Coahuayana, Michoacán: CJNG Send Out Existential Threats For Adversaries

 “Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

A new video from the Mexican underworld has just surfaced online. For this broadcast the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) sends out a warning for their enemies. The names of their adversaries are mentioned and threatened in this film. 

Video translation is as follows:

Good afternoon to all the citizens of Coahuayana. The denizens of the coastal towns, businessmen, and the banana plantation owners of Coahuayana. For all the businessmen and banana plantations in Coahuayana. 

We know of your uncertainty in not knowing when we will be entering through the coastline. The rumors abound that we will arrive to extort everyone. This is totally false. The United Cartels tell you this to instill fear in you. 

So that they in turn can ask of you for their infamous voluntary protection fee. As a consequence they will drain you of your funds with their white gloves. For all the banana plantations, farm workers, and businessmen we want you all to know that we don’t commit those type of acts.

If you’re in doubt take the time to ask around in our controlled areas. Since we have well known companies from every sector established in our districts. And they’ve never been bothered in the least bit. If one of our operatives commits the mistake of being involved in those type of affairs we quickly liquidate that person.

This is on account of our boss that has us strictly prohibited from these type of exploits. We would also like to take this time to declare war on Gil Ruiz, the puppet candidate of Héctor Cepeda Navarrete aka “El Teto”.  As well as “El Chema Valencia” from Agüilla, candidate of German Ramírez Sánchez aka “El Toro”. 

This is happening in view of the fact that the government never did anything to punish candidates that have a nexus with the cartels. Whether  you win or lose in your candidacy it doesn’t really matter. From now on you’re all enemies of CJNG.

Look here Gil Ruiz. We already know that you’re looking after the enforcers who belong to El Teto aka Molas de Burra. It’s best that you be made aware that this won’t keep us held back for any reason. It doesn’t really matter if you have 50 or 100 gunmen. We will just the same destroy you and anyone else who supports you. 

The same goes for you Chema Valencia. Since you claimed that once you win your political candidacy you will send the government after us. It’s best you be made aware of what’s going to happen. 

Just how we entered into Huitzontla for those scumbag enforcers of El Toro. We can also venture into your territory for you personally. We declare and reiterate that this war is only against the United Cartels. 

As well as it’s structure. Whether it’s financed, armed or political. For all the citizens of the coastline. These two candidates are just puppets for the United Cartels. The don’t want progress or well being for the municipality’s. Their principal objective is to diverge funds from the town hall to finance their war that we have against them. 

Besides this they want to legitimize the United Cartels for institutional security. When we all know that their cartel is disguised as Self Defense Forces. 

You two scumbag candidates know perfectly well that your bosses Teto and Toro unload cocaine for El Abuelo on the coastline. You also know about the sale of crystal meth. And the crimes that they commit. We reiterate once more that this war is against the United Cartels. And not with the townspeople. Sincerely.  CJNG

Narco Studios 701

Read More

Sanalona, Sinaloa: The Holy Death Highway for Fervent Worshippers

 “ Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

Every day it is populated with chapels and cenotaphs that are well visited

Tell me she doesn’t look tough as fuck...! boasts a young man dressed in black who sanctifies himself again and again before the Holy Death and offers her "I will idolize you all of my life by putting your image as many times as necessary for this place, because you have helped me and my friends."

He assures that in addition to the six chapels that exist in less than 14 kilometers he will install more "every time my girl supports us, we reward her. We want people not to be ashamed and follow Holy Death, so we have to place her image everywhere."

The street is gradually populated by chapels that together with the dozens of cenotaphs are part of the road landscape before the fervor that is increasing,

By the road that leads to Tamazula, Durango and that is part of the Golden Triangle, the chapels are becoming an obligatory place to stop, some do it out of curiosity, others out of devotion

The cenotaphs and the Holy Death compete in the exaltations that are lived daily in those places, it’s a practice of challenge, there death is combined that is the physical representation of the transition that occurs when leaving life and the cenotaph where they are finally part of the world of the dead.

