Ecatepec, State of Mexico—The standoff between merchants at the Ecatepec Central de Abasto (wholesale market) and the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office (FGJEM) escalated on Tuesday after producers, merchants, property owners, and business owners rejected—during an assembly—claims by the Prosecutor’s Office that they were victims of extortion or other crimes within the market complex.
During an Extraordinary General Assembly—held before a public notary and attended by human rights representatives and security officials from municipal, state, and federal levels of government—attendees were asked directly if they had been victims of extortion or any other crime within the market. According to the organizers, no one answered in the affirmative.
The assembly also denied knowing Jorge Antonio “N,” alias “El Coronel,” whom the FGJEM had identified in an investigation regarding an alleged extortion and drug-dealing ring. The merchants stated that they did not know him nor recognize him as having any connection to the market’s operations.
This stance contrasts with the Prosecutor’s Office statement 0855/2026, which announced the dismantling of an alleged criminal network that, according to their account, was operating inside the Ecatepec Central de Abasto. Market representatives also backed legal actions aimed at securing the release of Alejandro Sánchez Millán, whose case they view as an example of what they describe as the fabrication of criminal charges. According to information presented by his representatives, Sánchez Millán was brought before a judge for a crime for which he was not formally bound over for trial. After regaining his freedom regarding that charge, merchants reported that he was subsequently charged with a different offense—a situation they consider legally irregular and one they maintain can be challenged with documentary evidence. The market administration announced that it would continue legal actions to clarify the case and determine liability.
At the same assembly, it was agreed to cancel this year’s *Festival Abarrotero* (Wholesalers’ Festival), which was traditionally held at the market’s facilities. The merchants stated that they would allocate these funds to revitalizing and relaunching the wholesale market; they attribute a 15% drop in revenue to the damage to their commercial image caused—in their view—by allegations made by the Prosecutor’s Office. The 15% figure is an estimate provided by the merchants themselves, not an independent measurement.
As part of their defense strategy, they also announced the production of a book titled *El Montaje* (The Setup), authored by journalists Mari Toña Santiago and Manuel Lino. Through this work, they aim to document their version of events regarding various episodes of the dispute with the Prosecutor’s Office, including an investigation into an alleged warehouse containing stolen goods and the current case file 0855/2026.
The National Confederation of Wholesale Market Merchant Associations (Confederación Nacional de Agrupaciones de Comerciantes de Centros de Abasto, A.C.) expressed its support for the Ecatepec Wholesale Market. The conflict presents two opposing narratives: on one hand, the Prosecutor’s Office maintains that there are investigations and evidence linking detained individuals to criminal activities; on the other, the merchants deny knowing “El Coronel,” reject the existence of a criminal network operating within the market, and are legally challenging the handling of Alejandro Sánchez’s case.