Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

The most dangerous Narco Juniors in Mexico

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a El Debate article and El Universal

[ Subject Matter: Sons of Narco Capos
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]

Serafin and Ismael Zambada


Reporter: El Debate
Ruben Oseguera Gonzalez, "El Menchito", was captured by Federal Forces on the morning of 23rd of June in Zapopan, Jalisco, considered to be the second in command of the CJNG, only operating under his father Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho".

According to reports by the Authorities in charge of security, Oseguera Gonzalez, 25 years of age, is the financial operator of CJNG, resulting in his first detention in 2014, in the metropolitan zone of the Jalisco capital, who had 25 million pesos and large calibre fire arms.

El Menchito, also was responsible for ordering executions of rival groups, a situation that he could be linked to the crimes of homicide in more than 70 bodies exhumed from clandestine graves in Jalisco.


Monday, June 29, 2015

Detained, the head Sicario for Sinaloa Cartel

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

[ Subject Matter: Felipe Quintero Saavedra "El Iraki"
Recommendation: Some prior knowledge of the Sinaloa Cartel would be useful]

Felipe Quintero Saavedra, "El Iraki", was detained by elements during operation Parral Seguro in Chihuahua; he is related to more than high impact  assassinations.




Reporter: Juan Jose Garcia Amaro

Elements of Operation Parral Seguro detained the head Sicario of the Sinaloa Cartel that operates in the South of Chihuahua State, he is linked with at least 20 executions of high impact in various towns of the State.

During his declarations, Felipe Quintero Saavedra, alias "El Iraki", 20 years of age, according to his criminal history he was born in Culiacan, Sinaloa, where he formed part of "la clica los plebes", informed the Attorney General of the State.

He is considered at the head Sicario for the Sinaloa Cartel, the Attorney Generals office said this subject is one on the priority objectives for capture of the Chihuahua Government, he has been known for 2 years to be running cells of Sicarios in this region.


Sunday, June 28, 2015

A Drug War Informer in No Man’s Land

Borderland Beat posted by DD, republished from NYT

 By
 
Luis Octavio López Vega fled Mexico with the D.E.A.'s help, but the agency later severed its ties with him. Mr. López, 64, got a face-lift years ago and now lives in hiding in the western United States. Photo by Monica Almeica/The New York Times

The forecast called for record snowstorms, and Luis Octavio López Vega had no heat in his small hide-out.

Thieves had run off with the propane tanks on the camper that Mr. López had parked in the shadow of a towering grain elevator, near an abandoned industrial park. Rust had worn through the floor of his pickup truck, which he rarely dared to drive because he has neither a license nor insurance. His colitis was flaring so badly he could barely sit up straight, a consequence of the breakfast burrito and diet soda that had become part of his daily diet. He had not worked in months and was down to his last $250.

Going to a shelter might have opened him to questions about his identity that he did not want to answer, and reaching out to his family might have put them at odds with the law.

“I cannot go on like this, living day to day and going nowhere,” Mr. López, 64, said one night last winter. “I feel like I’m running in place. After so many years, it’s exhausting.” 

 Mr. López, a native of Mexico, said in Spanish that he has lived under the radar in the western United States for more than a decade, camouflaging himself among the waves of immigrants who came across the border around the same time. Like so many of his compatriots, he works an assortment of low-wage jobs available to people without a green card. But while Mr. López blends into that resilient population with his calloused hands and thrift-store wardrobe, his predicament goes far beyond his immigration status.

Mr. López played a leading role in what is widely considered the biggest drug-trafficking case in Mexican history. The episode — which inspired the 2000 movie “Traffic” — pitted the Mexican military against the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Throughout the 1990s, Mr. López worked closely with them both. He served as a senior adviser to the powerful general who was appointed Mexico’s drug czar. And he was an informant for the D.E.A.
 
photo; Monica Almeica, NYT
His two worlds collided spectacularly in 1997, when Mexico arrested the general, Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, on charges of collaborating with drug traffickers. As Washington tried to make sense of the charges, both governments went looking for Mr. López. Mexico considered him a suspect in the case; the D.E.A. saw him as a potential gold mine of information.

The United States found him first. The D.E.A. secretly helped Mr. López and his family escape across the border in exchange for his cooperation with its investigation.

