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

Friday, September 30, 2016

Chapos Brother and sons responsible for military ambush

Guest Borderland Beat Reporter "Javier" material: Facebook, Debate, Alinstante Noticias
Shoudl first read previous Wachito post from earlier today by linking here

"El Guano" injured


Update at bottom of post
The sons of El Chapo are being blamed as the perpetrators of the attack against the Mexican military. According to the state governor, Mario Lopez Valdez, in the convoy was 17 soldiers, five of whom died, 10 more were wounded and two were unhurt. Also wounded is a paramedic whose condition is listed as “stable”.

A rescued person was using an alias of  Julio Oscar Ortiz Vega, but reports from Culiacan state he is in fact is Aureliano Guzmán Loera, brother of "El Chapo" Guzman.

Armed commando ambushed and killed 5 soldiers in Culiacan

Original Article and videos available at El Debate
Translated by El Wachito

During the morning of this Friday a gunfight between an armed commando an military personnel left 5 killed and 10 injured. The gunfight started around 4:00 AM in the outskirts of the city on the road leading to the city towards the north over Mexico 15, when unknown armed commandos lead a cold blooded attack against the soldiers.
"The vehicles were on flames"  All Photos taken  by: Luis Perez/EL DEBATE
One of the bodies was on fire 

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Chapo's sons: Newly released footage depicts Ivan Guzman being kicked while kidnapped

Both sons, Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo were kidnapped from the La Leche restaurant in Puerto Vallarta on August 15th.  .... from Milenio


Former Miss Universe of the Trump scandal, had a love child with El Indio of BLO

By Guest Reporter CEM

He was arrested back 2010, his name is Gerardo Alvarez Vazquez, alias "El Indio" or "The Chayán", he was a BLO operator, and in 2010 the secretariat of the mexican marina confirmed that he is the father of a child conceived with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado.

Doesn’t ring a bell?  She is the former Miss Universe, who Hillary Clinton thought it important  to speak about, in the first presidential debate.  Clinton going back 25 years, alleges that Trump called Machado “Miss Piggy”, and “Miss Housekeeper”.


Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Culiacan, Sinaloa is the Mexican Capital of Drug Laboratories

Translated by: Yaqui for BorderlandBeat
From Riodoce by: Alejandro Monjardín, September 25, 2016


Sophisticated Drug Factories

Culiacan is the clandestine methamphetamine factory of the country. Data provided by the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) indicates that the state capital is the city where the largest number of drug laboratories are concentrated.

From 2005 to May 2016, 261 clandestine laboratories were located. That quantity represents 20 percent of the 1,314 thousand found throughout the rest of the country.

The second highest number of laboratories, 91, were found is Apatzingan; followed by Buena Vista Tomatlan, with 66, both in the state of Michoacan.

Cartels have installed laboratories in 21 states, but most of them are located on the Pacific Coast.
Sinaloa, Michoacan and Jalisco account for 1,103 laboratories found in a decade, which represents 83 percent of of those decommissioned nationwide.

An armed commando belonging to el Chapo took control over a Beltran Leyva stronghold PART 2

Translated by El Wachito for Borderland Beat Original article available at Riodoce, 9.25.16

By Miguel Angel Vega, reporting for Riodoce


The Guzman supremacy positioned itself through the war they were waging since June from this year against the Beltran Leyva Cartel, due to the operations conducted by Aureliano Guzman Loera "El Guano" and his gunman. After a firefight that lasted hours, Guano's gunman were able to take control of the town.


Huixiopa welcome sign
 

Huixiopa is the land where notorious drug trafficker Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno "El Azul" was born, and it was from there where the commandos that took control over la Tuna and stormed the house of doña Consuelo Loera, mother of Joaquin el Chapo Guzman, were dispatched, resulting in the beginning of the new war.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Lawyer for 'El Chapo' Guzman says he has proof Mexican drug lord is being tortured

Posted by Chuck B Almada Republished from Fox News Latino
Written by Carmen M. Llona (Fox News Latino)
Monday , 26 September, 2016

In a shocking claim, the lawyer for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman said he has proof the Mexican drug lord is being tortured in prison.

