Lemon producers from two municipalities in Michoacán have agreed to pay extortion to organized crime in order to continue working, while in the case of Apatzingán the municipality has been on strike for five days in activities related to citrus production.
According to the members of the National Committee of the Mexican Lemon Product System, an association made up of lemon representatives from the eight main citrus producing municipalities in Michoacán, this Friday “external agents are seeking extraordinary resources for their financing,” in clear reference to extortion by organized crime.
Likewise, in Apatzingán, the main producer of the Tierra Caliente region of Michoacán, the Association confirmed that 32 packing companies remain closed due to the low production of lemon and pressure from “external agents.”
As for Buenavista Tomatlán, bordering Apatzingán and the main producer of Mexican lemon, there are currently a total of 24 packing companies that have agreed to “pay fees” (extortion) to the “extortion agents” to continue their operations and supply lemon to the entire market in the country.
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The National Committee of the Mexican Lemon Product System also confirmed that in the municipality of Mújica, 20 kilometers from Apatzingán, there are 13 packing companies that, as in the case of Buenavista, pay extortion to organized crime.
However, in the municipality of Parácuaro, located between Apatzingán and Múgica, five companies are working The packing plants are carrying out their operations normally, although so far they have not reported any extortions.
According to a report from the State Security Board, the criminal groups fighting for control of extortions in Apatzingán are the Caballeros Templarios Cartel, the Acahuato Cartel and the United Cartels (made up of its armed wings, Los Viagras and Blancos de Troya).
In Buenavista, the report places the United Cartels as the main organization that controls the collection of fees, although in the case of the town of La Ruana – the birthplace of the civilian self-defense groups that took up arms in February 2013 against drug trafficking – the territory is controlled by the Tepalcatepec Cartel.
In Mújica, security information establishes that the extortion payments are made by the Zicuirán Cartel, while in Parácuaro – where strangely no extortion payments are reported – the Caballeros Templarios Cartel operates.
It is worth mentioning that citrus producers in Apatzingán and Buenavista stopped their activities last Monday, due to the low lemon production and alleged extortions by organized crime.
Michoacán is the leader in lemon production in our country, with an annual harvest of around 700 thousand tons of citrus, on 67 thousand hectares of 3,504 producers.
Source: informador
