Familia values

Latin American Herald Tribune (Caracas):

MEXICO CITY – The Mexican Federal Police announced on Sunday that they had captured after a six-month investigation 44 alleged drug traffickers from the La Familia Michoacana cartel, arresting them all at a baptism without a shot being fired.

Among the people arrested in the Saturday operation launched in Morelia, the capital of the western state of Michoacan, was Rafael Cedeño Hernandez, the cartel’s second-in-command and the man responsible for shipments of drugs coming from Central America…

Besides providing better-dressed perps for their group mug-shot, La Familia was different from most cartels in a few other ways …

Cedeño, “el Cede”, the taskmaster, reported to Nazario Moreno González, “el Chayo” who was second in command of “la Familia” and presumed heir apparent to leader Alberto Espinoza who has been in detention since last New Years’ Eve.

“The taskmaster” coordinated the cocaine transfers and the distribution of efedrinin and pseudoefedrin to la Familia’s chain of clandestine laboratories, oversaw operations at bars and speakeasies owned by la Familia (or shaken down by them), as well as being in charge of promoting prostitution, and day to day hit man and kidnapper activity… and well as coordinating training and indoctrination into la Famila.

Cedeño’s indoctrination consisted of courses in ethics (!),  personal development, avoiding narcotics use, overcoming alcoholism, and building a strong family bond; all “in order to obtain a greater motivational and emotional control of the members”, a police official said.

Sounds like kind of an uptight organization… sort of like Amway.   I bet they didn’t have casual Fridays.

(Abridged and translated from “ Cae ‘El Cede’, un jefe de ‘La Familia’ michoacana“,
María de la Luz González, El Universal, 20-March-2009)