WITH STYLE

Chapels and cenotaphs compete in their structure, for example there is a cenotaph that emulates the Parthenon, an icon of ancient Greece. The replica of the crown jewel of Greek architecture is lost on the wild road, a few meters from the dam.

Believers indicate that they have a perception of death as inevitable, so they do not consider it incorrect to establish conversations or practices in honor of the deity who is in charge of it.

"I come to ask you to move away from all those negative vibrations that try to harm my destiny and my life ... just like that," details a fervent admirer of Holy Death.

Police authorities and the Catholic Church itself assure that the followers of the Holy Death are people who live outside the law, but that to date in Sinaloa there are no statistics on how many criminals venerate the Holy Death.

According to police authorities, they say that when they have searched the homes and vehicles of some criminals, statues, altars and other objects have been found that pay tribute to the Holy Death.

Holy Death is represented as a skeleton dressed in a dark robe that covers it from head to toe and that also has other elements.

One of the chapels of the Holy Death that is at the road junction Sanalona-El Coyonqui, at that moment is being renovated, now, the seven different colors are being painted in reference to all kinds of requests.

The painter says that he takes care of the place at the request of its owner "I come from a rehabilitation center, the boss supplies us with the paint and we are gladly painting, we do it little by little because there are many people who come."

The colors are white to achieve peace, harmony and success. Red means love. Blue is to achieve success. Yellow means the solution to problems for all those who do not find the way out of what afflicts them. The golden color, allows economic tranquility.

The "guardian" of Holy Death, at this moment, assures that lately the statues are being stolen.

"People are stealing from the Niña, here they recently took the scythe of one of the images we have..." he details.

He assures that lately people are going more to these places "we have to remove twice a day the candles, the flowers because the truth is they don’t fit, the truth is it’s unusual how men arrive, older males, everything, they come here."

HOMICIDE

In another of the chapels, precisely where about a month ago a man was murdered, the traces of the event are still present, blood sprinkled on the feet of the Holy Death, just like in the photograph of an individual who is on one side, give an account of what happened there.

"We come to leave flowers in memory of the friend who killed him here, not even Holy Death saved him, the good thing is that it was at her feet," says an 18-year-old boy who has a huge tattoo on his left arm "The girl close to my heart."

He points out that "Mahami N" was a friend of his brother and that obviously he knew him very well. While snooping inside the place, he takes out beer cans, even assures that they left a joint to the Holy Death. There are also bouquets of dried flowers, it seems that from that moment, this chapel is no longer as visited as the rest of them.

"Since she doesn't smoke... I take the joint," she jokes.

Another visitor says that he is Catholic, that he believes in the Virgin of Guadalupe and assures that she has done miracles for him, but that the Holy Death, fulfills another type of help.

"I dare not ask the little Virgen of Guadalupe to help me in my "business", I always traverse in the jaws of danger ... afterwards I come to visit her, she’s fucking cool.

El Sol de Sinaloa

Read More

Fresnillo, Zacatecas: Armed Confrontation Between Civilians and Police

 “Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

This Friday afternoon elements of the Investigative Police clashed with armed civilians in the Buenavista community of Trujillo.

In the confrontation two alleged criminals died and an officer was badly injured.

According to the security authorities, there was also one civilian arrested and another managed to evade the officers.

The events were recorded on the way to the Leobardo Reynoso community, where the agents of the state prosecutor's office were shot at by armed people.

Elements of the National Guard (GN) State Preventive Police (PEP) and from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) arrived in support.

While the shooting broke out, the inhabitants ran to their homes to get to safety.

A helicopter from the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) also participated in the operation.

Through breaches and dirt roads, an intense operation was deployed.

Local residents reported that it is very recurrent in the area to see vehicles of armed civilians without any authority detaining them.

In the end the forensics of the General Directorate of Expert Services took charge of what happened.

Área Informativa

Read More

Cuernavaca, Morelos: On the Hunt for Saul Riveras aka “El Güero Lentes”

 “Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

A new video from the Mexican underworld has just surfaced online. For this broadcast a captured operative from the Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) is narrating the illicit affairs of a plaza boss by the name of Saul Rivera aka “El Güero Lentes”. 

