A month before the day the town of Uruapan, Michoacán, witnessed the assassination of its mayor, Carlos Manzo, Samuel ‘N’, his employee, knew of his fateful destiny and yet continued working for him and, at the same time, for his killers.
The lengthy eight-hour hearing, which took place yesterday in courtroom eight of the Michoacán Judicial Branch’s oral trials court, revealed how Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez had the enemy within, closer than he imagined. Here’s a recap of how the crime was orchestrated.
Josué Eulogio, nicknamed “El Viejito” (The Old Man), confessed in his testimony that the former Director of Public Relations and Protocol for the Uruapan city council agreed to be part of a Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) cell to assassinate the man who, months earlier, had arrested one of his plaza bosses.
There were at least 400 conversations, including messages and calls, between the two men since they met seven months ago through a cousin. Eulogio had not only been driving a taxi in Uruapan for 16 years, but he also sold drugs for the CJNG cartel.
It was this latter activity that connected him with Samuel, as he allegedly had an addiction problem. Every three to eight days, he would sell Samuel small packets of cocaine, the drug he used most frequently. According to his account, he paid between 1,500 and 2,000 pesos per dose.
Being a frequent customer, the amount of “pills” he had to sell ran out quickly, and this caught the attention of his boss, nicknamed El M2, described as the plaza boss of Uruapan, whose identity was kept secret from his lower-ranking employees.
As a frequent customer, the supply of drugs he had to sell ran out quickly, which caught the attention of his boss, nicknamed El M2 and described as the plaza boss of Uruapan, whose identity was kept secret from his lower-ranking employees.
Samuel ‘N’ leaked information about Manzo’s movements a month before the attack. He came into contact with this alleged leader of the Jalisco cartel through WhatsApp messages. This individual was first mentioned in the hearings for the murder of Manzo Rodríguez. Josué recounted that he told El M2 about his client, and his boss asked him to “treat him well” because “they were going to need him later,” and so it was.
A month before the attack, in October, El Viejito was allegedly informed of the plans to assassinate the man also known as El Hombre del Sombrero (The Man in the Hat) because he was “making a mess of things” in the municipality. The CJNG cartel leader asked him to convince Samuel to be part of the plan, knowing of his presence within the mayor’s inner circle.
The former municipal official, far from showing any reluctance, readily agreed to participate.
“Okay, whatever you need, I’ll help,” he reportedly told Samuel.
Thus, from one day to the next, he began leaking information, such as his presence at checkpoints, the mayor’s locations, his outings, and other external movements.
El Viejito forwarded the information he received to his boss, who recorded it.
