La Familia on the Ropes

A recently arrested La Familia boss in the Michoacán towns of La Mira and Guacamayas says that the group is becoming weaker and weaker, and has now resorted to bank robbery and carjackings to prop up its income. This fits with the general picture of La Familia given by Sergio Moreno after his arrest in November. It's also worth noting that the group has grown ever more violent as it has grown weaker, a further illustration of the long-evident drug war paradox: the weakening of the most powerful gangs is bad for public security in the short term.

The arrestee also said that the group is allied with the Zetas and fighting the Beltrán Leyvas for control of Guerrero. I'm not even sure what "the Beltrán Leyvas" means at this point, but that's not something I've heard before; for the past several years, the Zetas were said to be fighting La Familia and collaborating with the Beltrán Leyva gang.