The interrogation under duress yields an insiders view of an ongoing criminal structure at the behest of “El Güero Lentes”. Moreover, the intel being extracted is but another piece for the captors on the trail for Saul Rivera.

This film has been deemed safe for all to see. 

Video translation is as follows:

Sicario: Ok, start talking.

Captive: I worked for Saul Rivera’s aka “El Güero Lentes”. In Jojutla he has his contacts. In particular with the Ministerial Police. There’s a big fat dude there within the department. He’s not too hard to find among the Ministerial Policemen because he’s the only one that’s so fucking humungous there. I can’t recall his name. But he’s the direct contact. He’s the one…

Sicario: Who is El Tlaqui?

Captive: Tlaqui doesn’t have any contact with the Municipal Police. 

Sicario: What about the Ministerial Policemen?

Captive: I honestly don’t know if Tlaqui has any contact with the Ministerial Policemen. But that big guy I was telling you about tends to visit them there. He drives a red vehicle accompanied by 3 other men. Jonatan has as a contact MacNeil Nava from the C-5 In the city of Jojutla. 

Sicario: Jonatan what?

Captive: Jonatan Moreno. He’s the one who had a contact with MacNeil Nava. This came about from when Jonatan was working as a civil protection employee. He’s the one who helps out Jonatan whenever they need to set a person up. Besides him there’s another 2-3 individuals who work at the C-5 in Jojutla. There’s a dark skin individual of medium build. And the other is a light skin individual who belongs to the motorcycle crew. The other guy is an older gentleman who happens to be a police commander. 

Sicario: What are their names?

Captive: I don’t know their names. But they are…what’s today, it’s Monday right? I believe their work shift starts tomorrow. Just the same the guy from C-5 will also begin work, I mean the individual from the Ministerial Police. 

Sicario: Who are the individuals responsible for leaving that narco message out there in Cuernavaca?

Captive: It was me and another person. 

Sicario: On who’s orders?

Captive: “El Lentes” gave the orders. We went to place it right there in that store where you were at in the Rinconadas de las Flores neighborhood 

Sicario: What all contacts does El Güerro Lentes supposedly have just ahead of there with the Cartel Jalisco?

Captive: He only has one individual that I’m aware of who is originally from Tijuana. He’s the guy that’s giving him support. 

Sicario: What about all the innocent persons killed and the chaos caused? Was this done in other men’s name?

Captive: In regard to what you’ve just mentioned Jonatan is the one causing all this mess. 

Sicario: Jonatan what?

Captive: Jonatan Moreno. 

Sicario #2: Where can this individual be found?

Captive: He can be found in 3 different locations. One would be at the bakery shop. But in order to confirm this there has to be a green Ford Windstar minivan. If this vehicle isn’t there then that means he’s not there. 

He also has another location that he frequents. As you’re heading that way from here. On the main thoroughfare you’ll see a Comex store. It’s right before you turn towards (unintelligible). He often goes there with a young woman. And if you’re trying to locate Jonatan. 

He should be there with a woman. I can’t remember her nickname though. But that’s the woman who’s going to be there with him. It’s on the main thoroughfare right before you reach the Comex store. You can drive your vehicle into their parking lot there. And no one from the street will be able to tell that you’re there. 

Sicario: How many drug retail stores does “El Güerro Lentes” have there in Jojutla?

Captive: He has 1,2,3,…I believe he only has a total of 4 stores. Only grams are purchased in these establishments. 

Sicario: What about Tlaquiltenango?

Captive: In Tlaquiltenango? I believe he only has about 6 or 7 stores there. 

Sicario: Why were all those narco messages directed towards inmates?

Captive: On the tarps?

Sicario: Yes. 

Captive: I don’t know all the details behind that. But the objective was implemented in order to achieve another objective. And from this the narco message was left at the scene near the Tecnológico de Monterrey campus (Cuernavaca, Morelos). And the other one was left by Ami along with El Bofo’s cadaver. 

