78 Public Servants, Including Police Officers and City Officials, Accused of Operating Extortion Network in Mexico

During a special operation conducted by members of the Mexican Army and the National Guard, a total of 78 public servants—including local police officers and politicians—have been arrested as of Jan. 24 at the Villafores and Villacorzo municipalities, in the Mexican state of Chiapas.

The arrests come after the suspects were linked to a extortion network that operates in the rural region located less than 60 miles from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas' capital city.

Among those detained were Xochitl Castañón Burguete, transit director of the Villaflores municipality, municipal secretary René Madariaga and María del Carmen Méndez Moreno, a former leader of a moto taxi association.

Authorities believe these three individuals led a "gang dedicated to extort business owners, ranchers and transportation workers," Chiapas Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven Abarca said.

According to complaints, Madariaga was the one responsible for meeting with potential victims, and allegedly asked them to deposit a fee of about $8 every week directly into Méndez Moreno's account. If they failed to comply, victims were allegedly at risk of being kidnapped or killed.

In the municipality of Villacorzo, located less than a 15-minute car drive south of Villaflores, Army and National Guard personnel raided multiple properties that belonged to public servants. As part of the operations, 26 municipal police officers were arrested.

Oscar Aparicio, Chiapas Security secretary, said all 39 municipal officers in Villaflores are being investigated, including the chief of police identified as José Gregorio Cedeño, who was previously sentenced for homicide and drug trafficking charges under a fake name.

Aparicio said that in the last 48 hours, 78 public servants have been arrested in Chiapas, out of which 11 were arrested on Jan. 21, including a former member of the Chiapas Attorney General's office that was allegedly in charge of the extortion network.

Aparicio also revealed that authorities will continue with their investigations, as they are aware of more alleged corruption cases among public servants in the area.