Dozens of hours of testimony from Mr. López about links between the military and drug cartels proved to be explosive, setting off a dizzying chain reaction in which Mexico asked the United States for help capturing Mr. López, Washington denied any knowledge of his whereabouts and the D.E.A. abruptly severed its ties with him.

Violence Continues In Michoacán; Reign of Impunity Extends


Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat


Michoacán is one of the states with the most violence in the country due to the dispute between drug cartels in the Tierra Caliente region, which covers 17 municipalities in the state along with nine in Guerrero and five in the State of Mexico.

Municipalities include:

Michoacán: San Lucas, Tuzantla, Susupuato de Guerrero, Nocupetaro, Caracuaro, Tiquicheo, Huetamo de Nuñez.

Guerrero: Arcelia, San Miguel Totolapan, Ajuchitlán del Progreso, Tlapehuala, Coyuca de Catalán, Zirándaro, Cutzamala del Pinzón, Pungarabato, Tlalchapa.

Estado de México: Tlataya, Amatepec, San Simón de Guerrero, Tejupilco, Palmar Chico, Sultepec, Zacualpan.




The fight from organized crime for the control of the plazas and the inability of the state government to maintain a state of peace caused the armed uprising of hundreds of civilians from the communities of La Ruana and Tepalcatepec to make up groups called autodefensas in February 2013.


Cartel Gunsmiths

Lucio R. Borderland Beat republish in part from Motherboard and BB Archives

In October, 2014 The ATF agency along with Mexico’s PGR agency dismantled two shops, both in Jalisco, one in Guadalajara, that was producing AR-15 rifles.  The factories were part of an network that sold its product to organized crime groups.  This was the first of its kind to be discovered in Mexico.

The shops manufactured the weapons for organized crime groups in Michoacán and the local cartel, Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG). It is estimated the shops were only operating for a few months. The material was imported from the United States.

Below is an extract from an in-depth article of the same subject from Motherboard titled “The Cartel Gunsmiths”, use the link to read full article.

Written by Brian Anderson

It was usually evening when the three men arrived at the shop. They would roll up in a Volkswagen Beetle, and come to a halt at a nondescript, garage-sized warehouse in a strip of shops in a residential neighborhood in Guadalajara, in Southwestern Mexico’s Jalisco state. They would park the Bug, and proceed to drink on the curb. Eventually the men would go inside, entering through a street door. They always locked the door behind them.

This went on for at least two months in 2014, according to a neighbor of the shop, where the men seemed to work odd hours. They never drew much attention to themselves, so there was little reason to believe their shop, located at calle Isla Trapani 2691, was in fact a sophisticated illegal gun manufacturing plant, and that the three of them were using the space to quietly produce homemade, untraceable firearms for one of Mexico’s fastest-growing and violent crime syndicates.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Heroin surpasses Marijuana in Mexico's drug production

Lucio R. Borderland Beat republished from Reforma

In the last four years the production of heroin in Mexico has surpassed marijuana.

Marijuana entities have given way to the poppy, the precursor opium gum and heroin, a more addictive drug and yielding higher profits for Mexican organized crime groups trafficking into the United States.

In the United States about 28 grams of marijuana cost about 400 dollars, one gram of heroin would be worth $ 225, according to the U.N. World Drug Report 2014. (I elected to publish different figures than the article and in checking with UNDR they also have the price published differently than Reforma )

In Chihuahua, Guerrero, Jalisco, Durango, Sinaloa and Oaxaca states leading producers of marijuana, the army located between 2007 and 2010 a total of 432, 561 of marijuana fields.

For 2011-2014, that number dropped by 56 percent with the discovery of 187,056 crops by soldiers.

Official data of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) indicate that the location of poppy crops phenomenon replaced the marijuana plantations.  Between 2007 and 2010, the Army reported 272,459 discoveries of poppy crops in those six states. But for the period 2011-2014 the military began to find their land tours and reconnaissance flights over poppy fields, a total of 427, 229 plantations, an increase 56 percent to the previous period.

Friday, June 26, 2015

San Diego: Tijuana trafficker texted images of torture & murder

San Diego: Tijuana trafficker texted pictures of torture and murder

Juan Castro Navarro, 43, of Culiacan Sinaloa was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for methamphetamine & heroin trafficking, through Tijuana to California, Utah and Washington.  Castro Navarro pled guilty to distributing over 40 pounds of methamphetamine, in January of 2015. 

