The Unión Tepito Cartel is providing loans to small business owners in Mexico City 

Criminal groups

struggle with finding ways to spend the money they obtained through their crimes . They can’t walk into a car dealership or a realtor to purchase vehicles or homes and pay millions in cash . Several years ago, authorities banned these operations and as a result, it should be easier for authorities to detect the money.

However, criminals use straw-men or turn to clandestine operations . Today, EL UNIVERSAL revealed that “ El Lunares, ” the leader of the Unión Tepito Cartel , created a company called Presta-Credit, which lacks official records, to offer loans to business owners in downtown Mexico City , so that they can survive the COVID-19 pandemic and they can reopen their stores once the crisis is over.

According to business owners who received loans from the local cartel, the criminals were friendly, they don’t harass or intimidate them; nevertheless, they know they must pay the money back or they will suffer the consequences. They add that the Unión Tepito Cartel was the only one who offered them loans, unlike banks.

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Criminals organizations

are taking advantage of the public health crisis and the lack of support shown by authorities to get closer to people and offer them food and loans. Now, criminals are showing support for small business owners in Mexico City, who are struggling to make ends meet after they were forced to close their only income source.

The lack of resources forces a large part of the population to accept help from anyone who offers it. Before an imminent crisis , the local and federal governments must continue to fight criminal networks . Moreover, authorities must focus on their money.

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