Bernardo Bravo Manríquez, leader of the Association of Lemon Producers of the Apatzingán Valley, who was found dead on the morning of Monday, October 20, on a road that leads to the Los Tepetates community, in Michoacán, had denounced extortion and threats from organized crime.
The death of the lemon leader was notified by the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Michoacán. His body, with signs of torture, was located inside his own vehicle.
The first investigations indicate that Bravo Manríquez was deprived of his liberty by armed individuals this Sunday afternoon on the edge of the municipal capital.
Subsequently, Bernardo Bravo was transferred by the criminals to the town of Cenobio Moreno (Colonias), where he was tortured and murdered.
Check out: Sheinbaum reacts to the murder of lemon leader Bernardo Bravo
Around 9:40 p.m., the criminals abandoned the truck with the body on the aforementioned road, as evidenced by some evidence in the authorities’ possession.
Bernardo Bravo had reported extortion and threats
A day before, the lemon leader had called a meeting of all lemon producers through his social networks to, he said, “beat the hell out” of the coyotes (intermediaries), whom he constantly denounced for abuses and for being part of organized crime.
Bernardo Bravo Manríquez was also the head of the citrus guild that paralyzed the cutting and marketing of lemon as part of its actions against the payment of fees and extortion to those forced by the Los Viagras Cartel.
Bravo Manríquez, 41 years old and the youngest of four brothers, had already reported threats against him by César Alejandro Sepúlveda Arellano, El Bótox, one of the main operators of that criminal organization that associated with the Nueva Generación Cartel to call itself the Michoacán Nueva Generación Cartel.
Find out: What is known about the death of “Medio Metro”?
The same fate as his father; inherited violence in the Michoacan countryside
The leader of the lemon trees, also a law graduate, was murdered in a very similar way to the murder of his father, Bernardo Bravo Valencia, one of the precursors of the citrus growers organization in the Apatzingán Valley.
“Don Berna” or “El Chiflidos”, as the man was known, was kidnapped when leaving his ranch, also tortured, murdered and his body abandoned on top of his truck near the town of El Recreo, located in the Los Viagras control zone.
Don Berna inherited that passion and business of lemon production, transportation and marketing to his four children, and Bernardo Bravo was the one who assumed the presidency of the ACVA.
Bernardo Bravo Manríquez is survived by his mother (Conchita), his wife, current presiding judge of the Electoral Tribunal of the State of Michoacán (TEEM), Amelí Gissel Navarro Lepe, his children and his three brothers (Fernando, Omar and Jaime).
Look at this: Noroña will request a temporary license; what is the reason?
Lemon producers face organized crime in Tierra Caliente
Three years ago, the Citrus Growers Association began the crusade against extortion, with Bernardo Bravo at the head of it.
Said by himself and the rest of the agricultural businessmen, the threats against him were strengthened by opposing and mobilizing against extortion.
When asked about the murder of the ACVA president, some producers confirmed that the criminal group Los Viagras “made good on their threats and killed Berna to send a message to all of us.”
One of the businessmen, whose identity is reserved for his safety, emphasized that these threats were for all those who did not pay or opposed paying the criminal tax tax.
“But let’s not act stupid. We already know that it was the fucking Viagras who screwed Bernardo to send a message to all of us, but we’re not going to acquit ourselves because, anyway, we were already dead,” he said.
Stay informed: This is how the rains will be distributed in Mexico this Tuesday
And he added: “There is no way around it nor do we have to be so intelligent. We hinder them so that these filth continue fattening their pockets. The cruelty with which they killed Berna is very sad and regrettable and that awaits us.”
He agreed with two other producers, who so far have not defined whether these days they are going to mobilize as a union or wait for the parade to pass for the CCXI Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Constitutional Decree for the Freedom of Mexican America, promulgated on October 22, 1814 by the Congress of Anáhuac in Apatzingán, Michoacán.
Lemon producers, target of organized crime
Bernardo Bravo Manríquez is the fifth lemon producer murdered in just over a year, since his protests against extortion increased.
José Luis Aguiñaga Escalera He was shot to death on September 12, 2024, in Buenavista, the municipality with the largest lemon production in the state of Michoacán.
On January 14, 2025, the lemon producer and rural professor Ramon Paz Salinas He died when a mine-type improvised explosive device exploded while he was on his way from his garden to teach classes in a town in the municipality of Apatzingán.
Check out: Tropical storm could form at this point in the Mexican Pacific
The 69-year-old teacher was heading in his truck from the town of Las Bateas to El Tepetate when he activated one of the ground explosives.
The farmer also died immediately inside his truck, which caught fire as a result of the explosion.
On February 9, as a result of the explosion of an improvised ground explosive device, another lemon producer, 43 years old, and a 14-year-old teenager died on a property in the town of Santa Ana, municipality of Buenavista.
In September of this same year, a lemon producer from the municipality of Apatzingán was found shot to death on the Parácuaro-Cuatro Caminos highway.
And now, this October 20, the union mourned the murder of its president.
Government of Michoacán promises justice; They reinforce security in Apatzingán
Through a statement, the governor of Michoacán, Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla, committed an inter-institutional investigation and full coordination to arrest the person or persons involved in the murder of the lemon leader Bernardo Bravo, which occurred this Monday in Apatzingán.
The president reported that they are working in coordination with the State Attorney General’s Office in the investigation initiated into the homicide.
“This crime will not go unpunished and we will bring to the authorities those who participated in this crime”stated the governor after pointing out that the security cabinet has reinforced operational work in the region.
Find out: There are more than seven thousand investigation folders by fiscal huachicol
He stressed that various lines of investigation are being followed, which will allow the location and arrest of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Bernardo Bravo.
He stated that in the Tierra Caliente region the deployment of federal and state security forces has been intensified to reinforce the operational scheme.
Separately, the Municipal Government of Apatzingán published an obituary on its social networks and “deeply regretted the acts of violence that occurred to the citizen and businessman of the Apatzingán Valley, Bernardo Bravo Manríquez.”
“We stand in solidarity with him, with his family and with all the people who work every day with effort and hope for the development of our land. We strongly condemn any act that threatens the life, peace and well-being of our people. As a government, we ask the competent authorities for the prompt clarification of the facts and justice for those who have been victims,” the city council wrote.
Read also: Sheinbaum presents a new model of universal breast cancer care
* * * Stay up to date with the news, join our whatsapp channel * * *
MB
Read Also
The post Bernardo Bravo, murdered lemon leader, had denounced extortion and threats from organized crime appeared first on Veritas News.