Jose Refugio Rodriguez, Guzman’s lawyer, told Fox News Latino on Monday that he handed Guzman’s psychiatric evaluation to a judge to prove that his client is suffering from acute isolation – which he claims is a form of torture.

"Cruel and unusual treatment is torture," Rodriguez said.

Guzman, who is currently being held in a federal prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, presents symptoms of “generalized anxiety disorder and mild neurocognitive impairment” which “prove that he is being submitted to mistreatment during his incarceration,” the medical report obtained by Fox News Latino said.


Guzman’s legal team is fighting for its notorious client to be moved back to the maximum security El Altiplano prison in Central Mexico. The cartel king famously escaped from El Altiplano through a mile-long tunnel in July of 2015. He was recaptured in January.

“We requested this evaluation by an expert so steps can be taken so that he is not isolated anymore,” the lawyer said.


Chapitos & CJNG fight for the Heroin Crown

Translated by Chuck B Almada for Borderland Beat from an El Debate article
Sunday 25, September, 2016

According to a DEA spokesperson, Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG have fought several battles in the US in a fight for territory.


United States- Despite their leader’s capture, the Sinaloa Cartel, which is now presumably under the command of Chapo’s sons, continues to be one of the major threats towards the US as the trafficking of heroin continues to increase. During an interview, DEA spokesperson, Russell K. Baer said that Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG are fighting for the crown of heroin in the US, a territory which was dominated by Colombian groups in the past.

 ”El Chapo might be in custody and perhaps even stripped from power, but his sons are very involved in the criminal activities of the cartel” says Baer

 Mexico is also being fought in the US, where CJNG has increased its wealth, influence, and ability to traffic drugs.


According to the spokesperson of the DEA, the heads of one of the factions of the Sinaloa Cartel are the two sons of El Chapo: Ivan Archivaldo Guzman AKA El Chapito, and Jesus Alfredo Guzman AKA El Afredillo (Alfredillo was kidnapped and eventually freed by CJNG last month). Despite the fight between both cartels, the group native of La Tuna, Badiraguato, Sinaloa continues being the group that has circulated the most drugs in American territory. For this same reason, the fight that these two cartels have fought in


Lest We Forget; It is 2nd Anniv. of Missing 43. Photo Essay

Posted by DD from material from NBC, Telesur, and partially republished from Huffington Post

A banner with the faces of the 43 missing students hangs in Tixtla, Guerrero, on Feb. 6, 2014. It reads, “Tixtla and El Fortín support the families of the 43 disappeared Ayotzinapa students. They took them alive, we want them alive!”

Yesterday there were marches of human rights activist and protestors around the globe commemorating the 2nd anniversary of kidnapping and murder of students from the Ayotzinapa Normal School in Guerrero state in Mexico.  

Some people say this is old news (the disappearances and subsequent investigation by the government)  and why do we continue to dwell on it.  They say we should just move on because we may never know that really happened and the students are only a tiny fraction of the total number of disappearances in Mexico over the last decade.

In answer to them, there are many reasons why we cannot allow the case of the 43 (as it has become known as) to just become a statistic and forgotten with the passage of time.   Can you imagine the uproar that would shake the world if 43 students from an American university were kidnapped and disappeared. 

The emergence of a social movement with international reach is one of the few positive developments in the Ayotzinapa case over the last two years. "We are all part of a system," said the Mexican Catholic priest and human rights activist Alejandro Solalinde during a lecture at Barnard College in Manhattan on May 5, 2015. "If we analyze reality as scattered elements we won't find answers… But if we interpret everything as part of a larger system, then we will understand what is going on."   Solalinde described Ayotzinapa as  X-rays of Mexican politics. 

Amado Tlatempa, cousin of two of the 43 missing students—Jesús Jovany Rodríguez Tlatempa and José Eduardo Bartolo Tlatempa—believes that Ayotzinapa has elevated the moral conscience of Mexico, and will give people the courage to fight for their rights.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Sinaloa: Six bodies dumped in Mazatlán as violence heats up

Borderland Beat Guest Reporter "Javier B"

Six bodies were found in Mazatlán, Sinaloa.

