Alejandro Gilmare Mendoza, known as “El Choko”, was born and raised in eastern Mexico State, where he first appeared as a local community leader. Over time, that image of a supposed “social protector” transformed into a criminal machine. From Ecatepec, he commanded La Chokiza, a criminal group dedicated to extortion, property dispossession, predatory lending, and staged car accidents.
His strategy relied on disguising extortion as community aid. He handed out food packages and small favors, while simultaneously imposing debts impossible to repay. Those who failed to comply were publicly shamed, beaten, or stripped of their property. Shopkeepers were forced to pay weekly fees; neighbors had to “rent” their own meters of sidewalk; and drivers were extorted after staged traffic accidents. All sustained by weapons, violence, and propaganda portraying him as a “protector of the people.”
La Chokiza’s growth cannot be explained without the political fabric of Ecatepec. In multiple neighborhoods, Gilmare found tolerance and even complicity from authorities. His methods did not appear out of nowhere: they descend from the old PRD-linked brotherhoods, which since the 1990s used fake community assemblies and religious sects to justify property seizures and sell public space as private territory. The “messianic” aura of El Choko is, in reality, the criminal heir of that political school that turned faith and poverty into instruments of control.
Legal framework and aggravating factors
The charges against him fall under:
- Federal Penal Code: Article 390 (extortion), Article 395 (threats), Article 168 (organized crime).
- Penal Code of the State of Mexico: Article 309 (property dispossession), Article 287 (procedural fraud), Article 188 (criminal association).
- Aggravating factors: use of firearms; targeting social housing and vulnerable populations; instrumentalization of religion for community control; systematic violence; repeated operations across multiple neighborhoods.
