A notorious Mexican cartel has handed out boxes of food to poor families amid the COVID-19 lockdown with a clear message that the goods came from them and not the authorities.
The boxes were reportedly delivered by members of the Gulf Cartel to poor residents in the city of Ciudad Victoria in the north-eastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
According to local media, the goods had a note attached to each one that read: “Gulf Cartel supporting CD (Ciudad Victoria). Mister 46 Vaquero.”
Reports said that “Mister 46 Vaquero” might be the nickname of one of the cartel’s leaders.
Gang members reportedly told citizens: “Gulf Cartel, we want you to know where it comes from.
“Do not think it comes from the DIF (the National System for Integral Family Development) or any other organisation.”
The delivery could be a strategy by cartel bosses to win favour among locals and challenge other drug gangs in the area, according to local media.
One of the cartel’s most prominent leaders, Luis Alberto Blanco Flores, aka ‘El Pelochas’, was arrested by the Mexican authorities in 2018.
Meanwhile, the government has suspended all non-essential economic activities until at least the 30th April amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins University Mexico has registered 2,439 cases of COVID-19 and 125 related deaths.
Meanwhile, 633 people have made full recoveries.
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Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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