According to information published by the newspaper El Debate, the victims were discovered about 5:50am on General Cabanillas Street. A vehicle pulled to the street, stopped and dumped the bodies of 5 men and 1 woman, piled atop each other.

The deceased were blindfolded with duct tape with feet and hands bound. 5 have been identified, one of the men and the female are siblings. Only first names were publicized by authorities:

Alfredo "N" Raul "N" Miguel "N" and Caesar "N" are the names of the males, while the identity of the female is Sotera "N".

Reports reveal they had been kidnapped on Saturday.

The bodies all had multiple bullet impact wounds.

Sinaloa has experienced and uptick in violence, in the past months due to a power clash between El Chapo loyalists, versus Beltran Leyva.

Sinaloa Cartel: Treasury Targets Tijuana-Based Cell, Cheyo Antrax, 3 others

Translated by Yaqui for BorderlandBeat
El SudCaliforniano Sept 24, 2016


The United States Freezes Assets of Four Mexican With Ties to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel



On Friday September 23, 2016 the United States in Washington, D.C. sanctioned four Mexicans citizens accused of drug trafficking and/or money laundering for the Sinaloa Cartel.  The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) attached to the Treasury Department identified the Mexicans as:
Eliseo Imperial Castro, alias ''Cheyo Antrax'';
Lirio Alfonso Sotelo, alias "El Atlante''; 
Javier Lira Sotelo, alias ''El Hannibal'' or ''El Carnicero"; 
Alma Delia Lira Sotelo.
Cheyo, Mayito Gordo, and Chino Antrax 

Saturday, September 24, 2016

TJ: Armed encounter in la Zona Norte

Original article available at El Mexicano
Translated by El Wachito

An agent affiliated with the tourist police died and two others were wounded after engaging two armed men in la Zona Norte. 


The confrontation started when the officers order a compact vehicle to stop in Coahuila street adjacent to Avenida Ninos heroes however, the gunman ignored the orders and opened fire on the officers.

Clandestine Graves in at Least 16 States of Mexico

Translated by Yaqui for BorderlandBeat  El SudCaliforniano Sept 17, 2018 Orginazacion Mexicano
BB Note: At his term end Claderon estimated over 25k dead in clandestine graves in the border states.  Mexico does not count economic migrants missing from other countries, and the missing are never moved to the dead count unless evidence is located to prove their death......Amnesty International estimates 12k per year migrants 'go missing'.


                           The Federal Government Recognizes 27, 638 Missing Persons

NGO's Say There Are More

Unsolvable links are shared by clandestine graves with missing persons; with nefarious links that expose a widespread reality that has existed for decades and intensified in the 21st Century for Mexico. How many are there? Where are they? Why are they here? Who killed them? The figures are uncertain, but the terror and the pain are perpetual.

Throughout Mexico in tropical forests, under bushes and thickets, on the prairies, savannas, and deserts of the terrain there are clandestine graves.
But also they are in the empty lots in cities and towns. There are virtually thousands of corpses that do not appear in any statistics, never the less they are homicides.

Anything new? No. Value what is said by Francisco Rivas, Director General of the National Citizen Observatory:

"Enough already with making excuses such as "before it was worse,  we did not to know what to do, we didn't know what to combat or who created this situation, we did not effectively address the security problem. Enough of the looking for justifications that allow for the reproduction of so much violence and delinquency. If the current trend of social statistics remain we will actually end 2016 with 19,560 direct victims of homicide and many more victims who will pay the consequences of a country where it's institutions have failed to guarantee social peace nor has respect for human rights."

Sinaloa: Cessna stopped while carrying weapons to Los Chapitos

Borderland Beat Guest reporter Siskiyoukid From Riodoce

BB Note:  The war between the Chapitos and Beltran Leyva presented itself in June, when the home of El Chapo’s mother came under attack.  It was largely assumed that the perpetrators were Beltran Leyva.  Since that date the conflict has heated up to a full struggle for power and control of the region. The theory is Beltran Leyva initiated the attack to force a “show down” with El Chapo’s people and gain greater control of  territory in the region. Each group is from the region and has controlled areas.  This week Chapitos took control of  Huixiopa in Badiraguato, which was controlled by Beltrn Leyva.

