Notorious Mexican Cartel Leader Using Children as Shields in Gang War

A Mexican cartel boss is disguising children as self-defense members and activists.

The cartel leader is reportedly paying them to stand at the town entrances as human shields in efforts to keep a rival cartel from attacking, as reported by Breitbart.

This cartel boss is the same drug lord who earlier ordered a hit on a Breitbart Texas writer. The cartel leader was known in the criminal underworld as "El Boto." Cesar Sepulveda Arellano operates over several parts of the Mexican state of Michoacán.

His cell is part of the Viagras-Cartel Unidos alliance that is fighting in the many parts of Michoacán against Mexico's Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion. Los Viagras has remained open about their criminal activities.

El Boto and Juan Jose "El Abuelo" Alvarez Farias try to pass themselves off as self-defense leaders rather than as drug lords in an attempt to earn international favor and sympathy.

Breitbart Texas exclusively obtained a series of photographs showing women and children gathered at the entrances of towns in the Apatzingan municipality.

In the photo, the people were wearing T-shirts with self-defense messages. Locals then revealed that El Boto is paying $500 pesos to $1,000 pesos per week for each adult male.

Meanwhile, $300 pesos to $500 pesos per child that joins his self-defense group in the citu=y.

Residents said that members are required to show up unarmed to the entrances to the city and each are given a stick to carry as a rifle.

The t-short reportedly says "For a Free Michoacán." The said human shield disguising as activists are ordered to stand around in areas of potential conflict.

Meanwhile, El Boto's gunman roam the area clashing with their rivals. El Boto's people has set up numerous roadblocks in Michoacán in an effort to interfere with law enforcement operations.

He ordered a $100,000 hit on Jose Luis Lara in August 2018. Lara was a writer for Cartel Chronicles and a founding member of the Self-Defense Movement in Michoacán.

After 48 hours, the Mexican Army and Navy followed an anonymous tip t o a house in Morelos. El Boto claimed that Lara was a spy for the U.S. government.

He then sent messages to avocado growers in Michoacán saying they must pay extortion fees to his men. This was almost immediately after his release from imprisonment, as reported by American Priority.

El Boto's release comes as violence between Los Viagras and Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion spreads terror throughout the region. Both cartels are fighting to take control of the region's drug production and trafficking routes.

Drug Gang Violence

As the country struggles to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, Jalisco and its rivals are exploiting a security void to step up the fight for control and drug trade in the country, as reported by Reuters.

The military has been deployed to help stem the coronavirus, turning barracks into COVID-19 treatment clinics.

A senior security official said that the pandemic is straining the federal government's ability to deal with organized crime.

"Coronavirus is the priority right now, no doubt. You can feel that," the official was quoted on a Reuters report in July.