The murder last week of an entire family in Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, has ultimately exposed a whole gang dedicated to homicide, extortion, robbery, and kidnapping. “Los Julios”—whose reach extends across four municipalities in the State of Mexico and certain areas of the capital—have been identified by the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office as having participated in the planning and execution of the family massacre. The family consisted of a 47-year-old couple and their two daughters, aged 12 and 16. The group targeted the home due to a romantic relationship between the eldest daughter and another gang member, Emiliano Villaseñor, who has already been detained.
This Tuesday—one week after the murders—the Attorney General’s Office arrested four individuals: Alexis Ricardo N, alias “Lobito” (the son of the alleged ringleader); Luis Enrique N, alias “El Kike”; and two other accomplices, Valentín N and Enrique N—the latter being El Kike’s father and a member of the Alliance of Metropolitan Transporters and Merchants (ACME) union.
According to the investigation, Lobito and El Kike planned the robbery alongside Emiliano, the ex-boyfriend of Valentina, the eldest daughter. The objective was to seize the cars, clothing, jewelry, and documents located at a property the family owned in Atizapán de Zaragoza, with the ultimate goal of taking ownership of the estate. And that is precisely what happened.
In the early hours of last Tuesday morning, Villaseñor entered the home accompanied by his siblings—José María (24) and María de Jesús (21)—and his sister’s partner, Francisco Javier Azuara Santos (36). They took everything of value and murdered the entire family. The bodies were left in separate rooms, alongside a cartel-style message signed by “La Unión Tepito,” intended to throw investigators off the scent. The plan—attributed by the Prosecutor’s Office to “El Kike”—failed: the suspects were located and apprehended at various points across Atizapán, where they had been hiding, during an operation that lasted less than 24 hours and culminated in a shootout with police officers.
The capture of Villaseñor and his brothers subsequently led to the dismantling of “Los Julios,” a group that controls areas within Atizapán de Zaragoza, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Naucalpan, and Tlalnepantla. “El Kike” operated out of—and took refuge in—the Colonia Romana neighborhood in Tlalnepantla, where he had previously been reported for the robbery of a grocery store.