Because of the money seized, (the amount of money they concede was in the plane) and the few quantity of weapons, it is more likely that the shipment was already dropped and was stopped after the delivery.....Article begins below

Friday, September 23, 2016

An armed commando belonging to el Chapo took control over a Beltran Leyva stronghold

Translated by El Wachito for Borderland Beat Original article available at Riodoce, 9.22.16

By Miguel Angel Vega, reporting for Riodoce

A dozen of armed man, under the command of Aureliano Guzman Loera "El Guano", took control of a small town known as Huixiopa in Badiraguato which was a controlled area under the people of the Beltran Leyva brothers.

From that town were deployed the armed commandos that took control of La Tuna last month and invaded the house of Consuelo Loera, mother of el Chapo Guzman. The armed commando killed at least two locals.

According to a patrol conducted by Riodoce(news chain from Sinaloa), the town was abandoned because the local residents ran to other nearby ranches or to Culiacan due to the daily armed clashes.

Demand for Inquiry Into Police Abuse of Women May Embroil Mexico’s President

Posted by DD Republished from New York Times


MEXICO CITY — International human rights officials are demanding an investigation into the brutal sexual assaults of 11 Mexican women during protests a decade ago — an inquiry that would take aim at President Enrique Peña Nieto, who was the governor in charge at the time of the attacks.

The demand is part of a multiyear examination by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights into abuses during a 2006 crackdown ordered by Mr. Peña Nieto on San Salvador Atenco, a town in Mexico State where demonstrators had taken over the central square. During the operations, which left two dead, more than 40 women were violently detained by the police, packed onto buses and sent to jail several hours away.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Julián Leyzaola a hero or a villain? or both?


Excerpt taken from Gente de la Tia Juana
Posted and translated by El Wachito

The controversial Julian Leyzaola came to Tijuana when the city needed him the most. Kidnappings and extortion's occurred on a daily basis, even the taco stands, ice cream shops, and the guy with the crutches selling lottery tickets in la Zona Rio paid his tributes to the cartels.

There was a huge lack of morals and values from the drug traffickers, which in reality weren't drug traffickers, but only a group of abusers and unjust traffickers of drugs from those times.

"Tjuana was enduring its darkest days when Julián Leyzaola Pérez rose to prominence in 2008 and 2009 as a tough-minded police chief who taunted drug traffickers, chased down criminals, even arrested his own officers—winning both ardent followers and vehement critics."-Sandra Dibbler reporting for San Diego Union Tribune

Like its said in the drug trafficking world, drug traffickers are not supposed to mess with the people. Drug traffickers are supposed to allow the citizens to live in peace and tranquility, with no kidnappings and abuses. It was supposed to be the other way around, citizens should be empowered and supported, however in Tijuana, during that time period the practice was different.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Dozens of Catholic Priests murdered under Calderon-EPN administration

by Lucio for Borderland Beat- this is a republished post from March 2015-see post of today of two priest murdered this week by using this link
Mexico is the most dangerous nation for priests in the world

Catholic Priests, are among the bravest drug war heroes of Mexico, and they are being killed at an escalating and appalling rate. Few are reporting the full story, or are reporting the numbers inaccurately, including the Catholic Church.

The fact that Mexico is one of the most dangerous places on earth for reporters is well known, what is far less written about is the violence perpetrated against  Catholic Priests.

Mexico is officially now the most dangerous place on earth for Catholic Priests.  While long in the top group of most dangerous places for priests, Mexico is now its leader. For the sixth consecutive year, Mexico tops the list in murders and disappearances of Catholic priests in Latin America.

What must be established, murders and kidnappings of priests receive little attention outside regional reporting hubs.  It is a perplexing, how a story of dozens of  priests being murdered by cartels during  2 administrations goes unrecognized, or for example, a story  about 5 priests being killed in November–December of 2013 in Tamaulipas and Veracruz,  is but a tiny blip on the media radar. 

Inaccuracy of numbers
It must be pointed out, that priests are kidnapped, often from churches or rectories, but  the "disappearance" never budges  from  being labeled as such,  to being counted as “killed” or "dead", unless there is a body. Those  kidnapped and not found, are  not recorded on a drug war casualty list. 

