A trailer load of gifts for moms in Tototlán, Jalisco.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) delivered Mother’s Day gifts to communities in Guanajuato, Jalisco and Michoacán on Monday in the name of leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.”
Cartel members arrived in communities in pickup trucks with banners declaring “Mr. Mencho and the CJNG wish all mothers a happy day” with a photo of the gang leader alongside.
With their faces covered, CJNG members handed out household appliances like blenders, microwaves, stoves and irons, according to videos and images on social media.
Some of the women recipients stayed in the area to show their appreciation and pose for the camera, while others headed home to put their new appliances to use.
“Here, Mr. Mencho, the Lord of the Roosters, sends you a gift so that today on Mother’s Day you can have some happiness … We are the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, to make your day a little more special … This gift is not on the part of any political party, it is sent by Mr. Mencho,” announced recordings from the vehicles as a song by the band Los Tucanes de Tijuana, which pays homage to Oseguera, played in the background.
The cartel boss is referred to as Lord of the Roosters due to a fondness for cockfights.
Gerardo Rodríguez Sánchez Lara, professor of national security at the University of the Americas, Puebla, said the CJNG’s aim is strategic rather than charitable. “They want social support to create a social shield,” he said.
It’s not the first time that the CJNG has displayed this kind of gesture.
In December last year a video from Jalisco circulated on social media of people thanking “El Mencho” for toys they had received.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic photos on social media showed CJNG members handing out food packages.
The Gulf Cartel and the Zetas cartel have also given out gifts as a way to win public support.
