11/30/10 – This Saturday in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, the Federal Police (Policía Federal- PF) detained Arturo Gallegos Castrellón, alias El Farmero, the leader of the criminal organization known as Los Aztecas. The gang is currently servicing La Línea, the armed unit of the Juárez cartel.
The PF Regional Security Division chief (División de Seguridad Regional de la PF), Luis Cárdenas Palomino, stated that Castrellón is responsible for 80% of all homicides that have been committed within Ciudad Juárez since August of 2009. He also noted that all drug related killing that were to take place in that region needed to pass through Castrellón for approval.
Among the deaths being attributed to Los Aztecas is the massacre of 14 youth in Villas de Salvárcar and the death of two U.S. consulate workers. According to the Latin American Herald Tribune, a total of 2,700 people have been murdered in Ciudad Juarez this year, 350 of which were registered last month.
Sources:
Notimex. “Cae presunto líder de Los Aztecas en Ciudad Juárez. Milenio. 28 Noviembre, 2010.
