The hitman cell of Los Viagras, the criminal group attributed by the federal government to the murder of Michoacán lemon businessman Bernardo Bravo Manríquez, enjoys strong connections in the state.
According to military intelligence reports, Rigoberto López Mendoza, the alleged mastermind behind the murder of the Aguililla businessman who called for organizing against extortion, is part of the criminal group led by Nicolás Sierra Santana, known as El Coruco. The group controls extortion operations in parts of the Tierra Caliente region and has had contact with Anabel Bedolla Marín, aunt of Morena governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla.
Anabel Bedolla is married to Adalberto Fructuoso Comparán Rodríguez, the former mayor of Aguililla, who was part of La Familia Michoacana, Los Caballeros Templarios, and Los Viagras. He is currently imprisoned in the United States, accused of drug trafficking, according to a military intelligence report. Another report reveals that Comparán owned a gas station in Aguililla, “which is supplied with hydrocarbons extracted from illegal taps.”
As for César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arrellano, the criminal leader known as “El Botox,” a criminal who was initially an ally and later became a rival of “El Coruco” and who threatened businessman Bravo to collect fees—according to his family—the Army identified him for extorting lemon growers in the Buenavista municipality, with the consent of Sergio Báez Torres, former municipal president and local deputy for Morena.
A 2021 military intelligence report, sent to the National Intelligence Fusion Center (Cenfi), reveals that “El Botox” charged lemon growers one peso per kilo, and that the criminal leader controlled the Buenavista municipal police force. According to journalist Dalia Martínez, a contributor to Proceso in Michoacán, “El Botox” continues his extortion operations against lemon growers in the region.
Bernardo Bravo, president of the Apatzingán Valley Citrus Growers Association and a member of the National Association of Citrus Growers in Mexico, called for a demonstration to throw tons of lemons in front of Governor Bedolla to protest extortion and the fall in lemon prices. The businessman was kidnapped on October 19th, and his body was found a day later, showing signs of torture, on the highway between Apatzingán and Cenobio.
On October 21st, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, reported the arrest of Rigoberto “N,” alias “El Pantano,” whom he identified as the operational leader of a criminal group dedicated to extorting lemon growers in Apatzingán and the alleged mastermind behind Bravo’s murder. A military intelligence file indicates that “El Pantano” is part of Nicolás Sierra Santana’s hitman group, “El Coruco.”
For at least nine years, the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena) has been tracking the seven Sierra Santana brothers, leaders of Los Viagra, a group that took center stage during the self-defense uprising in Michoacán.
Among the brothers, Coruco himself stands out. He is the current leader of Los Viagra—with operations in Buenavista, Apatzingán, Morelia, Ario de Rosales, Zamora, Uruapan, Nueva Italia, La Huacana, Taretan, and Jacona—and is part of the group led by Juan José Farías Álvarez, “El Abuelo,” leader of the United Cartels.
The United States government is offering a reward of up to five million dollars for the capture of the leader of Los Viagra, due to his links to the United Cartels, one of the six Mexican criminal groups that President Donald Trump has designated as a terrorist organization.
Intelligence reports compiled by the Sedena (National Security Forces) and hacked by the Guacamaya collective show that the Army has clearly identified the Sierra Nevada operations network, which includes colluding companies and officials; it even has the GPS coordinates of a “property where Coruco has historically hidden.”
Source: proceso
