Gangland football Second division club Mapaches de Nueva Italia could be financed by the ruthless Gulf cartel
Second division club Mapaches de Nueva Italia, based in the western state of Michoacan, could be financed by the ruthless Gulf cartel from the Gulf of Mexico or by an emerging gang called The Family, possibly for money laundering purposes.
"We have made seven arrests of club directors and players, all Mapaches," said a federal official who declined to be named. The arrests followed a police raid on the team after a game in Mexico City.
The official declined to give more details about the investigation but Michoacan state has been at the center of Mexico's gruesome drug war as rival cartels fight over smuggling routes for cocaine and marijuana and the army tries to stop spiraling violence.In September, drug gangs threw grenades into the central square of Michoacan's capital Morelia as revelers celebrated Independence Day, the first major strike by drug cartels on the public.
