Mexico City police have captured, José Bernabé Brizuela, alias “La Vaca,” leader of the Mezcales, a Colima crime group formerly under the Jalisco cartel

Mexico City police have captured José Bernabé Brizuela, alias “La Vaca,” leader of the Mezcales, a Colima crime group formerly under the Jalisco cartel.

In today’s #CriminalThreads, we look at his role in violence in Colima and how the Mezcales took on the Jalisco Cartel.

Colima is one of the smallest yet bloodiest states in Mexico. Sky-high homicide rates, due in large part to the Mezcales, have been reported for several years.

The Mezcales were the Jalisco Cartel’s henchmen in Colima. That changed in early 2022 when they made a stunning announcement: Jalisco Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” was dead, and they would no longer follow his group.

The Mezcales weren’t alone in facing down the far larger cartel. In April, Michoacán clan, the Correa, killed at least 20 people in surprise attack on Jalisco Cartel members at an underground cockfight.

Information reads: "Last night, following the #CMDX capture of José Bernabé Brizuela Meraz, alias 'La #Vaca', of the Cartel Independiente de Colima, criminals burned vehicles in #Colima city in a reaction that is now expected.

by "Mica" and "Ivan".