss of life.
The incident began this week in the Mexican state of Morelos, when state authorities captured Jose David “El Guero Jim” Vergara, the leader of a regional cartel known as Pueblos Unidos – an ally of the Sinaloa Cartel.
According to Mexican authorities, shortly after the arrest, Vergara’s gunmen took to the streets, setting up blockades. They kidnapped three police officers and threatened to kill them if the crime boss was not released. The criminal group also rallied locals to protest the arrest.
The move forced state authorities to establish communications with the criminal organization and negotiate a prisoner exchange.
When asked about the release of the crime boss and the precedent it sets, Sheinbaum defended the move, saying it was done to save lives.
“It can be difficult,” she said. “But above everything, you have to save lives.”
The move has sparked harsh criticism from political opponents who claimed that the government did not even push for a rescue operation or a harder crackdown on the cartel. The cartel tactic has been compared to the infamous Culiacanazo or Battle for Culiacan incident in 2019, where Mexican federal authorities arrested Sinaloa Cartel Kingpin Ovidio Guzman. Following his arrest, the cartel invaded the city. In response, then Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ordered the release of Guzman to prevent any more bloodshed.
Mexico’s top security official Omar Garcia Harfuch claimed that the arrest in Morelos was not part of an operation to capture the drug lord but was a chance encounter while state authorities were carrying out routine tasks. He claimed that state authorities were outmatched by the cartel and did not have the backup of federal authorities since it was a chance encounter and not a planned operation.
Both Sheinbaum and Harfuch claimed that preparations are underway to track down Vergara and arrest him.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.