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

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Tijuana: The Capture of 'El Marlon' de Los Aquiles

The Capture of El Marlon de Los Aquiles

As Sanchez Tadoaba and other colonies are bloodied by the day in a barrage of killings, faces and names are revealed...The shadowy names that are whispered, written in federal charging documents, fingered by informants and snitches, sang in corridos outside homes on both sides of the border.  'El Marlon' is said to be a top lieutenant of El Aquiles, whom has seen his fortunes reversed, in the last few years.  

Marlon, of course, is not his closest known lieutenant, but allegedly a top subordinate, and one charged with the January killings at the cockfight ring in Ensenada, which has had a messy narrative construction, but now has seemingly fallen into place.

The arrests have been linear, and centered around the Ensenada area, which is apparently an Aquiles stronghold, as many of his command have been arrested there, in addition to large crystal and marijuana seizures recently.   Another lieutenant of El Marlon was captured in Febuaury and accused of directly participating in the cockfighting killings. 
Marco Tullio Carillo, 'Marlon' is a former municipal police officer, formerly affiliated with Arellano Felix, as recently as 2010, which may mean under the Los Teos banner.  Nearly all of the Aquiles/Tigre factions are made up of these, Teos soldiers became the Sinaloa lieutenants, and their subordinates, in the fall out after 2008.  Marlon, like many others in similar positions had multiple arrests and warrants for weapons possessions and drugs, and was released several times. 

Video: 15 seconds from Mx to the U.S.-No Wall, Border, or BP, stops "Drug Burreros"

Lucio R. Borderland Beat with C.E. Martinez

The latest video offering of young Mexican drug “Buerreros”, easily scuttling the border wall of Nogales Sonora into Arizona…..in 15 seconds, then cross back  into Mexico a few minutes later.

The crossing transpired in broad daylight, in plain view and  irrespective r of any man made barrier,  such as surveillance cameras,  or men in Border Patrol uniforms, stationed close by.

On youtube, one can find dozens of the Buerrero videos, this being the latest offering from March 28th.
From August see video below
The event began with a Azteca Noticias reporter, filming a news segment in Nogales near the border fence,  when the news story was interrupted by a situation that became the news story.  

Two young "buerreros", literally drop into camera range, while conducting their “work”, of transporting a backpack of drugs over the border wall.

There are Border Patrol agents at the scene but they fail to notice the two drug transporters climb over the fence. The buerreros seem unnerved on the U.S. side as they leisurely walk across the street, with their huge square makeshift backpacks.

The drug transport would have been a fait accompli, had not the young Mexicans spotted the reporter and the cameraman recording their actions.  Regardless that the BP did not spot the two, they were told, or decided on their own, to return to Mexico.

Arturo Beltran Leyva, the life, death of "El Barbas" Part 1

Written by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat

Subject Matter: Arturo Beltran Leyva, El Barbas, El Fantasma, El Botas Blancas, La Muerte
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required


Born in the cradle of narco's, La Palma ,Badiraguato Sinaloa in December of 1954,though some put his birth day as September 1961. Arutro Beltran Leyva also known by the nicknames, "El Barbas", El Botas Blancas, El Fantasma and La Muerte, he worked with small time poppy growers and learnt his trade from Amado Carrillo Fuentes , and later became known as Jefe de Jefes, boss of bosses. His life was characterized by the extreme violence he visited upon anyone who stood in his way. He was eventually cornered and killed by Mexican Marines with the ELINT intelligence help of the US 7th Special Forces group in Cuernavaca, leading to a power vacuum and the "Hydra Effect".

Big thanks go out to Chivis and BB's friend Narcomics, for the images. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @narcomicscorp

Reporter: Otis B Fly-Wheel

Marco Arturo Beltran Leyva, at 14 years old still didn't know how to read, his brothers Humberto, Hector, Alfredo, Carlos and Mario Alberto were in the same illiteracy boat. He also had two sisters, Alicia and Gloria who studied at the rural school near to the village where they lived called Tameapa, close to Badiraguato.