In fairness, neither is any other group of people, which renders summations weak and without merit. 

 Nonetheless, the point being, as the title of this post says;  ' "dozens" of priests killed during the Calderon-Peña Administrations', astonishing in of itself, still is an accurate tally. 

Then there is misreporting, much like municipalities are known to ascribe to, in attempting to lower the rate of violence.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Two Catholic Priests Kidnapped from Church and Killed

Translated by Chuck B Alamada for Borderland Beat from a 24 HORAS article
Tuesday 20, September, 2016

VERACRUZ-This morning (Tuesday September 20), armed men forced their way into a Catholic church located in Poza Rica, Veracruz with the intention of kidnapping two priests. Hours later, the lifeless bodies of the two priests were located near a placed called “La Curva del Diablo” (the devil’s curve). According to reports, a group of armed men arrived at the Nuestra Senora de Fatima church in the Petromex neighborhood where they kidnapped priests, Alejo Nabor Jimenez Juarez and Jose Alfredo Juarez de la Cruz and their assistant.

Photo Courtesy of 24 Horas
Neighbors of the church notified police of the kidnapping and an operation to find them was launched.

Minutes later, the assistant was located alive near the Poza Rica-Papantla roads with obvious wounds. It was determined that the assistant was able to escape his captors. Hours later, the bodies of the two priests were found also near the Poza Rica-Papantla road, in the Reforma Escolin community located within the Papantla municipality.

Both priests were tied and showed obvious signs of multiple gunshot wounds in different parts of the body to include the face.

Photo courtesy of El MUNDO
According to the Centro Catolico Multimedial, there have been 14 priests and one seminary student murdered as well as two priests that remain missing in Mexico since President Enrique Pena Nieto took power in 2012.  

Veracruz is currently the bloody stage that has witnessed a war between Los Zetas and Jalisco Nueva Generacion which both seek to take over the narcotics trafficking routes to the US, the theft of fuel from PEMEX, as well as kidnappings, extortions against residents and migrants from Central America.

Human Head & Narco Message Left Outside Tecate's Police Station


Translated by Chuck B Alamada for Borderland Beat from a ZETA article
Written by Isaí Lara Bermudez (ZETA) Friday, 16 September, 2016

TECATE, BAJA CALIFORNIA NORTE-Last Friday evening, someone left a human head on the privately owned vehicle of a security member of Tecate’s Police Chief, Bartolome Lam Canto. Along the human head, the perpetrators also left behind a cardboard with a narco message directed at the Chief of Police. Several Investigative agencies secured the crime scene while detectives collected evidence.

The human head was left on a brown sedan vehicle which belongs to one of Chief Bartolome Lam Canto’s security staff members along with the cardboard which contained threats directed towards all those working with members of the Sinaloa Cartel. The vehicle was parked in front of the police station at the time of the incident.



Photo Courtesy
The green cardboard contained the following message:

“THIS WILL HAPPEN TO ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE WITH THE AKILES SISTERS OR RANA HERE THE SKY IS PEARL. THE DICK IS HERE, SIT ON IT. CJNG AND CTNG

From what is visible, the message left for Chief Bartolome Lam Canto and his agency is signed by Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Cartel Arrelano Felix, under the acronym of CTNG which stands for Cartel de Tijuana Nueva Generacion.  

Municipal agents have admitted to ZETA that Chief Lam Canto only has three or four patrol vehicle patrolling the entire city and assigns only a handful of officers to fixed location.

Just a few weeks ago and a few blocks away from the Chiefs home, the home of one of his commanders was shot up.With this latest human head found, there have been 38 murders so far this year in the Magical Town (Pueblo Magico) and countless people injured as a result of gunfire.

UPDATE: Saturday, 17 September, 2016


A day after the discovery of a human head left on a vehicle belonging to one of the security members of Tecate’s Police Chief, Bartolme Lam Canto, the body to that head was located. The remains were found in a dirt road southeast of the city. The victim was wearing a blue shirt, jeans, and black boots. Additionally, the victim had obvious burn marks about his back, buttocks, and legs which according to investigators, were caused by the perpetrators.

