How organized crime left a major Mexican city without chicken

The possibility of getting chicken in Chilpancingo, in Mexico, is minimal. Most of the chicken shops are closed. In the Baltazar R. Leyva Mancilla Market, the main supply center in the capital of Guerrero, the 38 stores are empty. The few establishments that remain open sell what they have left: frozen chicken.

On Saturday morning, the distribution of chicken in Chilpancingo was suspended. There was no official notice. It was shot. An armed commando attacked a chicken farm in the community of Petaquillas and killed the owner, his daughter —a minor under 12 years old— and four workers. Two other employees were injured.

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Since then no one supplies chicken. “It is not known when they will distribute again and we do not see guarantees to sell,” says a vendor who prefers to omit her name.

It is one in the afternoon on Monday and zone 9 of the Baltazar R. Leyva Mancilla Market looks desolate. The three aisles dedicated to the sale of chickens are empty; there are no sellers or buyers. Hardly anyone walks there. There are also no police or military officers guarding the area, despite the fact that the Guerrero government announced a “strengthening” of security in the capital. Only few elements of the Industrial Police are seen.

“This is going to affect us all, people are not coming, they are afraid”says a shopkeeper.

The aisles began to empty a week ago, when armed men murdered, among customers and vendors, a chicken distributor identified as Tomás.

It was 4 pm on June 6 when armed men killed the distributor, who was left lying in the hallway. It caused terror, but in minutes everything returned to normal.

The crime was the prelude to a violent week in the capital. That night and early the next day, armed men burned six public transport vehicles, four on the route that goes from Chilpancingo to the community of Petaquillas.

Three days later, two chicken delivery men were attacked in the market parking lot.. Armed men arrived at the van where they were transporting the product and shot them. One died and the other was injured.

At 8:30 am on Saturday, the massacre took place at the chicken farm in Petaquillas. The owner was identified as a relative of Tomás, the dealer killed in the market.

Before the chickens disappeared from the market stalls, a total of eight workers were murdered.

The lack of chickens occurs in all the markets of Chilpancingo. In the center, five of the six chicken shops are closed. In the only one that remained open they sell pork rinds, lard and refried beans; they don’t have chicken.

The young man who runs the stall explains that Saturday was the last time they got chicken, but they paid 30 pesos more for it.

This Monday, some managed to buy chicken, but at a higher price. The owner of a restaurant says that on Saturday he paid 175 pesos for a full chicken and today 220.

“I don’t know how I’m going to do it because I don’t want to go get the chicken; It’s scary that when I’m there, they’ll come and attack.” He says.

According to the State Attorney General’s Office, two criminal organizations operate in Chilpancingo, Los Ardillos and Los Tlacos.

However, the bishop emeritus of the Chilpancingo-Chilapa Diocese, Salvador Rangel Mendoza, says that the violence of recent days is due to the arrival of a third organization that seeks to displace the other two. He did not name the other group, but assures that the authorities do know who they are.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.