Prosecutors describe Castro-Navarro as a broker, who connected wholesale drug contacts in Tijuana and Sinaloa with customers in the United States, who often arranged transportation and importation of the product through the Tijuana border.  Castro-Navarro recieved a sentence enhancement of 5 years, after the US Attorney successfully displayed  evidence Castro-Navarro's violence, including torture and several killings.  The killings took place in Tijuana to Mexican citizens, therefore the US Attorney's office in San Diego didn't charge Castro Navarro with these offenses. 

However, through court docs, a Tijuana newspaper, and intercepted text messages and images they recreated the kidnapping and eventual murders of men who stole from the drug trafficking group. According to prosectors, from an Ontario, California stash house members of the trafficking group transported 10 pounds of meth to Los Angeles, where the load was ripped off by the customer, a gang member named David.  

The traffickers then kidnapped associated of David in Tijuana, in order to recover the load, and punish the offenders.  It was during these days when 'J' (Castro Navarro, likely his PIN name) sent images of the torture.  J sent an image of a man in jeans and a blue sweatshirt tied to a chair, to his associates, and his girlfriend, whom he told he was 'working', and 'not to worry', along with instructions to delete the images.  She replied 'What is this? Are you ok? Thank god. I love you with all my heart". 

J sent further images detailing beating and suffocation, with a green plastic bag, and a baseball bat. As well as images of bruises all over the victims body.  J allegedly told an associate he hadn't killed him yet, because he is going to bring 20 units, (pounds of meth).  "Did you beat him or choke him"?  Another associate asked Navarro, 'the second' he replied.  The associate texting a winking emoji to end the conversation.  

The body of the man was found on January 23rd in Tijuana, wearing the same clothes as the text message images.  Prosectors used the messages and a news story from Tijuana to convince the judge, who called Castro-Navarro a 'monster'.  HSI started investigating the Castro-Navarro group in spring of 2013, eventually applying for title III wiretap intercepts in the late months of 2013.  

"I love you guys, and I'm only going to kill one more, I have never killed anyone who didn't deserve it", was another intercepted message.  

Sources: NBC 7 San Diego, US Attorney's Southern District News Release

11 detained in Sonoyta, members of Cartel Los Salazar

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

[ Subject Matter: Cartel Los Salazar, Sonoyta
Recommendation: Read this article by BB Reporter Havana Pura on Los Salazar]


Reporter: Milton Martinez

Agents of the Federal Preventative Police of the State of Sonora, detained 11 people allegedly members of the Cartel Los Salazar, who were travelling in 3 vehicles, in which were found 10 rifles, three pistols, two bullet proof jackets, 6 tactical vests and 35 magazines.

According to a report from the Division of Regional Security of the PFP, the Agents were patrolling the streets in the town of Sonoyta " General Plutarco Elias Calles" when they saw inside a Chevrolet Tahoe Van, with Arizona plates, two armed men.

The armed men tried to escape, but were stopped a little further on by more uniformed units, in the Calle Benito Juarez, in the Centro Colonia of Sonoyta.

In the interior of the van, they found an AR15 rifle, with 25 rounds of ammunition, two pistols, one 9mm calibre and one .45 acp, with two magazines.

Detained were Jose Rene N, driver of the van, and Victor Manuel N. Allegedly they are part of the organization Los Salazar, that operate in this region.

Baja California Decommission 80 Tonnes of Drugs in 3 months

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana article

[ Subject Matter: Drug Seizure, Sinaloa Cartel, Arellano Felix Organization
Recommendation: No prior subject knowledge required]



Reporter: Zeta Investigation

The 41.6 tonnes of Marijuana that was decommissioned in Tijuana this 12th of June, was denoted by Authorities as the property of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

The drugs had been transferred to the frontier in various trips in sealed vehicles, and was not detected at the few checkpoints installed on Highways between Sinaloa and Tijuana, manned by Federal Police and elements of the Army.

In fact to transport the drugs, Baja California Authorities required five trucks. The first to arrive at the house in the Granjas Familiares de Tijuana Colonia, according to witnesses, were elements of the State Preventative Police.

An investigation after one detention, apparently from a citizen complaint, led elements of the PEP tto the location of the mega haul.


