Oaxaca authorities dismantle criminal network using rehab centers for extortion

The Oaxaca State Attorney General's Office (FGEO) has identified and intervened in nine addiction rehabilitation centers allegedly linked to a criminal network known as ASAEO. The organization reportedly used these centers to recruit vulnerable individuals, forcing them to work off treatment debts by engaging in illegal activities.

According to Prosecutor Bernardo Rodríguez Alamilla, the scheme involved capturing men and women undergoing detoxification and assigning them roles such as debt collectors for “gota a gota” (predatory) loans, extortionists, and lookouts. These activities primarily targeted merchants and transporters, including those at the Oaxaca Supply Market. The predatory loans reportedly carried interest rates between 70 and 80 percent.

Law enforcement actions included a raid on the Casa de Media Luz–Vikingos Despertar Oaxaca center on September 2, resulting in the arrest of an individual known as “Padrino Paye,” followed by eight additional searches on October 8. The interventions spanned various locations in the Oaxaca metropolitan area and surrounding municipalities, including San Martín Mexicápam and Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán. During some searches, authorities located substances with characteristics of narcotics.