Sicario: Where exactly?

Captive: I believe it was Los Magueyes restaurant (Cuernavaca, Morelos). 

Sicario: What about “El Bofo”?

Captive: “El Tlaqui”? The last I heard of him was that he was a  drug consumer. That other individual we talked about earlier was apprehended. So, he was claiming that he was working for another person now. Is this everything? Or is there another matter that you’d like to know about?

Sicario: Is this everything that you’ve got to say?

Captive: No, not really. I have an understanding that El Guerinchees (El Güero Lentes), gave some guy a pot of drugs. So, that he could make a profit off of it at 50 pesos a tab. And 20 pesos for half of it. 

Source

Source #2

Source #3

Read More

Misantla, Veracruz: Mayoral Candidate, Director of Police, and Police Commander, All Found Dead in the Last 4 Months

"MX" for Borderland Beat

The killing of political candidate José Alfredo Gaspar Gutiérrez was the lastest high-profile murder in Misantla, Veracruz. Several victims were found dead in the same road, which may suggest the killings are related.

In the first half of 2021, the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz has been plagued by bloodshed – on the streets, inside bars and restaurants, and even in private homes. Political candidates and local police chiefs have also been targeted.

In January 2021, the commander of the Misantla municipal police was found dead at the same location with signs of torture. In April 2021, the former director of the Misantla municipal police was found dead on a state highway. He had resigned after his colleague was killed in January.

On May 16, 2021, the National Regeneration Movement (Morena) pre-candidate for municipal president of Misantla, Veracruz was found dead with visible signs of torture and strangulation after going missing three days earlier.

Freddy Gaspar - Misantla Mayoral Candidate

On May 13, 2021, José Alfredo Gaspar Gutiérrez, known more commonly as Freddy Gaspar, was reported as missing by his relatives who filed a missing persons report with the Veracruz State Attorney General's Office (FGE).

Freddy Gaspar had disappeared in his hometown of Arroyo Hondo, Misantla, Veracruz. The corresponding report was made to the State Search Commission but the State search committee did not release his file until May 15, 2021, when a bulletin was issued.

On the morning of May 16 2021, residents of the area and workers from the Department of Public Cleaning found the body of a deceased male on the dirt road that leads to the municipal garbage dump in Martínez de la Torre municipality. This road is a few meters away from the state highway at the point known as "La Curva". The emergency services line was called around 7:00am; SSP officers arrived and cordoned off the area.

Freddy Gaspar's body (photo credit: Golpe Politico)

Personnel from the General Directorate of Forensic Services, Regional Prosecutor's Office, and ministerial police were called to the scene. Vehicle circulation on the nearby state highway was restricted for two hours while the scene was being processed.

The deceased male was found lying face up and appeared to be of approximately 30 to 35 years old. He was wearing a green shirt, blue jeans and dark socks. The body allegedly showed no signs of gunshot wounds, however, there were visible marks of torture, including apparent strangulation. The body was taken to the Forensic Medical Service for an autopsy and was entered into the morgue as unidentified.

Hours later Gaspar’s relatives arrived at the Forensic Medical Service building and identified the deceased male as Freddy Gaspar, the well-known 33 years old Morena pre-candidate. At 3:00pm authorities confirmed that the man found that morning was Freddy Gaspar Gutiérrez. In a press conference, Governor Cuitláhuac García confirmed that political activity could be one of the reasons for the crime.

Gasgar was the founder of the Morena party in Misantla municipality. When Municipal president of Misantla, Gustavo Moreno Ramos, died of COVID-19 on May 6 2021, Freddy Gaspar was selected as the pre-candidate for Morena party selected to run in the Misantla election. However, the Morena party later entered into an alliance with the Green Ecologist and the Labor party. As part of this alliance, Freddy was displaced from being the party candidate by Javier Hernández Candanedo.

