MEXICO: La Familia Michoacana Narco Boss "El Chango" Captured; Power Struggle Expected.

BBC


Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas, aka "El Chango"/the monkey...a leader of the meth manufacturing La Familia Michoacana narco gang... wanted with a $2.5mn reward on his head...was captured in Aguascalientes state...without a struggle.

La Familia made a spectacular debut in 2006.. throwing severed heads into a nightclub.
Experts predict that La Familia, a ruthless and cult-like gang...will undergo a power struggle... even as it battles the fierce Los Zetas and a splinter group called the Knights Templar...for control of its territories.

MEXICO: 21 Men's Bodies Scattered About... On Streets Near Morelia.

AFP /

At least 21 bodies, all males between 25 and 30, were found strewn around outside the city limits of Morelia in Michoacan.

Warning notes attached to the bodies said: "Because society asked for it, this is going to happen to those who continue to rob houses, kidnappers and rapists."

Police said some bodies were piled together, faces taped-over and showing signs of torture.

MEXICO: Another Copter Goes Down...In Apatzingan, Michoacan.

LAHT/

   For the second time this week, a military helicopter has crashed ... in Apatzingan.
   A small 2-man copter had mechanical problems and landed in a tree.
   Earlier this week, a larger federal police helicopter was forced down outside Apatzingan after it was
fired on by narcos.
   Six police were aboard...and two were hurt...in a" hard landing."

MEXICO: 03 Jan. UPDATE: Gang Announces Truce; Police Claim "La Familia Michoacana" Is Acabo.

AP/ M.HERALD/ E. EDUARDO CASTILLO /

    A one-page letter allegedly signed by La Familia Michoacana has announced a one-month truce.

    Sent by e-mail and in some cities left door to door, it claims the narcos will halt all crime during January to demonstrate that the cartel "is not responsible for the criminal acts federal authorities are reporting to the media."

    It comes a few days after the federal police claimed the La Familia Michoacana narco terrorist gang had been "completely dismembered" and has broken into small groups committing robberies.

       The gang specialized in selling meth, extorting of businesses and ambushing federal police.
       The police say La Familia was recently thrown into disarray with the arrests and deaths of top members, including leader Nazario Moreno,aka "The Craziest One," who died in a December shootout.
For Truce Details, SEE:
 http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/02/1997799/mexican-cartel-announces-1-month.html

MEXICO: Legislature Votes To Strip Immunity From Politician Accused Of Narco Ties.

NYTIMES/ RANDAL ARCHIBOLD /

     Since September, Julio César Godoy has been an open embarrassment to President Felipe Calderon and his expanding war against narco terrorists.
      Cesar Godoy was a federal fugitive charged with laundering millions for the La Familia Michoacana narco terrorists but also an elected member of its congress.
      “It undermined the seriousness of the Chamber of Deputies and the rule of law that he could just show up and take the oath,” said professor John J. Bailey. “The natural reaction was, ‘What is going on here?’ ”
      In the fall, Cesar Godoy suddenly reappeared in the national legislature unnoticed meaning that he was immune from prosecution...until yesterday when it voted to strip it from him --temporarily-- if he can be found.