Federico Mejía Yanes
Sergeant Federico Mejía Yanes | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Federico Evelio Mejía y Yanes |
| Other name(s) | Evelio Mejía |
| Nickname(s) | Tirano de Tuxtla Martínez |
| Born | 15 October 1947 Masario, San Miguel, Creeperopolis |
| Died | 16 January 1983 (aged 35) Panachor, Zapatista, Creeperopolis |
| Allegiance |  Creeperopolis |
| Branch/Service |  Creeperian Army |
| Years of service | 1965–1983 |
| Rank |  Sergeant |
| Unit | 15th Army |
| Battles/wars | Third Senvarian Insurgency Mara War |
Federico Evelio Mejía y Yanes (15 October 1947–16 January 1983), commonly known as simply Evelio Mejía and also called the Tyrant of Tuxtla Martínez, was a Creeperian Army soldier who was the commander of the Mejía Legion, a death squad composed of Creeperian soldiers that executed acts of vigilante justice against gang members of Mara Salvatrucha, from 1979 until 1983.
Mejía Yanes was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of gang members of Tuxtla Martínez, Zapatista. He was killed in a shootout with Mara Salvatrucha and the Creeperian Army in 1983. He is revered by some as a hero against the Maras but is hated by others as a tyrant who was thirsty for blood.
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Early life
Federico Evelio Mejía y Yanes was born on 15 October 1947 in Masario, San Miguel, although his family was from Tuxtla Martínez, Zapatista. His father, Evelio Adolfo Mejía Codalles, was a Brigadier in the Creeperian Army the was aligned with the Catholic Imperial Restoration Council during the Creeperian Civil War and his mother, María Isabela Yanes Koster, was a field nurse for the Imperial Council.
In 1965, he was conscripted into the Creeperian Army to serve for 4 years. However, when his four year mandatory service ended, he decided to keep serving in the Army and was promoted to Corporal as a result. He served in the Third Senvarian Insurgency for most of his military career, attaining the rank of Sergeant in 1979.
Tyrant of Tuxtla Martínez
The Mara War began on 15 October 1979, Mejía Yanes' 32nd birthday. He sent a message to Casimiro Menéndez Molina, the commanding General of the 15th Army, stating "Mara will suffer for ruining my birthday." He rallied support from fellow soldiers and established a death squad known as the Mejía Legion. The death squad's existence was not legal, but the Army allowed its existence as it attacked Mara Salvatrucha.
The Mejía Legion committed its first killing on 19 November 1979. Two members of Mara Salvatrucha were drinking wine at a restaurant in Tuxtla Martínez, Zapatista, that was owned by Mejía Yanes' sister, Julia María Mejía Yanes, at around 10pm local time. She tipped off her brother of their presence, and he and three other members of the death squad arrived forty-five minutes later and killed the two members while they were still drinking. Mejía Yanes fired the first shot at one of the gang member's heads with his Army-provided Figueroa-52, killing him instantly, after which, the other three fired upon the other using their Figueroa-25s. The bodies were taken out of the restaurant and left on the side of the road 500 feet from the restaurant. A note was written by Mejía Yanes and left on one of the bodies which read: "I am Evelio Mejía and my job is to cleanse my city of the Mara pest." The bodies were found by school children the next day and members of Mara Salvatrucha retrieved them and buried them in a shallow grave 40 feet from the road.
Raúl Hernández Barrón, a prominent leader of Mara Salvatrucha, stated: "This, 'Evelio Mejía', who seeks to be the Tyrant of Tuxtla Martínez, will not intimidate us, and we will end him shortly." From his first killing onward, Mejía Yanes referred to himself as simply "Evelio Mejía, the Tyrant of Tuxtla Martínez" to brag about the negative title Hernández Barrón bestowed upon him.
