Sergio Gómez Martínez, also known as "La Tuta", the supreme leader of "The Knights Templar" cartel and one of Mexico's most wanted criminals, reappeared in the state of Michoacán to offer an exclusive interview for British network Channel 4 News.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the United Kingdom network presented a report on the state of Michoacán, in western Mexico, a region that in recent months has been the stage for violent clashes between armed civilian groups known as "Autodefensas", the criminal group known as "The Knights Templar" and the Mexican Army, who is both attempting to regulate the "Autodefensas" and fight the cartel.
In the interview which can be seen on the Channel 4 website, the leader of "The Knights Templar" accused the "Autodefensas" of causing the violence in the state and said that he and his cartel are a "necessary evil", claiming that if they didn't operate in Michoacán, other criminal groups would.
The Mexican criminal, known for the violent executions he has ordered in the region of Tierra Caliente, Michoacán, acknowledged that he's a criminal, but said that the government has the obligation of applying the law, not the armed civilians that in recent weeks have kicked out the cartel from various towns they used to dominate through fear and violence.
The archive images shown in the report, show an armed "La Tuta" walking through the streets of Michoacán, while he hands out money to children and women, while telling them that his presence in the state is necessary to "prevent" other criminal groups from taking over the region.
The British channel also interviewed miners from the state, who said that up to 75 percent of the metal production currently being exported to China comes from a group commanded by "La Tuta", and it's estimated that 30 ships leaver for Asia annually, each with a shipment of minerals with a value of 13 million dollars.
"I know what I represent and what I am, and I know that one day something is going to happen to me. I know I'm a criminal and that I won't be forgiven," said one of Mexico's most wanted criminals during the interview.
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