Rafael Cedeño Hernández is a Mexican imprisoned
drug trafficker
The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types ...
who was a high-level leader of
La Familia Michoacana
La Familia Michoacana (, LFM; English: ''The Michoacán Family''), La Familia (English: ''The Family''), is a Mexican drug cartel & organized crime syndicate based in the Mexican state of Michoacán. They are known to produce large amounts of m ...
, a drug cartel based in the Mexican state of
Michoacán
Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
. He was the successor of
Alberto Espinoza Barrón, a drug trafficker who was arrested on 31 December 2008 by the Mexican authorities.
His drug cartel, La Familia Michoacana uses murder and
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...
to quash rivals, while building a social base in the Mexican state of Michoacán. It was the fastest-growing cartel in the
country's drug war, and is a religious cult-like group that celebrates family values, and justifies murder as "divine justice".
Rafael Cedeño was arrested on 20 April 2009 during a raid at a baptism party for a baby born to a cartel member.
References
Living people
La Familia Michoacana traffickers
Mexican prisoners and detainees
Mexican crime bosses
People from Michoacán
People of the Mexican Drug War
Year of birth missing (living people)
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