Notimexico/Correspondents –“Los motonetos,” a shock group financed by former mayor Marco Cancino González, emerged in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, in 2015-2018. Romeo Cancino, brother of the excitable official, organized the cells with specific slogans, while political operator Sergio Natarén Gutiérrez provided them with motorcycles.
With the help of Mario López Santiz alias “Moshán”, Gerónimo Ruiz López alias “El Artesano,” and the leader of the Association of Traditional Market Vendors of Chiapas (Almetrach), Narcizo Ruiz Sántiz, they were in charge of collecting and controlling the trade of 1,200 street vendors in the Plaza de la Paz, Andadores, Santo Domingo and Centro Histórico, whose pockets collected 800,000 pesos weekly.
However, other motonetos from other organizations joined in, bringing the total to nine, including the Coordinadora de Organizaciones por el Medio Ambiente para un Chiapas Mejor (Comach), Frente Popular Sentimientos de la Nación (FPSN), and the Asociación Cooperativa de Transportes del Estado de Chiapas (Acotrach).
Likewise, the motonetos of Almetrach, of the Organization of Evangelical Peoples of the Highlands of Chiapas (Opeach), of the Northern Zone Market, led by Domingo Ruiz López alias “Pishol”, as well as subgroups Elite, Los Vans, Los Antrax, Los Torres, Sacktzel and Los Patos.
Marco Cancino reinforced the motonetos with firearms, both long and short, increasing their informal commerce to carry out with robberies, assaults, homicide, extortion, charging for “derecho de piso” (business operation dues), drug dealing, kidnapping of officials and private individuals, control of street vendors, invasion of natural areas and private property.
But it was not only Marco Cancino, but also the former governor Manuel Velasco Coello, the current senator Eduardo Ramirez Aguilar, and even the current mayor Mariano Diaz Ochoa, because they used the leaders of the motonetos as shock groups and to commit electoral frauds, as political operators and to mobilize people in political events.
There is photographic evidence of the link between the motonetos and Manuel Velasco, Marco Cancino, Mariano Diaz Ochoa, in the company of leaders such as Narciso Ruiz Sanchez, Manuel and Juan Collazo, as well as Domingo Ruiz, alias “Pishol”, who recently staged the clash in San Cristobal.
Worst of all is that the motonetos want to maintain political control of the municipality, now with the help of criminal and other organizations, who to tell the truth are keeping the population of San Cristobal de Las Casas terrorized.
It should be noted that on June 14, Mayor Mariano Diaz Ochoa himself went to San Antonio del Monte to ask for support from the motonetos, who called in a criminal group to banish Domingo Pishol and the long-time administrator of the North Zone Market, Mauricio Chavez, people of Hugo Perez, the self-proclaimed mayor of Oxhuc, who has the area under siege.
Original article in Notimex on June 23rd, 2022. English translation by Schools for Chiapas.