On 25 December 1979, Mejía Yanes gave the city of Tuxtla Martínez its "Christmas present" from him. Over night, the Mejía Legion posted flyers across the city on telephone posts. The flyers, called La'Lista ("The List") contained a list of the 100 names of 100 prominent low-ranking members of Mara Salvatrucha that live in the city. The bottom of the flyer had the phrase: "Merry Christmas, if you are not a Mara. Sincerely, Evelio Mejía, the Tyrant of Tuxtla Martínez." The first killing of someone on the list occurred on 27 December 1979 when a member of Mara Salvatrucha was tortured and beheaded in his home. Two more killings occurred in 1979 of two more gang members which alerted Mara Salvatrucha leadership that the death squad would actually carry out the murders it promised it would. As a result, many gang members on La'Lista fled the city.
Throughout 1980, the death squad continued targeting the 100 members on the list, going as far as the department of San Luís to carry out the murders. The death squad mostly operated at night, with some its its members stating that their motto is "Soldier by day, Assassin by night." By the end of 1980, 69 of the 100 names on the list were killed by the Mejía Legion. On 25 December 1980, a new list was posted, including the 31 that survived 1980 in addition with 69 new names. Throughout 1980, 60 of the 100 were killed by the Mejía Legion, with a new list of 100 names being posted on 25 December 1980. The year of 1981 was the most successful of the Mejía Legion, where 89 of the 100 names were murdered. Mejía Yanes is most likely to have participated in a majority of the killings.
On 25 December 1981, the death squad posted its flyer of 100 names again, but the first name on the flyer was that of Hernández Barrón. Hernández Barrón immediately left the city for San Pedro to escape the death squad's reach. Mejía Yanes was determined to kill Hernández Barrón and dispatched a group of 12 death squad members to San Pedro to gun down Hernández Barrón. On 26 July 1982, Hernández Barrón was killed in a gunfight in San Pedro between members of the Mejía Legion and Mara Salvatrucha. He, along with 3 gang members and 4 death squad soldiers, were killed. Mejía Yanes declared that "The ringleader of the Maras in Tuxtla Martínez has been removed." Mara Salvatrucha leadership was enraged and they immediately began planning his assassination for 1983. On 25 December 1982, the Mejía Legion posted their newest list of 100 names of gang members they sought to kill. However, the following day, 26 December 1982, flyers appeared over those posted by the Mejía Legion called La'Lista Nueva ("The New List") that read: "He who will die in 1983: Evelio Mejía."
Death
On the night of 16 January 1983, Mejía Yanes was preparing to leave his encampment outside of the city to go carry out the second assassination of the year. A shootout began around 10pm local time as members of Mara Salvatrucha attacked the Mejía Legion camp. Mejía Yanes and six other death squad members boarded a technical and fled the camp and the gang members followed in their own vehicles. The vehicles drove away from Tuxtla Martínez and into Panachor, the city's immediate neighbor. As the vehicles drove across the city, each sides exchanged fire and the death squad utilized their technical to fire upon the gang members. The Creeperian Army was notified and sent in soldiers to stop the vehicles and the shootout. The Army brought an end to the fight, and everyone, including Mejía Yanes, were killed.
Legacy
Mejía Yanes's reputation is mixed within Tuxtla Martínez. The general feeling is that he was a vigilante that sought to be a hero but had gone too far on several occasions. Those who had family who were members of Mara Salvatrucha that were killed by the Mejía Legion, that immediately collapsed following Mejía Yanes's death, despise Mejía Yanes and see him as a true tyrant that was thirsty for blood.
The Creeperian Army held a funeral service for Mejía Yanes on 20 January 1983 and he was buried in the Tuxtla Martínez Imperial Military Cemetery with full military honors. On 15 October 1995, Emperor Romero III officially pardoned Mejía Yanes of any wrong doing against the Empire stating that "Everything he did was against the enemy, not the Empire."
The film Calles Limpias is roughly based on Mejía Yanes's killing spree.
Awards and decorations
Grand Knight of the Imperial Order of Fidel the Martyr (posthumous)
Order of the Crusaders’ Cross Second Class
Mara Campaign Medal
Senvarian Campaign Medal
Campaign Medal (x2)
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Rank history
- 1965 – Private Second Class
- 1967 –
Private First Class - 1969 –
Corporal - 1974 –
Sub-Sergeant - 1979 –
Sergeant
