Over the last week, a crime group has been killing off the members of a notorious pickpocketing gang in Puebla, leaving signed narco messages. On 28 October, the groups leader was found dead next to a narco message claiming the group would continue the killings of her gang.
Neighbors reported the body and message on 28 October in a ditch in the San Pablo Xochimehuacan area of Puebla. The text of the message was: “This happened to me for charging pickpockets too much and for being a turncoat. And we’re coming for more. Atte, El Comandante Diablo. There’s your Paty Rubín.”
Patricia Angélica Rubín Montes, “Paty Rubín” was the alleged leader of Los Rubin, a criminal group operating in Puebla focused on theft of handbags and pickpocketing. Paty Rubín was previously arrested in July 2025 by Policia Estatal for theft on public transport, but was later released.
In a press release, the Secretary of Citizen Security announced that the body was confirmed to be Paty Rubín.
This is second body left next to a narco message signed by El Comandante Diablo in Puebla in a week. On 25 October, another corpse was left with a message in the La Resurrección area of north east Puebla.
The message read: “The purge has arrived for all those who go around collecting fees and extorting working people… The people of El Comandante Diablo Special Forces Corps have arrived.”
Killing the members of a notorious theft gang is an easy way to gain local support, especially when civilians view the justice system as corrupt, slow, and ineffective. This type of opportunistic vigilante killing and accompanying messages are a common tactic in Mexico’s crime conflict.
