Federal Forces Arrest Alejandro Benítez Palacios, Alleged Leader of Guerreros Unidos in Tlatlaya

Federal Forces Arrest Key Criminal Figure in Mexico

Federal forces detained Alejandro Benítez Palacios, known as El Cholo Palacios, in Tlatlaya, State of Mexico. He is charged with organized crime and forced disappearance. Authorities suspect him of being the plaza chief for Guerreros Unidos in several municipalities in Guerrero.

Testimony from Gildardo López Astudillo, a former plaza chief in Iguala for Guerreros Unidos, claims Palacios was involved in the attack on the bus carrying local soccer team Los Avispones. This incident is linked to the disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa students in September 2014.

Police reports indicate Palacios was planning to flee to the United States with his wife and two young children but was arrested before he could escape. He previously managed criminal activities in Huitzuco, Taxco, and Tepecoaxuilco, Guerrero, including kidnapping, extortion, and the disappearance of at least eight people in Cocula.

Authorities identified Palacios as having connections with Francisco Salgado Valladares, a former deputy police chief in Iguala, and Gildardo López Astudillo. All are linked to the Ayotzinapa case. López Astudillo stated that Palacios was responsible for the violent attacks during the Iguala events.

Palacios was also connected to a threatening message found with three bodies in Guerrero in 2022, warning rivals of retaliation.

The operation that led to his arrest involved the National Defense Secretariat, the Navy Secretariat, the National Guard, the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office, and the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection.

Following his arrest, Palacios was submitted to the Public Ministry, which will determine his legal status and continue subsequent investigations.