Authorities in Mexico have captured Alberto Rodríguez, known as “El Virus,” at a resort in Hidalgo. He is the leader of a criminal gang that operates mainly in the Azcapotzalco borough of Mexico City, in the northwest of the capital. El Virus, who had previously been in prison, had been involved in a conflict with a criminal group known as Los Mal Portados, who had once been his allies. The Mexico City prosecutor’s office accuses the suspected criminal of a femicide, at least five other killings, and several robberies.
Last weekend, El Virus, 31, made headlines when alleged members of Los Mal Portados attacked a suspected drug sales point in Azcapotzalco that they linked to their now-enemy. The attackers burst into the house and opened fire on the people inside. Four people were killed, including a minor, and two others were left seriously wounded. According to sources contacted by EL PAÍS last week, the killers entered the house shouting, “Where is El Virus?” But Rodríguez was not there.
In recent days, authorities had tracked him to Hidalgo, in an area already close to Puebla, a couple of hours from the capital. “Investigative work, fixed and mobile surveillance allowed the probable leader of the criminal cell to be located in the municipality of Santa Ana Hueytlalpan,” the Mexico City police, the prosecutor’s office, Hidalgo state police, and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection said in a joint statement. Officers moved in on El Virus when he was at a “recreational center” on the highway from Tulancingo to Metepec.
“El Virus’s group is mainly dedicated to the crimes of theft, robberies of transport workers, sale and distribution of narcotics, and homicide,” as well as extortion, sources familiar with its activities told this newspaper. “In recent years, his organization maintained an alliance with Los Mal Portados; however, the alliance broke down and a dispute began over control of criminal activities in the Azcapotzalco borough,” they added. Although it is not clear why the alliance ended, “El Virus was in a relationship with the sister of El Mal Portado,” the same sources said. El Mal Portado, the leader of that criminal group, was arrested last year.
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