HomeCountriesMexico organized crime newsFamilia Michoacana

Familia Michoacana

The Familia Michoacana is a once-powerful cartel whose influence drained after the death of its leader in 2014.

READ FULL PROFILE

Latest News

DISPLACEMENT / 22 MAY 2023

Drone attacks carried out by the Familia Michoacana forced hundreds of residents of towns in Guerrero, Mexico, to flee their…

BELTRAN LEYVA ORG / 5 APR 2023

US officials may designate Mexican crime groups as terrorists, but this mischaracterizes the threat. …

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 23 MAR 2023

Nelson Alexander Flores Pacheco, alias "Mula", was the liaison between the Mexican Mafia and the MS13 in Tijuana, Mexico.

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 15 FEB 2023

In Mexico's hotly contested Tierra Caliente region, one priest is caught between the CJNG and a smattering of violent criminal…

FENTANYL / 6 JAN 2023

Mexico's Familia Michoacana are back in the headlines again. But is it the same cartel as the one that fell…

GULF CARTEL / 30 AUG 2021

It was a Saturday, around 12:30 p.m. local time, when a caravan of three vehicles loaded with well-armed men and…

Key Actors

Servando Gomez Martinez, alias 'La Tuta'

MEXICO / 2017-03-09

Servando Gomez Martinez, alias "La Tuta," was a former high-ranking member of the Familia Michoacana.

José Jesús Méndez Vargas, alias 'El Chango'

MEXICO / 2017-03-10

Jose Jesus Mendez Vargas, alias "El Chango," was the right hand man of the leader of the Familia Michoacana.

Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, alias 'El Chayo'

MEXICO / JULY 24, 2019

Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, alias "El Chayo,” was a founding member of the Familia Michoacana and was killed in 2014.

Read More About Mexico

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…

icon #SupportFreePress
image

Support Our Work

Investigating organized crime is an expensive and often risky enterprise. Reaching primary sources and getting the real story involve extensive fieldwork. Please donate. Every dollar supports our mission.

DONATE NOW image