Mexico gang leader sentenced to 60 years in prison

MEXICO CITY — The person of a transgression pack notorious for siphoning gasoline from authorities substance ducts has been sentenced to 60 years successful situation for kidnapping, according to authorities successful the cardinal Mexico authorities of Guanajuato.

José Antonio Yépez Ortiz had been 1 of Mexico’s astir wanted suspects anterior to his apprehension connected Aug. 2, 2020, pursuing a shootout with police. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador praised the apprehension astatine the clip arsenic “important, precise important.”

The pack had agelong fought a bloody turf conflict with the Jalisco cartel, and authorities blamed him for overmuch of the unit successful the concern and farming authorities of Guanajuato.

The authorities Attorney General’s Office said precocious Friday that the antheral known arsenic “El Marro” — which means “The Sledgehammer” — was sentenced by a tribunal successful the region. Local quality media said helium inactive faces charges of attempted homicide, robbery of substance and organized crime.

Yépez Ortíz’s Santa Rosa de Lima pack got its commencement robbing freight trains and stealing from substance pipelines but branched retired into extortion and different crimes — particularly aft López Obrador declared warfare connected pipeline taps and temporarily unopen disconnected the travel of substance aboriginal successful his administration.

Yépez Ortiz was antithetic among pack leaders successful posting videos with affectional calls to his followers, including 1 a fewer months earlier his ain apprehension successful which helium appeared to outcry aft respective of his supporters and relatives were arrested. In different video astir the aforesaid time, helium threatened to articulation forces with the Sinaloa cartel to combat Jalisco.

The turf conflict with Jalisco turned Guanajuato, with its overseas car plants and tourer towns similar San Miguel de Allende, into the astir convulsive authorities successful Mexico.

The Santa Rosa pack was not a cause cartel, but alternatively a powerful, convulsive pack that grew up successful a farming hamlet of the aforesaid sanction by stealing substance and robbing trains.

It tried to physique a enactment web among section residents by allowing them to instrumentality a insignificant stock successful the spoils of the robberies. When authorities information efforts made substance thefts much difficult, it turned to extorting wealth from businesses similar tortilla shops and dealers of cars and workplace equipment.