September 15, 2020

On September 15, 2020, three dead men were found at this same location of the dirt road leading to the Martínez de la Torre garbage dump. Primer Parrafo report the men were identified as Benjamín Álvarez, Víctor Morales Salas, and Hansel Martínez. They had visible signs of torture.

January 29, 2021

Baruch Pérez León - Misantla Municipal Police Commander

On January 29, 2021, the body of the commander of the Misantla Municipal Police, Baruch Pérez León was found executed on the same road that leads to the Martínez de la Torre garbage dump. In a similar fashion, Baruch Pérez León’s body showed visible signs of torture. Shortly after Baruch Pérez León’s body was found, the director of the Misantla municipal police Filiberto Sangabriel Lozada resigned from his position.

Filiberto Sangabriel Lozada

April 15 2021

Filiberto Sangabriel Lozada - Misantla Municipal Police Director

On April 15, 2021, police director Filiberto Sangabriel Lozada was found dead on the Nautla-Coapeche state highway. His body was handcuffed and face down with visible gunshot wounds.

April 28, 2021

A taxi driver was killed and found in the morning on the side of the Martínez de la Torre highway. He was a collaborator and driver of Morena's candidate for mayor of Misantla, Javier Hernández Candanedo. According to authorities, the driver, Bricio "N", was 35 years old and his relatives reported him missing for eight days.

Freddy Gaspar Sources: Milenio, El Imparcial, Heraldo de Mexico, E-veracruz,  Jornada Veracruz, Diario de Xalapa - Body discovery before ID, Diario de Xalapa - After ID , Diario el Mundo

September 15 2020 Sources: 

Primer Parrafo,

January 29 2021 Sources:

LaOpinion.net 

April 15 2021 Sources: 

Milenio

April 28 2021 Sources:

Diario de Xalapa

Read More

Top Sinaloa Cartel Money Launderer 'El Rey Midas' Extradited to the US

"MX" for Borderland Beat

Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza

Juan Manuel Alvarez-Inzunza, a former high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel money launderer, was extradited to San Diego, California, on Wednesday to face federal charges.

Nicknamed "El Rey Midas" (King Midas), he is alleged to have laundered millions of dollars for Mexican drug kingpins Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

Investigators estimated that El Rey Midas laundered between US$300 to US$400 million annually for the Sinaloa Cartel, which comes out to more than US$4 billion in a decade.

“Juan Manuel Alvarez-Inzunza is responsible for moving millions of dollars in illicit drug proceeds from the United States into Mexico,” said Cardell T. Morant, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in San Diego.

“We stand dedicated and united with our law enforcement partners to continue dismantling these organizations; ensuring they can no longer hide from the authorities and that they will ultimately be brought to justice.”

The transfer was made at the Toluca International Airport and was placed in custody of US Marshals.

Background

El Rey Midas was born in 1981 in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. In March 2016, while on vacation with his family, he was arrested in the Mexican state of Oaxaca under a US extradition request.

Following his capture, Mexican officials confirmed that he was the operator of a large money laundering network that had domestic links to Tijuana, Culiacan, and Guadalajara, and international links to Colombia, Panama, and the US.

El Rey Midas was reportedly using shell companies and currency exchange houses in Jalisco and Sinaloa to conceal the origins of the illicit funds.

In August 2016, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned him and two of his companies under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). The two Sinaloa-based companies were Nueva Atunera Triton, a tuna fishing company, and Operadora Eficaz Pegaso, a money services business.

Summary of charges

• Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments (18 U.S.C. 1956(h))
• Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine Intended for Importation (21 U.S.C. 959, 960, 963)
• Conspiracy to Import Cocaine and Methamphetamine (21 U.S.C. 952 and 960)
• Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Methamphetamine (21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) and 846)

Extradition sources: Zeta Tijuana; La Jornada; USDOJ; San Diego Union Tribune

 

Arrest and background sources: El Universal; OFAC Designation; OFAC Chart

Read More

La Huasteca, Veracruz: Grupo Sombra Warns All Ambitious Politicians

 “Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

A new video from the Mexican underworld has just surfaced online. For this broadcast the armed criminal group Grupo Sombra sends out a video warning with a threat for all local politicians. 

