On December 8, residents of Texcaltitlán confronted members of the Familia Michoacana who were attempting to enforce a 'protection payment' for the harvests, resulting in a toll of 14 people dead, including 10 alleged criminals and four local residents.

According to reports from the La Jornada del Edomex newspaper, among the victims was "El Payaso" (The Clown), the alleged leader of the Familia Michoacana, whose identity was confirmed by the Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico more than 12 hours after the violent confrontation.

HARTOS de las extorsiones de la Familia Michoacana, agricultores y campesinos de #TEXCALTITLAN, EdoMex se sublevaron contra el cobro de piso sin importarles las consecuencias.

El conflicto dejó un saldo de 11 muertos: 8 ratas y 3 pobladores.pic.twitter.com/rJTE7EO5ce

— Juan Pablo Quijano (@JuanpaQuijano) December 10, 2023

The newspaper cited eyewitness accounts describing how people were summoned to a soccer field for the 'protection payment,' which involved a fee of one peso for each square meter of bean and oat cultivation by the residents.

EL HORROR
Son los restos del enfrentamiento entre pobladores y miembros del crimen organizado en #Texcaltitlán
Confirma el gobierno del @Edomex 11 personas muertas.@AAndradeTellez reportó q 8 son crimínales, los otros vecinos de la zona.

Detalles en #C4EnAlerta pic.twitter.com/pYCUn1JDAk

— Carlos Jiménez (@c4jimenez) December 9, 2023

In the testimonies collected by "La Jornada," it is detailed that the alleged criminals were killed with machetes and knives, and "El Payaso" was killed by a woman with a knife before their bodies were set on fire.

Videos shared on social media showed how residents cornered the alleged members of the Familia Michoacana, some of whom were armed with long guns and wearing tactical gear and military uniforms. An olive-green truck was set on fire along with its occupants.

Enfrentamiento entre pobladores de Texcapilla dejó un saldo de 14 personas muertas, once de ellas posibles integrantes del crimen organizado.#Texcalpilla #TEXCALTITLAN #Edomex

🎥 #Agencia24mm y @Ram_merval pic.twitter.com/QUZxXP88lh

— Agencia 24mm 📸 🇲🇽 (@agencia_24mm) December 9, 2023

One of the videos about the confrontation went viral on social media, as it shows the charred remains of members of this criminal group. The creator of the video narrates a bit about what can be observed in the scene and zooms in on the bodies. When reaching a specific one, the man says, "No way, look, here's the clown."

Fueron a cobrar piso y acabaron besandolo.
Pobladores de la comunidad de Texcapilla en Texcaltitlán, estadodemexico México se organizaron y se enfrentaron a Sicarios de la Familia Michoacana Fm que llegaron a exigir pagos por permitir la siembra. pic.twitter.com/O7ovi5jzMo

— *(M)(A)(T)(A)(D)(O)(R)* (@Matador08640286) December 9, 2023

Rigoberto de la Sancha Santillán, known as 'El Payaso,' was one of the leaders of the criminal group "La Familia Michoacana." During a press conference with the governor of the State of Mexico, Delfina Gómez, Prosecutor José Luis Cervantes Martínez indicated that 'El Payaso' and two other slain criminal leaders were high-priority targets on the wanted list.