Friday, October 10, 2025

Residents go up against soldiers in Guanajuato: ‘We don’t want you here’

Residents of a cartel-controlled community in Guanajuato confronted soldiers and Federal Police officers Saturday, forcing the security forces to retreat.

A group of between 50 and 100 people – mainly women – shouted insults at the federal forces in Santa Rosa de Lima, a town in the municipality of Villagrán that is a stronghold of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, a gang of fuel thieves.

“. . . We don’t want you here . . .” the residents yelled along with expletive-laden abuse, the newspaper Milenio reported.

To avoid an escalation of hostilities, the soldiers and police decided to leave Santa Rosa after which residents set tires at the town’s entrance to prevent their return.

The security forces had been carrying out patrols supported by two navy helicopters.

Saturday’s confrontation was not the first time that Santa Rosa de Lima residents have stood up against security forces.

On January 29, an anti-fuel theft operation in Villagrán that resulted in the seizure of at least 24 tanker trucks filled with gasoline, seven trailers and 5,000 liters of stolen fuel triggered a hostile response from residents who attempted to repel security forces with fiery blockades.

Two days later, a narco-banner appeared in Salamanca warning President López Obrador to remove security forces from the Guanajuato or innocent people will die.

The banner, signed by “El Señor Marro,” also said that “a little gift” had been left at the Salamanca oil refinery.

The gift, the government later confirmed, consisted of explosive devices left inside a vehicle parked in front of one of the refinery’s entrances. The explosives were removed before they detonated and were destroyed by authorities.

The gang is believed headed by José Antonio “El Marro” Yépez Ortiz, who has evaded capture even though federal authorities have a lot of information about him, including ranches he frequents, his closest criminal associates and the locations his gang targets to extract fuel from Pemex pipelines.

His criminal organization is believed to be behind much of the violence that made Guanajuato Mexico’s deadliest state last year.

According to federal intelligence officials, the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel is now expanding into Querétaro and Hidalgo to steal fuel from petroleum pipelines in those states.

Source: Reforma (sp), Milenio (sp) 

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
CIBanco branch

How to get your money out of CIBanco

0
On Friday, Oct. 10, the Mexican government revoked CIBanco's license to operate following accusations of money laundering by the United States. Read on for instructions on how to retrieve your funds.
sargassum

Mexico’s Caribbean coast welcomes early end to sargassum season

3
Sargassum on Quintana Roo's beaches caused a lot of problems throughout the season, but in reality, the quantities seen were lower than experts had predicted earlier in the year.

Migrant apprehensions at Mexico border hit 55-year low, US reports

6
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 237,565 apprehensions at the Mexico-U.S. border in Fiscal Year 2025, the lowest total since Fiscal Year 1970.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity