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Hipolito Mora has been detained by the Michoacán PGJE.
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The attorney general of the State of Michoacán reports that as a result of an investigation and testimony of residents in the municipality of Buenavista, that led to suspicion of liability of Hipolito Mora Chavez and others in his group, in the murder of Rafael Sánchez Moreno aka “El Pollo” and Jose Luis Torres Castaneda, who were found charred on Saturday 8 March.
This action appears to represent the latest round in the personal war between autodefensas leaders Mora and Luis Antonio Torres aka “El Americano”.
Americano, a car salesman from El Paso Texas, attempted to oust Mora from his leadership position by staging a siege on Monday along with hundreds of his supporters. Federal forces intervened and via helicopter safely escorted Mora out of the city.
Americano blamed Mora for the murders of El Pollo and Jose Torres, close friends of Americano. El Pollo is rumored to have been closely connected to Caballeros Templarios simultaneously with his role as a autodefensa.
The town of La Ruana seems split in their support of either Mora or Americano. Some of the inhabitants aligned with Americano are rumored to have filed reports with the state attorney general, (PGJE) accusing Mora of the murders. Typically, autodefensas circumvent state agencies, which are regarded has heavily corrupted, and contact the more trusted federal agencies when needed. In this case that was not done.
The events in La Ruana were not derived from autodefensas issues, it was a culmination of an intense personal feud between Mora and Americano. Fueling the conflict were Incidents regarding a close relative of Mora and another issue of a close relative of Americano, which has resulted in lawsuits.
Warning graphic photo on second page
Warning graphic photo on second page