Video translation is as follows:

Sicario: This message goes out to all society in general. We are members of Grupo Sombra. And the following statement is to clarify that our organization has not gotten involved with electoral campaigns for better or for worse.

We have not threatened candidates or their supporters. But we want to make one thing clear to you. And that is that we will not allow anyone to continue with their bullshit for results.

Or that they declare that they have been threatened. Neither can they say that they’ve been victims of an attack by us. Because late at night we have observed them delivering support.

And we haven't even bothered them. Therefore, call yourselves candidates or supporters, but do things right. Because this is the last call. Anymore bullshit from you and eventually you’ll have to meet us face to face.

With an advance warning there is no betrayal here. This is your last warning. This is a state that’s specifically controlled by us. Don’t turn this state into total chaos because of your political ambitiousness.

Sicarios in unison scream: We are the Grupo Sombra Special Forces!

Source

Read More

Aguililla, Michoacán: Isabel Chavez Mendoza Appreciates CJNG For Sparing Her Life

 “Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

A new video from the Mexican underworld has just surfaced online. For this broadcast a captured female presumed to be associated with “Chirrios” Revueltas gives a message with a warning. 

José Revuelta Fruto aka El Chirrios Revueltas is an alleged leader of an organized crime faction known as the Revueltas family, which belongs to Cárteles Unidos (CU).

The following film has been deemed safe for all to see. 

Video translation is as follows:

Captive: My name is Isabel Chavez Mendoza. I am a mother of four kids. The Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) doesn’t kill women. They actually pardon women so that they can look after their kids. 

And whoever is caught up in the mix or involved as turncoats with the Revueltas mob will be killed the fuck off for being dumb assess. You’re all better off leaving this area than sticking around town. 

I appreciate Mr. Mencho and Mr. 3 for allowing me to stay alive. Thank you very much. 

Source

Read More

CJNG Hunts Down, Kills Guanajuato Police in Their Homes After Learning Names and Addresses

"Anonymous" for Borderland Beat

Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is targeting and killing police officers at their homes in Guanajuato, Mexico’s most violent state and the most dangerous for police.

According to a report by the Associated Press (AP), the cartel abducted several members of an elite police force in Guanajuato and tortured them to obtain names and addresses of other officers.

Now CJNG members are showing up at officers’ homes on their days off and murdering them in front of their families, the news agency said.

According to Poplab, a news cooperative in Guanajuato, at least seven officers have been murdered on their days off in 2021.

AP said the offensive against the state police officers — members of a force known as the Tactical Group — poses “the most direct challenge yet” to President López Obrador’s so-called “hugs, not bullets” policy, which is characterized by the desire to avoid conflict with cartels and instead focus on addressing the root causes of crime through government welfare and social programs.

However, the CJNG — generally considered Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organization — doesn’t share the desire to avoid conflict, having declared war on the Tactical Group, which it says has treated its members unfairly.

“If you want war, you’ll get a war. We have already shown that we know where you are. We are coming for all of you,” read a professionally printed CJNG banner that was hung on a building in Guanajuato this month.

“For each member of [the CJNG] that you arrest, we are going to kill two of your Tacticals, wherever they are, at their homes, in their patrol vehicles,” the banner said.

Police stand guard behind sandbags at the entrance to Santa Rosa de Lima, birthplace of a local cartel that goes by the same name, in Guanajuato state, Mexico, February 12, 2020. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

AP said that officials in Guanajuato — where the CJNG is engaged in a turf war with the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel and other local gangs supported by the Sinaloa Cartel — refused to comment on how many members of the Tactical Group have been killed.

State police did, however, publicly acknowledge the latest case in which an officer was kidnapped from his home last Thursday and killed. His body was dumped on a highway. Without offering an exact figure, Guanajuato-based security analyst David Saucedo said there have been many cases of cartel violence against police.