Thursday, June 25, 2015

El Gringo Payan arrested, operator of El Mayo Zambada

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

[ Subject Matter: El Gringo Payan, El Mayo Zambada, Sinaloa Cartel
Recommendation: Some prior knowledge of the Sinaloa Cartel would be useful]


Reporter: Proceso Redaction

Genaro Payan Aros "El Gringo Payan", alleged narco trafficker of the Sinaloa Cartel, a leader for Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, was detained this past Thursday the 18th of June on a ranch in the community of Comanito, Mocorito Town, Sinaloa.

According to the website La Pared, Marines confirmed this afternoon the apprehension of the Capo and three other people. At the moment of detention, El Gringo Payan was carrying two identity cards, one in the name of Ruben Genaro Ruacha Aros and other Genaro Payan Quintero.

Together with the documents, the authorities confiscated 5 rifles, and 4 pistols, psychotropic drugs, crystal and other drugs not identified. They also confiscated 2 vehicles on his property.

According to information from the website, El Gringo Payan was put at the disposition of the PGR with base in Culiacan. Later he was transferred, together with the other detainees, whose identity was not revealed, to SEIDO in Mexico City to take their statements.

The information posted on La Pared said that El Gringo Payan was important in the structure of the Sinaloa Cartel, transiting drugs to the United States, even though he mostly flew under the radar.

Original article in Spanish at Proceso

In Mexico, your name can mean big trouble

Borderland Beat posted by DD republished from Yahoo News and Borderland Beat  

The municipality of Chilapa is a microcosm of what is happening in the state of Guerrero.  You have read of the battles between different gangs all over the state.  In another city you read about the murder of a mayor.  In another there are many reports of corruption and collusion of public officials with the cartels or gangs.  In other areas you will find horror stories of beheadings, kidnappings, mass graves and just about any kind of violence you can think of.  But there are few cities that have experienced it all as  has the municipality of Chilapa, about 55 kilometers from the state capitol.

Borderland Beat has posted 8 stories on the happenings in Chilapa just since July 2014.

July 22, 2014
 A video was posted on Youtube of a man who was kidnapped, while being detained by men armed with AK-47s,accuses the mayor of Chilapa de Alvarez, Francisco Havier Garcia Gonzalez (at left), of having ties to the leader of “Los Rojos” Zenen Nava Sanchez “ El Chaparro”. 


Nov. 15, 2014 .   Fr. John Ssenyondo was reported missing by the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa.
The Catholic priest who disappeared in April, was found in a Guerrero fosa (clandestine grave), and buried with six other bodies.  The discovery was made a week ago in the search for the 43 missing normalistas students. 
 
 
Five burnt bodies were found over the weekend in Chilapa de Alvarez, a town in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, police chief Job Encarnacion Cuenca said. 

Jan 10, 2015
 
According to information from representatives of the Office of the Attorney-General, the graves were located in the village of Tepehuixco of Chilapa de Alvarez.  The area is being guarded by federal troops ...
 
 
 
 
 
Mar 12, 2015
 Armed men intercepted Aidé Nava González vehicle on the road to Chilapa, she was shot and decapitated. The PRD mayoral front-runner candidate of Ahuacuot-Zingo, municipality, Aidé Nava González, was kidnapped this ...With her decapitated body was a message from “Los Rojos” cartel that covered her body, but her head was lying next to a rock on top of the banner.
"This will happen to all the fucking politicians who don’t want to align with us, you fucking traitors.
Attn,
Puro Rojos ZNS ." 
 **Police killed in battle with criminals in Chilapa 
Apr 22, 2015
Presumed integrants of organised crime killed a member of the Special Forces of the State Police and injured another, in the Community of Atzacoaloya, belonging to the Town of Chilapa de Alvarez, Guerrero. The Municipal ...
 
**Alleged Community Guards Lay Siege to Chilapa
May 10, 2015
Yesterday around 17:30 hours, approximately 300 masked civilians armed with shotguns stormed and took control of the entrances and exits of the municipal capital of Chilapa where the Federal Police Gendarmerie and the state police had supposedly taken over security for the town.  
As reported by Lucio in that story,;
The “Community Guards” stripped the weapons off of the 40 municipal police and made rounds throughout the municipality in official police vehicles while bearing official weapons, the AR-15 and AR-70 rifles.

This Sunday, Proceso toured throughout the conflict zone and could see the failure of the authorities such as the military, federal, and state, who have merely observed the raids, the disarming of the municipal police, the civilian retention, and the checkpoints that the “Community Guard” have on the boulevard Eucaria Apreza, located along the federal road Chilapa-Tlapa.