Photo Courtesy of ZETA
An investigator told ZETA: “They tried burning the body but it didn’t catch on fire.”

Unlike the human head where the perpetrators left a cardboard with a message, authorities did not
find a message with the rest of the body. Authorities have identified the victim only as Alejandro and are currently investigating any possible ties with organized crime or links with the municipal police including any connection with the Chief of Police since the head was left outside the police station.

The body was found in an isolated location close to the tunnel in the Valle Verde neighborhood of Tecate.

Quick Fact: Tecate has around 40 square miles and a population of about 65,000

Monday, September 19, 2016

Community Police Remains Found In Tixtla; Armed Group Kidnapped Him the Day Before






Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Celso Nava, a member of the Regional Coordinator of Community Authorities (CRAC) in Tixtla, Guerrero, was found dead a few hours after having been kidnapped.  Police reports indicate that on Saturday, an armed group took him.

The body was found on the bypass that connects Tixtla with the state capital, Chilpancingo; however, some members of CRAC “Mi Patria es Primero” (My Fatherland Comes First), which is one of three divisions of the Community Police, that is based in the neighborhood of El Fortín, denied that Nava was part of that organization.

This isn’t the first fall suffered by CRAC, as it is worth noting that last November 27, a few days before the extraordinary elections that would dictate who was mayor of Tixtla, Los Ardillos, a criminal group that operates in the area, assassinated four community police members.

The attack occurred a few blocks from the headquarters of the organization.

Mochomo: Psychiatric Eval ordered for Alfredo Beltran Leyva

Lucio Borderland Beat with C.E.M.
By Narcomics fo Borderland Beat
The two day hearing scheduled for Alfredo Beltran Leyva last week, was postponed and and a continuance filed by the defense granted.  In its place a status conference was held.

The reason for the continuance was a request for a psychiatric evaluation.  The evidence to support the request is under seal.  And most likely will remain under seal.

The move is an unusual one, especially at this late stage of the case, Alfredo pleaded guilty and the hearing was pre-sentencing.  The hearing ordered by the judge was considered favorable to the defendant.

This most certainly not a ploy to stall, as part of the filing the defense attorney submitted evidence proving his preparedness for the hearing.


Because of the surprising guilty plea, the judge ordered the 2 day hearing in which prosecutors would have to prove some of their claims.  For example, the outrageously high forfeiture amount.

The Investigation into the Murder of " Beto Cervantes "

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat   Zeta  Sept 17,  2015

By :  Saul Ramirez Esparza

That the death of Alberto Cervantes, leader of the group Explosion Norteña, had been preceded by a "kidnapping "is something the Deputy Justice of Playas de Rosarito has ruled out.  In addition, according to  Attorney Patricia Ortega, by descriptions by witnesses and others, it is possible to draw a "certain direction", that the case is not isolated and the information connects it to other crimes in Tijuana. 

But there is relevant data that the prosecution does not have in its possession, for example, Ballistics Bank report specifying whether the Super 38 weapon has been used in other crimes.

In addition, although the information dictates that prior to the execution there was a struggle, when he was found, the body of "Beto" had about 28 injuries, including scrapes and tears in the skin, a bullet wound in the left region of the neck and a projectile in the chest.

"We can not expose a particular line of research, what I can say is that we have interviewed several witnesses, we can only comment that the man was not pushed out of a vehicle, but was walking in the street", stated the assistant attorney of the Rosarito area of ​​Baja California.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Drug cannon discovered in Sonora

Published from ZETA
Translated by El Wachito

Mexican police have found a 'homemade cannon' used to launch drugs across the border



According to the CNS (Comisión Nacional de Seguridad), the federal police seized a vehicle modified with a cannon that was used to launch packages of drugs across the Mexican Border.

The agency stated through a bulletin "CNS, through a joint effort with the federal police, detected a vehicle with modifications which were apparently used to launch packages of drugs through the Sonoran border".

Mexico: High tech cartel operations

Guest Reporter-Thank you "Doc" for sending the story in....Motherboard link at bottom
Tijuana drug drone
Tunnels, catapults, drones, and manned semi-submersibles.  Breast implants, fake carrots, and puppies…..

