Overview
- A short clip shared by journalist Carlos Jiménez shows two men beating a eyewear vendor in Mexico City’s Centro Histórico, using a wooden board and asserting territorial control with the phrase “esto es coto.”
- The assailants are identified in reports as “El Paquito” and “El Beto,” who are linked by journalists to the Los Herrera Segura cell reportedly led by a figure known as “El Mate.”
- Authorities have not announced arrests connected to this assault, even as the video circulates widely and fuels public indignation from merchant groups.
- Excélsior reports, citing Jiménez, that the two suspects later appeared on Tacuba Street to threaten vendors and warn of higher extortion quotas after the video’s release.
- Head of government Clara Brugada recently highlighted tougher Penal Code provisions on extortion and said detentions for the crime are up 65 percent year over year.