The perception of the residents of this city faced with the omissive attitude of the authorities is that with this way, the federal and state governments intend to oust the cell of “Los Rojos” and leave “Los Ardillos” with control of the plaza.  “Removing one evil with another evil,” responded a youth, having been asked by the reporter.
 
**Chilapa Residents Denounce Armed ...
May 21, 2015
 
Residents of Chilapa, Guerrero denounced the disappearances of at least 30 people during the arrival of the hundreds of armed civilians who called themselves “Community Police”. Chilapa has been hit by several violent  incidents attributed to organized crime in recent months, among them includes the finding of 10 human heads and other human remains in clandestine graves in January.
On May 1, Ulises Fabián Quiroz, the PRI mayor candidate, was shot to death.
 WARNING:  THERE ARE GRAPHIC IMAGES OF VIOLENCE ON THE NEXT PAGE!!!  
 
YOU MAY WANT TO SCROLL DOWN THE PAGE TO THE STORY "In Chilapa Having The Wrong Last Name is Almost a Death Warrant"

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

El Dandy arrested

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

[ Subject Matter: El Dandy, Tamaulipas
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]

Pedro Odiel Villegas Coronado

Elements of the Group for Coordination in Tamaulipas, detained one Pedro Odiel Villegas Coronado, El Dandy, allegedly implicated in the crimes of kidnapping, extortion, and drugs and arms trafficking.

The alleged regional boss of a group of criminals that operate in Tamaulipas, and one of the new objectives of the strategy of State, Federal and Government Security, put into practise this past 13th of May, was apprehended yesterday in Ciudad Victoria together with his bodyguard, Erick Fabian Saucedo Arguelles.

According to the GCT, Villegas Coronado also is accused of diverse violations and homicides in Xicotencatl, El Mante, Aldama, Gonzalez and other towns of the central region and the south of this State.

The possible capture of the criminal was achieved thanks to a special operation carried out by personnel from Sedena, with assistance from Federal Commanders of the central and south zones, two of the four areas of strategy for security.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Authorities Arrest El Menchito



Updated with additional info

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Authorities in Jalisco detained Rubén Oseguera González, “El Menchito”, son of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes “El Mencho”, known by authorities in Mexico and the United States as the most dangerous criminal organization in the country.  Journalist Carlos Loret de Mola from Primero Noticias reported the capture Tuesday morning.


Rubén Oseguera was captured in a residential zone in Zapopan, Jalisco

Oseguera was captured early Tuesday morning and was taken to Mexico City.

According to official sources, the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) carried out an operation in Prados Vallarta, located in Zapopan in order to capture the son of “El Mencho”.

In the residential complex, some torn surveillance cameras were able to be seen, while another had the lens aiming at the sky and another camera was sprayed with a red liquid to prevent any visibility.


The National Security Commissioner, Monte Alejandro Rubido, stated that at the time of his capture, Oseguera González did not have any security deployment due to his low profile.

Rubido  also stated that “El Menchito” showed signs of having undergone a recent nose job.


El Viejon arrested

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana article

[ Subject Matter: El Viejon, Sinaloa Cartel
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]

El Viejon                                             El Nano


Reporter: Zeta Redaction and Cortesia
Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, State Secretary for Public Security, signalled that at the end of the week they captured in one operation, Jesus Corrales Rios, alias El Viejon or El Chuy, a subject that is allegedly dedicated to the transit of drugs and homicides in Tecate.

Also captured with El Viejon was his bodyguard, who responds to the name of Jamie Alberto Lizarraga Medina, alias El Nano, 21 years of age.

According to de la Rosa, due to a large part, elements of the State Preventative Police in Tijuana, was the motive for the recent achievements of captures in the past few weeks.


Monday, June 22, 2015

San Diego: 25 kilos of cocaine seized at checkpoint

25 kilos of cocaine seized outside San Diego

Less then 2 weeks after nearly 375 kilos were seized in Santa Fe Springs and San Bernardino, another 25 fall in San Clemente, 30 minutes outside San Diego, last Friday, June 19th.  The checkpoint is a frequent interdiction point, though it is open and active, in erratic times and hours.

