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Mexico Arrests Alleged Extortion Chief ‘El Pantano’ in Killing of Apatzingán Lime Leader

Authorities cast the case as proof of cartel infiltration of growers’ associations, with a joint investigation promised.

Overview

  • Federal forces detained Rigoberto López Mendoza, alias “El Pantano,” who is accused as the intellectual author of Bernardo Bravo’s killing and faces charges of homicide, aggravated extortion and organized-crime offenses, according to the SSPC.
  • Agents seized an Association of Citricultores credential and suspected fake driver’s licenses during the arrest, indicating infiltration tactics within producer organizations.
  • President Claudia Sheinbaum said the national security cabinet is supporting the Michoacán prosecutor’s office and insisted there must be justice in the case.
  • Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla reported investigative advances, including trace evidence on Bravo’s movements, after the producer leader who had denounced extortion was found shot dead with signs of torture.
  • Peru’s Congress convened three ministers and the interim attorney general to present a bill targeting extortion and contract killings in the transport sector, underscoring similar criminal pressures across the region.