These are just a few examples of smuggling tactics used by Mexican and Central American organized crime groups to move illegal drugs and people across borders and past law enforcement. But they also exemplify the kinds of innovative behavior and problem-solving prowess that in other, legal contexts, such as Silicon Valley, often result in groundbreaking businesses.  However, reductionist and neocolonial theories of Mexican cartels have for too long hamstrung efforts to properly understand these complex entities and capture the vast potential therein, according to Dr. Rodrigo Nieto-Gomez. We, in essence, have failed to study these organizations within the right framework.

D
r Rodrigo Nieto-Gomez is a research professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, studying "criminal entrepreneurship" in drug cartels, who beat Amazon to using drones for delivery by years, use modified potato guns to shoot cocaine and marijuana bundles over border fences, and represent the "true libertarian, Ayn Rand capitalism."

In a wide-ranging interview with Motherboard, Nieto-Gomez speculates on the future of drug smuggling (flying and submarine drones), and describes the Silicon Valley-like relationship between a Mexican investor class and the smuggler-innovators, who sell a share in future returns in exchange for capital to fund high-risk/high-tech R&D efforts to beat police interdiction.

Don’t you think if people really knew the odds of being captured or killed while working as a drug dealer they might reassess their career choice? But what are the odds of becoming the next Steve Jobs or Elon Musk? They are tiny. But they fuel the dreams of 90 something percent of entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley that will probably fail. It’s ambition. These are low probability high reward kinds of environments. And that is highly ambitious behavior that you want to encourage. Those are the people that see a problem and don’t get deterred. They change everything.

One of the biggest missed opportunities on the War on Drugs is that we haven’t identified a way of filtering out these high-risk tolerant people that we are losing to organized crime. We aren’t providing any alternatives for them to take the exit and leverage some of the skill sets they acquired in a way that would be both high-risk and high-reward and also legal.

Guanajuato: Eruption of violence continues, 3 bags found of human remains

Story sent in by a Borderland Beat reader- Thank you!

In the last 24 hours 9 violent deaths

As criminal groups clash over territory, violence continues to erupt in Guanajuato.  Additional explosives and murders terrorized citizens over the weekend.


It was Saturday morning on an old access road to the community of “La Estación La Piedad” that three plastic bags were discovered, inside the bags contained dismembered human remains. The authorities of the State of Guanajuato are conducting investigations into the incident.


The gruesome discovery was reported by people who passed by the road, a road just 200 meters from the Pénjamo-La Piedad road.  The witnesses called the emergency line and informed the police that there were three plastic bags thrown, that apparently contained  human body parts.

Elements of the Municipal Police Penjamo, confirmed the discovery of a dismembered corpses and proceeded to cordon off the perimeter and notify the Regional Office.


Because of the way the bags were wrapped it was not possible to determine how many bodies the dismembered parts belong to.  This will be determined after the bags are moved to the Forensic Medical Service Unit (Semefo).

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Despite BAN, Los Tigres Del Norte Play NarcoCorridos at the Gov't Palace

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat-RIODOCE Sept 16, 2016
Article by Miriam Ramirez

In Sinaloa, with a dedication to “The Boss", Los Tigres del Norte kicked off the national holiday known as " El Grito ", the 206th  anniversary of the Mexican Independence, with some of their most famous Narcocorridos , this despite the ban that exists in the state against music that glorifies violence.

Just a week ago, the state government denied permission for a presentation by Calibre 50 and Gerardo Ortiz arguing that both groups perform music of the genre of "altered movement" and in Sinaloa there does not exist the conditions under which they could perform.

However, a couple of days later it was announced that Los Tigres del Norte would perform, who are famous for their songs that make tribute to drug traffickers.  In response, Raul Perez Miranda, general Secretary of the government, said that the musicians would respect the agreement.

However, it did not turn out that way.

By using social media, sicario illustrates how "business" continues behind prison walls

"Benny Juarez" for Borderland Beat original article BCSNoticias
Click on any image to enlarge

T
his article illustrates how easily criminality is able to operate behind prison walls.  This post is about an incarcerated La Paz sicario, who has multiple cell phones providing access to social media and messaging. By using these tools he is able to communicate with narcos outside prison. This sicario is not a high caliber narco, one can only imagine what high profile capos have at their disposal.

