A leader of lime growers in the violent western Mexican state of Michoacan was killed Monday, authorities said, after repeatedly denouncing in recent months the extortion demands of organized crime on producers.
TL;DR
- Mexican lime growers' leader Bernardo Bravo was killed after denouncing cartel extortion.
- Bravo, president of Apatzingan Valley Citrus Producers Association, was found dead in his vehicle.
- Cartels have long profited from limes, leading to grower vigilante movements in the past.
- Michoacan lime packing facilities temporarily ceased operations due to cartel demands.
The Michoacan state prosecutor’s office said on social platform X Monday that the body of Bernardo Bravo, president of the Apatzingan Valley Citrus Producers Association, was found in his vehicle on a road in the area.
In several interviews with Mexico’s Radio Formula in late September and earlier this month, Bravo denounced “organized crime’s permanent commercial hijacking of any commercial activity.” He said criminals’ demands had become out of reach for producers who were left with no other choice but to negotiate with them.
He conceded that the federal government had made some advances against organized crime in the area, but said more had to be done to end their impunity.
Last year, the federal government sent hundreds of troops to Michoacan to protect lime growers complaining of extortion threats.
During August, over fifty percent of lime packing facilities in Michoacan's lowlands ceased operations temporarily. This closure followed reports from growers and distributors that they had been subjected to demands from Los Viagras and other cartels for a portion of their earnings.
Limes have been a revenue stream for cartels for years in Mexico.
In 2013, lime producers established and headed Mexico’s biggest vigilante movement. At that time, cartels had seized control of distribution, dictating domestic prices for produce such as avocados and limes, and informing growers about harvest times and sale prices.
Of the various criminal groups operating in Michoacan, several were declared foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration, including United Cartels, the New Michoacan Family and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.