A joint operation between the Secretariat of Public Security and the Chiapas State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) led to the dismantling of a transnational criminal cell engaged in extortion through the “drop-by-drop” (*gota a gota*) loan scheme. The police intervention took place in the city of Tuxtla Gutiérrez and resulted in the arrest of 11 members of the criminal group.
State Attorney General Jorge Luis Llaven explained that the organization’s *modus operandi* involved offering immediate collateral-backed loans with excessive, compounding interest rates, turning the debts into unpayable sums within a short period. When victims were unable to meet daily payment installments, collectors resorted to death threats, physical assaults, and direct damage to homes and businesses to demand payment.
Intelligence operations enabled authorities to locate and neutralize the perpetrators simultaneously in the Chiapas capital. After verifying their identities and immigration status, authorities confirmed the criminal gang’s international makeup:
Eight individuals of Venezuelan origin.
One Colombian national.
Two Mexican nationals.
All those arrested were charged with direct responsibility for the crimes of aggravated extortion, making threats, causing bodily injury, and property damage.
At the time of the arrest—made *in flagrante delicto*—state security personnel and investigative agents searched the suspects and the vehicles used to carry out the forced collections, seizing the following illicit items:
One long gun and two handguns.
Four magazines and 42 live rounds of various calibers.
Two motor vehicles and four motorcycles used for collection routes.
Fifty-two doses of methamphetamine.
Thirty-five doses of the synthetic drug known as “crystal.” Thirty-one doses of cocaine.
The arsenal, vehicles, narcotic doses, and the 11 detainees were placed at the disposal of the State Attorney General’s Office, which will compile the corresponding investigation file and determine the legal status of each individual involved, while also notifying the relevant immigration authorities.