La Paz, Baja California Sur (BCS)
From research intelligence, it was detected that Simon Guillermo alias "El Simon", or as better known "El Sepultero" (The Undertaker), operated from inside the "Centro de Reinserción Social (Cereso) de La Paz" with with a mobile phone, providing him with the ability of using social networks.

It was announced yesterday, Simón Guillermo, was found in possession of almost 150,000 pesos in cash , three  cellular  phones , marijuana and crystal inside his cell, due to this, he was transferred, along with  five other high profile prisoners, he was taken aboard a plane belonging to the Attorney General of the Republic, to the Deputy Attorney Agency that Specializes in Organized Crime ((SEIDO).

Friday, September 16, 2016

Another Attack with Explosives in Guanajuato; This Time in San Miguel de Allende

Translated by Chuck B Alamada for Borderland Beat from a Sinembargo article
Written by Roberto Gutierrez Torres (Sinembargo)  Monday, 5 September, 2016

A new explosion was reported on Monday September 5, 2016 outside a local business in the center of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. A month ago, another explosion was reported inside a local bar, El Sotano where an explosive device was placed in a backpack. During that incident, the explosive device was left on a stage and one person was injured as a result. On the latest explosion in the center of San Miguel, the investigative authorities confirmed that they located evidence of an explosive substance

MEXICO CITY/ SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE- Authorities confirmed an explosion in the early hours of Monday September, 5, 2016 outside a local business in the center of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. The attack with explosives took place between two bars, El Limerick and El Adelitas. So far in September, there have been at least 3 other attacks with explosives in different cities of Guanajuato. Exactly a month ago, another attack with explosives took place in San Miguel de Allende inside El Sotano bar. During that incident, an explosive device inside a backpack was detonated on the stage where the music band was playing. Property was extensively damaged and one person was injured as a result of that explosion.

Photo courtesy of sinembargo.
San Miguel de Allende is an important tourist hub in Guanjato and Mexico in general. Additionally, it is the home of thousands of foreign citizens that decided to move to this picturesque town due to its tranquility, good weather, and excellent services. September is a month in which San Miguel de Allende fills up with tourists (Mexican and foreign) due to the independence festivities. This community which lived in peace for many years is also the destination for many retired Mexicans.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

The Fake Peace of Michoacan

Translated by Chuck B Alamada for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article

Written by Jose Gil Olmos (Proceso)
Thursday, 14 September, 2016

MEXICO CITY- Once again, organized crime continues to dominate in Michoacan despite the siren’s call by president Enrique Peña Nieto and the government of Silvano Auereoles (PRD political party) with the arrest of Servando Gomez La Tuta, leader of Los Caballero Templarios. It was all a lie since there was an agreement under the table between both governments (Federal and State governments) with the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and other local narco groups disguised as autodefensas which again, have been empowered with weapons and terror.

Fuerzas Rurales showing their new uniforms. Photo by Miguel Dimayuga

The official lie begins with the then Peace Commissioner of Michoacan, Alfredo Castillo, acting on behalf of President Peña Nieto with the purpose of taking back territory away from the Caballeros Templarios via the autodefensas of Tierra Caliente. Autodefensa groups became the combat weapon, especially with all those autodefensa members that had deserted from the Caballeros Templarios and became known as the “arrepentidos” (the regretful ones) which were under the command of the brothers Uriel and Juan Jose Farias Alvarez AKA El Abuelo, both linked to CJNG.

 These two brothers are key to understanding the dark pacts of Peña Nieto with the CJNG which again have Michoacan in their hands and continue to cause suffering, violence, and terror with executions, extortions, and the trafficking of drugs, especially of meth which is shipped to the US from the Lazaro Cardenas Port. However, for this story, it is important to also notate the presence of another character that is also key. Colombian General Oscar Naranjo Trujillo, who made a pact with the Farias brothers and helped form the autodefensas of Michoacan as groups with paramilitary tactics with weapons and money from the federal government.