Overview
- Roughly 100 Army and National Guard personnel patrolled lemon orchards and packing plants in Apatzingán and Buenavista with armored tactical vehicles, including the locally built “Black Mamba,” according to local reports.
- The deployment forms part of the Plan Michoacán por la Justicia y la Paz, with SEDENA leading Operation Paricutín that involves the Army, National Guard and Air Force.
- Teams conducted visible checks at production sites and engaged workers, with activity extending to the Apatzingán lemon market to reinforce deterrence against fee collection schemes.
- Authorities paired patrols with intelligence and information analysis to identify criminal networks and risk points in coordination with state and municipal officials.
- The action follows the October kidnapping and killing of citrus leader Bernardo Bravo Manríquez, as rival criminal alliances contest territory and target producers with extortion.