Last year in two separate incidents nearly 50 kilos were seized, and 1.5 million in cash.  The San Clemente stop is the last, and only checkpoint between San Diego and Los Angeles, a major trafficking and distribution point.  

In this instance a 30 year old U.S citizen was contacted by US Customs and Border Protection, at a rest stop about 6 miles before the checkpoint.  It can be inferred the driver was waiting for communication via phone that the checkpoint was either open or closed.

Drivers that fit a description or spend too much time in the rest stop are likely spotted by ICE officers, and contacted for further review, similar to how the exits around a DUI checkpoint are monitored, for drivers attempting to avoid the stop. 

After a consent search the officers found 25 packages of cocaine, weighing 67 pounds, and turned the driver over to the DEA. The product was estimated at nearly a million dollars, 871,000, which is roughly 29,000 per kilo.  

Sources: UT San Diego and AFN Tijuana


Tribunal intiated review of the Mireles Case

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana article

[ Subject Matter: Dr Mireles Valverde
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]

An average of 2 months is the time it takes to resolve a challenge by the PGR



Reporter: Luis Carlos Sainz Martinez
The Court of Tribunal in penal matters of the Tenth Circuit with residence in Morelia, Michoacán, received the proceedings of Amparo that was promoted by the Ex Leader of the Autodefensas of Tierra Caliente, Jose Manuel Mireles Valverde, in order to study the challenge raised by the Public Ministry of the Republic.

The Judges admitted the appeal for review by the Prosecutors office attached to the First Unified Court this past March 31st, which granted the constitutional protection in favor of Mireles and three of his co-defendants, so they may go ahead with the prosecution of Dr Mireles for crimes against health and possession of firearms for exclusive use by the Armed Forces.

The Court filed the appeal under the review number 218/2015 and although a date for the possible resolution of the case was not established, it is estimated that this could take 2 months which is an average.

The Military kill six alleged criminals in Tamaulipas


Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

[ Subject Matter: Tamaulipas, Mexican Army
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]



Reporter: Proceso Redaction and Victor Hugo Valdivia

Six alleged criminals were killed this Saturday during a confrontation between the Military and armed civilians in the Town of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.

The Group for Coordination for Tamaulipas, informed that elements of SEDENA, carried out patrols, when they came across members of a criminal group that operate in this location.

The State said that the elements repelled the attack, the Military killed six of the alleged criminals, though at this point they have not been identified.

"When we arrived at the point known as Breach 18 and Ranch El Alto, personnel of SEDENA came across some armed civilians that were deployed in two vehicles, a Chevrolet Surburban model 2001 and a Ford Expedition model 2002".

The event occurred about 06:00 in the morning of this Saturday near vacant land of Vanguardia, Town of Matamoros, where the Army confiscated two vehicles, five rifles and magazines.

Original article in Spanish at Proceso

Following the wave of assassinations in NL, now 21 in 3 days

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article

[ Subject Matter: Recent wave of killing in Nuevo Leon
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]

The mandatory State Press Conference

Reporter: Daniela Mendoza and Redaction

Neuvo Leon: Three men were killed and their bodies abandoned in different avenues of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon.

Around 11:00 in the morning, Authorities received a report that a body of a man had been found, between 18 and 20 years old, in Calzada de Valle and Rio Tamesis. The body was present with three bullet wounds, the victim had a red shirt and blue jeans and was bare foot.

Apparently the body was left close to a party opposite a vacant lot, but there were no spent cartridge cases nearby.

About 06:30 am the Authorities received a report of another body found, a man with bullet wounds, between 25 and 30 years of age, on the crossroads of San Pedro and Fuentes de Valle.


Saturday, June 20, 2015

10 gunned down at Monterrey, N.L. beer distribution center

Lucio R. Borderland Beat material from Reforma, Tiempo and Cronica


Ten people were killed Friday after an armed commando opened fire in broad daylight at a beer distribution center on the outskirts of Monterrey, a major city in northeast Mexico.

Gunmen aboard two trucks arrived around 2 P.M. at the brewery, located 200 meters from Garcia City Hall  and about 25 kilometers from Monterrey, an industrial epicenter in the state of Nuevo Leon and Mexico’s third  largest city.

"The investigation to this point says it is an attack between organized crime groups in which the victims were specifically targeted.  

We are not saying positively that they were involved in illegal acts but by the way the attack occurred it points in that direction." explained the prosecutor of Nuevo Leon, Javier Flores.

