An endangered spider monkey was found dead in a tactical vest and custom camp jacket after an early June cartel shootout in Texcaltitlán, Mexico.
The monkey, referred to online as “El Chango” (the primate) or “Sicario Monkey,” belonged to the La Familia Michoacana cartel, some of whom were killed during a standoff on June 14 with state security forces, according to the State of Mexico Attorney General’s Office. Eleven people were killed, three were injured, and a further seven were arrested by local police, according to the Washington Post.
The monkey was discovered dead, lying atop his owner’s chest, the outlet continued. The owner, a man in his 20s, was also killed by way of several gunshot wounds during the incident, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Famous Child Star Opens Up About Shocking ‘Buffet’ Of Drug And Alcohol Abuse)
Spider monkey in body armor killed in Estado de Mexico, Mexico during a shooting bewteen cartel mercenaries this week. Yes, this is real life in Mexico. pic.twitter.com/UfAiS88ODx
— Lex Yonari (@lexstwiitter) June 17, 2022
Within days of the images circulating online, the monkey was featured in a narcocorrido — a folk ballad written to glorify the life of El Chango — the Washington Post continued. Other narcocorridos have been written about notorious cartel leaders, such as the Sinaloa Cartel’s Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who is currently serving a life sentence for his role in the murder of upwards of 3,000 individuals and a multibillion dollar drug syndicate.
“It’s such a short life and it wasn’t the monkey’s turn to die,” the ballad says, according to the Washington Post. “Someone stole his story because he came here to triumph and shine in so many things.” The monkey is the first reported animal to be memorialized in a narcocorrido, the outlet noted.