SUMMARY
La Unión de Tepito was one of the most powerful organized criminal groups in the Mexican capital. The cartel was dedicated to the sale and distribution of drugs, as well as extortion, violence and homicide. It constituted an entrenched part of Mexico City’s criminal landscape, and has played a major role in the increasing violence the city has seen in later years.
The organization was founded in 2009 by Francisco Hernández together with Armando Hernández Gómez, as well as former members of cartel Los Zetas Ricardo López Castillo and Omar Romero. The former was killed in 2017, while the latter two have been arrested. Édgar Villarreal Valdés, “La Barbie”, a top-ranking member of the [Beltrán Leyva Cartel] (/#/actor/1089), also played a supporting role in the early days of La Unión de Tepito. Together they formed the cartel, which held the position of the criminal group with the largest influence in Mexico City, being present in 11 of the city’s 16 boroughs.
The criminal activities attributed to La Unión de Tepito were extortion operations, drug trafficking businesses in the capital and synthetic drug manufacturing. Executions of members of rival groups are not uncommon, predominantly as a part of an ongoing fight over territory, as revenge or a ‘settling of accounts’. In addition, La Unión de Tepito controlled the sale of counterfeit goods in the area, demanding business owners to comply or else they will be kidnapped or killed.
The cartel was based in Mexico City. The group was highly centralized, most of the extortion operation headed by La Unión de Tepito wereconducted in Mexico City's historic center and in the Cuauhtémoc and Venustiano Carranza boroughs. They have been detected in several additional boroughs, moving into the wealthier areas of the city.
La Unión de Tepito had links to formal power within Mexico City, however it was unclear how deep these run. Over 100 police officers were suspected of having collaborated with the cartel. In terms of military capabilities, the group had access to heavy weaponry and guns, as well as vehicles.
When it comes to leadership, sources disagree. In recent years, the group had become weakened by arrests and assassination of its leaders. It has been said that the Union was commanded by El Chori, El Barbas and El Dylan, who are in charge of selling and distributing drugs, cobro de piso (the collection of floors rights, a type of fee business owners were forced by cartel members to pay if they want to work) and extortion. In 2020, Raúl Rojas Molina, “El Mi Jefe”, was identified by the capital's intelligence authorities as the current leader of La Unión Tepito. It was believed that Rojas Molina's two closest subordinates, known as “El Manzanas” and “El Elvis,” were in charge of La Unión's extortion and micro-trafficking operations, respectively. El Elvis commanded Los Paraguayos (The Paraguayans), a subgroup of La Unión de Tepito.
The group did not have any strong allies, however, it had several enemies and rival groups. A bloody rivalry with Fuerza Anti Unión], a group formed as a response to the activities of La Unión Tepito, had been ongoing since at least 2018. Many rival groups have been diminished or retreated from the area dominated by La Unión Tepito, such as the Tlahuac Cartel, which had seen most of its leadership detained by authorities.
The relationship with Jalisco Cartel New Generation was not determined. While temporary alliances with some fractions of the CJNG have been detected, the CJNG later seemed to be attempting to position itself in Mexico City, as they in 2019 declared their presence in the capital to expand their own territory.
La Unión de Tepito cartel has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.