“A lot of them [the elite police officers] have decided to desert. They took their families, abandoned their homes and they are fleeing and in hiding,” he told AP. “The CJNG is hunting the elite police force of Guanajuato. … This is an open war against the security forces of the state government.”

Cartel gunmen went to the home of a policewoman in January, where they kidnapped her and killed her husband. The female officer was subsequently tortured and shot dead.

Tactical Group officers are among the 262 police who have been killed in Guanajuato between 2018 and May 12. According to Poplab, more police have been killed in Guanajuato than in any other state since at least 2018. The average since that year of about 75 killings of police per year in Guanajuato is higher than the annual average of officers killed in the entire United States, which has a population 50 times that of the Bajío region state.

Violence against police in Guanajuato, Mexico’s worst state for homicides in recent years, has become so bad that the state government published a special decree on May 17 in which it pledged to provide an unspecified amount of funding for mechanisms to protect police and prison officials.

“Unfortunately, organized crime groups have shown up at the homes of police officers, which poses a threat and a greater risk of loss of life, not just for them, but for members of their families,” said the decree issued by Governor Diego Sinhue.

“They have been forced to quickly leave their homes and move so that organized crime groups cannot find them.” AP said that state officials refused to describe the protection measures offered to police.

A policeman drives past town hall in Apaseo El Alto, Guanajuato state, February 10, 2020. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

They also declined to comment on whether officers would receive financial assistance to rent new homes or whether there were plans to build secure housing compounds for police and their families. Federal security forces are deployed in Guanajuato but have failed to stem the violence or put any significant dent in criminal activity.

The federal government argues that its “hugs, not bullets” approach to security will result in a reduction in violence, but 2 1/2 years after it took office, homicide numbers remain extremely high, declining just 0.4% in 2020 from the record set in 2019 despite the coronavirus pandemic and the deployment of almost 100,000 National Guard troops.

Despite a campaign promise to withdraw the military from the nation’s streets, López Obrador has continued to use the armed forces for public security tasks but given them a clear directive to avoid direct confrontations with cartels wherever possible.

Former United States ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau said last month that the president sees combating cartels as a distraction from his political agenda and has adopted a laissez-faire attitude toward them.

“He sees the cartels … as a distraction from focusing on his agenda. So he has basically adopted a pretty laissez-faire attitude towards them, which is troubling to our government, obviously. I think it’s a big problem for Mexico,” he said.

Sources: AP; MND

Read More

Chihuahua State Police Commander Shot to Death Near US Border; Sicarios Then Burned His Vehicle

"MX" for Borderland Beat

The attack occurred in the town of Falomir, some 40 mi (64 km) southwest of Presidio, Texas.

Andrés Lara Durán, a police commander of the State Investigatory Agency (AEI) based in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, was shot to death inside his vehicle. Investigators said that the assailants burned the pick-up truck with Lara Duran inside after they killed him.

Images shared on social media showed his truck riddled with bullet holes and still on fire.

"They killed another comrade from Ojinaga. Cartel members do what they want with the police," an officer told a local media outlet.

The motive for the killing is officially unknown, but local media outlets say that Lara Duran was probably killed for heading a raid at a ranch in Ojinada where several luxury vehicles were seized in May 20, 2021. At the scene, authorities seized a Porsche and Lamborghini that were stolen in the US and up to US$800,000 in cash.

The mastermind of the attack was identified as Sergio Menchaca (alias "El Menchaca"), the head of the criminal group La Linea in Ojinaga and Aldama. A native of the state of Durango, El Menchaca has been living in Chihuahua for over 10 years and is linked to several criminal activities in the area, including drug trafficking and human smuggling.

Sources indicate that so far this year at least 15 police officers have been assassinated in different municipalities of Chihuahua. One of the most recent cases occurred on May 7, when Commander Luis Raúl Tarango Ávila was shot in an ambush at the entrance to Parral.

Vehicles seized during the May 20 raid in Ojinada (source: Noticias Locales)

Murder sources: Diario de Juarez (1); (2); 

El Menchaca sources: Heraldo de Chihuahua; Reforma (pay wall);

Read More