Editor’s Note
This report details the arrest of a suspected extortionist linked to a major criminal organization in Puebla, highlighting ongoing security challenges in local markets.
Gema N., 34, a suspected extortionist operating in the Morelos market in the city of Puebla, has been arrested. Sources revealed to Ambas Manos that she worked for a cell linked to La Familia Michoacana. According to the information provided, the group seeks to take control of these spaces in the capital of Puebla. Consequently, “La Gema” was already a target for the authorities. Her arrest was the result of intelligence work carried out by the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP).
The agency confirmed the arrest in a statement detailing that the woman was caught in possession of 16,000 pesos in cash, as well as drugs such as methamphetamine. The operation was carried out in the Diez de Mayo neighborhood, in coordination with the Puebla Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC).
Following her capture, Gema was placed at the disposal of the ministerial authority. Meanwhile, investigations are advancing, as she is accused of charging fees in exchange for protection to market stallholders.
In this regard, the SSP called on the public to anonymously report this crime or if they identify her as responsible for others.
This seizure occurs just as the Puebla City Council confirmed the presence of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and La Familia Michoacana in the city. The head of the SSC, Félix Pallares Miranda, reported that both criminal groups have left banners with threatening messages at various points in the capital.
According to Pallares, in addition to those two national cartels, the corporation has detected 133 local gangs. These are dedicated to vehicle theft, transportation, pedestrian, home, and business robberies.
Just last July, Martha Silvia L., alias “La Tlacuacha,” was arrested, also identified as a member of La Familia Michoacana and a generator of violence in the northern area of Puebla capital. This was achieved during a procedure led by the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE), with the support of the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) and the SSP, in the El Porvenir neighborhood.
According to investigations, she was linked to the homicides of at least three people, whose bodies were abandoned near the Hidalgo and Morelos markets.