According to preliminary investigations, all the victims worked in brewery trade and several people who witnessed the attack were unharmed.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Gates, Elite Police that combat narcos in Coahuila, lower the crime rate

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article

 [Subject Matter: Gates (Groupo de Armas y Tacticales Especiales
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]

 "Here there are no narco's of the last letter (Los Zetas), here we call them by their name and we combat them for what they are: killers and leaches: Military will change State Security"




Reporter: Acosta M
Saltillo, Coahuila: In Coahuila some come to the Grupo de Armas y Tacticas Especiales (GATE), created in 2009 by the State Government to combat organized crime, like a blessing, they are attributed a decrease in the crime rate, and have quelled related activities of Los Zetas and Cartel del Golfo, who have for years had a violent dispute over territory.

In 2013 in Coahuila occupied sixth place in the national league of the most violent states in the country, according to the statistics for 6 types of crimes for every 100,000 inhabitants, (homicides, kidnapping, extortion, rapes, robberies with violence), by 2014 it had improved and they were 11th in the list.

According to levels recorded by the Secretariat of the National Systems of Public Security, in 2010 Coahuila had 16th place in the national league for homicides, but one year after, with the increase in activities of organized criminals, things started to worsen, occupying 9th place in 2011, 8th in 2012 and also 8th in 2013. For the past year, things have got better, 12th place this year, and the first three months until March it shows 13th place.


Life Sentence Slashed: Francisco Javier Arellano Félix becomes a "cooperating witness"

Lucio R. Borderland Beat posted by SiskiyouKid republished from UTSD,  and DEA Website

Francisco Javier Arellano Félix’ aka "El Tigrillo" delivered “extensive post-sentencing cooperation,” providing information, on cartel figures and the public officials alike,  who worked with them on both sides of the border, the information will be used in arrests and  in prosecutions.  He is now obligated to testify in those prosecutions.

The UTSD article is defining Arellano Felix as “Cooperating Witness”. A "Cooperating witnesses," or "CWs," differ from Confidential Informants  in that CWs agree to testify in legal proceedings and  have written agreements with the Department of Justice (DOJ) (usually with an Assistant U.S. Attorney) that spell out their obligations specifically and their expectations of future judicial or prosecutive consideration. 

His reduction in sentencing means he could be released in 11.5 years, depending on time served, good time reduction and when the clock began ticking.  ( Lucio)

UTSD Article:

The life in prison sentence for former drug cartel leader Francisco Javier Arellano Félix has been reduced to 23 1/2 years because he’s provided crucial information to the government that has led to prosecutions in the U.S. and Mexico, according to federal court records.

Arellano pleaded guilty in 2007 to racketeering and money laundering charges and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, after the U.S. Department of Justice elected not to seek the death penalty against him.

But court records say that almost since his dramatic arrest in 2007, when he was plucked off a boat in international waters by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to San Diego to face trial, Arellano has been cooperating with federal authorities.

In a court order filed Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns wrote that federal prosecutors in San Diego had described his cooperation as “extensive.”

Authorities decommission a second network of cameras in Tamaulipas

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

[ Subject Matter: CCTV network, Tamaulipas
Recommendation: see link to previous decommissioning]



Reporter: Proceso Redaction
For the second occasion in less than a month, the Police have dismantled an network of video cameras put up by narco's in the frontier city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

On this occasion, the network comprised of 39 video cameras from which organized criminals that operate in Reynosa can monitor and react to the Military Forces and the Police.

The decommissioning of the equipment was carried out on the night of Thursday 17th of June, after one of the alleged technicians was surprised by the Police while he was fitting a camera to a post located on the corner of Calle Purificacion, in the Doctores Colonia.


Thursday, June 18, 2015

Pan Delegate accused of visiting El Chapo, she denies it

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article with image from Google Images

[ Subject Matter: El Chapo
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]

The Legislator for Cosala, Sinaloa, Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez denied that she is the girlfriend of the capo and of having visited him at Altiplano no.1 with false documents.

Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez

Reporter: Cynthia Valdez

Culiacan, Sinaloa: the Pan legislator for Cosala, Sinaloa, Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez, denied all links to the capo Joaquin El Chapo Guzman Loera, later today the journalist and collaborator of Milenio, Joaquin Lopez-Doriga, wrote that the legislator allegedly visited the narco trafficker using false documents at the Maximum Security Altiplano no.1 Prison.

