Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch met with lemon producers in Apatzingán to address violence and extortion in Tierra Caliente. The meeting took place one week after the murder of citriculturist leader Bernardo Bravo Manríquez. Harfuch assured that the crime will not go unpunished and announced reinforcements in security operations.
On Tuesday, October 28, Omar García Harfuch, Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, led a meeting at the 43rd Military Zone in Apatzingán, Michoacán, with lemon producers, Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, National Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, and National Guard representatives. The gathering focused on the violence crisis affecting the agricultural sector in Tierra Caliente, one week after the homicide of Bernardo Bravo Manríquez, leader of the Apatzingán Valley Citriculturists Association (ACVA), on October 20.
Producers raised concerns including 'floor rights' extortion by criminal groups, direct threats, lack of certainty in the production chain, and need for greater protection. Bravo had previously reported extortions in the region. Harfuch stated that coordinated operations between the SSPC, state prosecutor's office, Michoacán Public Security Secretariat, and Armed Forces would be strengthened to protect the sector and apprehend those responsible. On the murder, he said: 'Homicide of Bernardo Bravo will not go unpunished.' Under President Claudia Sheinbaum's instructions, the federal government will maintain close monitoring to ensure such crimes do not go unanswered.
Bravo's body was found that morning in his abandoned truck on the Apatzingán–Presa del Rosario road, in La Tinaja/Los Tepetates, showing torture signs and a head gunshot. Michoacán's Prosecutor's Office, headed by Carlos Torres Piña, revealed Bravo left Morelia with an escort, switched vehicles at a lemon market, and headed to Cenobio Moreno; the homicide likely occurred in San José de los Plátanos. Though assigned three escorts, only one was on duty. Phone records show calls from two numbers before his death, suggesting a possible lured meeting.
Investigations point to 'Los Blancos de Troya,' a cell linked to 'Los Viagras' led by César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arellano, alias 'El Bótox,' as possible culprits. The Prosecutor's Office offers 100,000 pesos reward for information leading to his capture, while the U.S. offers up to 5 million dollars, deeming him a terrorist. The group conducts extortions, kidnappings, and murders against lemon and avocado producers via deceptive meetings. Recently, Rigoberto N., 'El Pantano,' was detained for another crime, and previously Gerardo 'N,' 'La Silla,' and Joana 'S'.