"Girlfriend, Pan will investigate their legislator for Cosala, Sinaloa, Lucero Guadalupe Sanchez Lopez, for her relation to Joaquin Guzman Loera. She went to Altiplano no.1 with the credential of the INE and a birth certificate, wrote the journalist in his column "In Private".

Two months after, the Commission for National Security informed that a woman, without revealing her identity, visited the capo in an illegal manner with the help of El Chapos Lawyer.

Sedena (Secretary of National Defense) Discloses One of "Missing 43" Was Active Duty Soldier" Infiltrated Into School

Borderland Beat Posted by DD Republished from Proceso

By Ezequiel Flores Contreras
Graffiti painted on wall at by normalistas at the barracks of the 35th Military Zone based in Chilpancingo, Guerrero.

 Chilpancingo, Gro. (Apro) .- One of the 43 missing normalistas Ayotzinapa is enlisted as a soldier on active duty, but his identity was classified as "confidential",  revealed the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA).

 "Providing the information represents a real risk to the safety of the family of the missing military, because they could be easily identified, resulting in possible attacks against them," the Sedena to this news weekly Proceso.

 In mid-April, the reporter made a request for information to this federal agency 77315- -folio in which he asked if among the missing normalistas were any active duty soldiers .

 This request was made due to a line of research being followed on the level of infiltration of government agents in the rural normal school "Raúl Isidro Burgos", considered by authorities and politicians as "hotbed of guerrilla".

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

21 criminals in Tamaulipas captured with guns and drugs

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article

[ Subject Matter: Organized Crime in Tamaulipas, Rio Bravo
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required]


Among the detained is the right arm of the leader of the criminal group and a blacksmith who fabricated poncho llantas, tyre piercing spikes, they confiscated marijuana, guns, ammunition and stolen gasoline.

Ciudad Victoria: Elements of the Tamaulipas Force detained 21 members of a criminal group that operate in the Town of Rio Bravo.(Otis: the location suggests these maybe people of El 98 of Cartel del Golfo).

Among the detained was the right arm of the leader of the group, who were two participants in an aggression against Federal Police installations.

It follows that those detained had different functions within the criminal group like halcones to was the Federal Forces and State Forces, distribute and sell stolen gasoline, robberies, and halcones to watch the sector where they are located and detained.

Is Mexican Govt. Outgunned By the Cartels?

.Borderland Beat Posted by DD republished from the Washington Post

DD:   
Between 2006 and 2014 the Mexican government seized 162,858 firearms and explosives, according to government data. Weapons have become more powerful over the past 10 years, and enough guns and rifles have been confiscated to arm 60 percent of the Mexican Army.

it’s the increased firepower behind the trigger that’s been troubling authorities.  With AK-47s leading the list of favorite narco weapons, explosives are also increasingly part of their arsenal with items such as land mines and bazookas repeatedly on the list of weapons seized by officials.



The shooting down of the heliocoptor in early May proved they possessed RPG's (rocket propelled grenades).


But the Mexican Government is on a spending spree to purchase military equipment that should equalize any inequality in firepower as shown in this report from the Washington Post.

7 dead in Apatzingán after police ambushed

Borderland Beat by DD republished from Mexico News Daily

DD:  The original source for this story was Mexico News Daily, but also includes material from further research from OEM, Cambio de Michoacan, and Quadratrin.

Rurale with head injury
Yesterday morning (Tue. June 16), at about 1:AM two members of the Forces Rurales and 5 civilians were killed in an ambush near Apatzingan.  Five members of the Rurales were injured in the attack, one in an injury to the head and according to unofficial reports had brain matter showing but was still alive after being transported along with the other injured to hospitals in Apatzingan, about 30 minutes from the site of the attack.

The reports from different media give some conflicting details, but the above seems to be a brief consensus of the basic facts of the attack.  Some report there were 6 killed.  Some report that there is a missing policeman, some say there are 2 missing.

OEO reported that a call for assistance from the survivors was not made until about 8:AM even though the attack started about 1AM, because the area was so remote that there was no telephone signal available.  

"It is noteworthy that after the police realized they  were exceeded in number by criminals, many hid in the bush and weeds, until dawn when they could go to a place where communication was possible because the a good signal does not exist in the place of the attack."