The Making of the Mob Museum's "EL Chapo escape exhibit"

Lucio R. Borderland Beat republished from Las Vegas' Mob Museum
click to enlarge
A

dam Throgmorton has spent the past two decades crafting three-dimensional scale models of Las Vegas resorts, from the hotel towers down to the trees, swimming pools and fountains. Using X-Acto knives, rulers, foam board, glue and computer-aided design software, he’s fashioned hyper-realistic architectural models of the Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Treasure Island, Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Excalibur, Luxor, Paris and Red Rock Station, among others.

Throgmorton and fellow master model builder Shawn Bicker recently were offered a unique challenge by The Mob Museum – putting their skills to work fashioning a diorama re-creating last year’s underground prison escape by Mexico drug cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Throgmorton’s works are known as presentation models of commercial buildings, typically displayed in places such as sales centers. Usually he will have the computer-aided design (CAD) plans, or digital blueprints, of buildings to work from. But in the case of building a model of El Chapo’s subterranean exodus, without CAD plans to go by, “we had to work backwards,” said Throgmorton, who is owner of Henderson-based ModelWorksAJT.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Morelos Beheadings: Narcomantas Call Out Mayors




Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Morelos security forces on Wednesday found a human head with a narcomanta directed towards the mayor of Yautepec, Agustín Alonso, and signed by “El Gadafi”, who has claimed other murders that have occurred this month.

The most recent case is that of today, when police found the head inside a parking lot located in front of Hospital de la Mujer.

Two weeks ago, on the morning of Sunday, March 13, three bodies were found in the municipalities of Yautepec and Yecapixtla, located on the east side of the state.

As with this occasion, threatening messages signed by “El Gadafi” were left alongside the bodies.

In Yautepec, in the neighborhood Estrada Cajigal, the bodies of a tied up woman and a man who was also tied up and beheaded were found.  The head was found in a plastic bag on a poster board that read: “50 here I’m leaving Mariguas keep sending dumbasses to fight for the plaza, you’re next Carlitos, La Pelos and Niño.  I have you located.  Atte. Gadafi.”

Minutes later, a second human head was found on one side of the City Hall of Yecapixtla.  Another message was found with it in which it alludes to the mayor of Yecapixtla: “This happened to me for being a kidnapper and extortionist.  Francisco Sanchez Zavala (the mayor) you are responsible for Roberto Blanco Sanchez, “Boxin”, and Luis Andres Souz Aguilar, “El Chowy”, being imprisoned and that isn’t going to stay that way.  I’m going to get them out.  Atte: Gadafi.”

Slain Texas Atty of Osiel Cárdenas was warned he was being hunted

Lucio R. Borderland Beat from Dallas Morning News 


A Mexican drug cartel lawyer who was slain by a masked assassin in Southlake Town Square in 2013 was warned prior to the hit that he was in danger, court records said.

Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa received phone calls from “others” warning him that he was being stalked and that he “needed to be on his guard,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua T. Burgess said in court documents filed Monday.

The documents didn’t say when the calls were made.

Burgess is asking a judge to allow the information about Guerrero Chapa’s fear for his life to be admitted as evidence in the upcoming trial of three men accused of tracking and stalking him.

Guerrero Chapa, 43, was killed shortly before 7 p.m. on May 22, 2013, at the suburban shopping center. A white Toyota Sequoia pulled up behind his Range Rover and a masked gunman stepped out.

The gunman walked to the passenger side where Guerrero Chapa was sitting and shot him multiple times with a 9 mm pistol. His wife, who was loading shopping bags into the vehicle, was not hurt.

The plot to kill Guerrero Chapa began as early as March 2011, shortly before he closed on a $1.2 million house in Southlake, according to the new court filings.

Guerrero Chapa, personal lawyer to Gulf cartel boss Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, was an informant for U.S. law enforcement authorities. Cárdenas is serving a 25-year sentence in a U.S. prison.

Sinaloa clash with CJNG pushes Colima to killing top spot of Mexico

Lucio R. Borderland Beat

In February, Colima hit a record number of drug violence murders of 41 in Tecoman alone.  The uptick of killings has steadily increased since last fall, when the Sinaloa Cartel warned it had arrived in Colima to clear out Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG).

A Facebook page was used in September to announce the arrival of CDS (Sinaloa)  the page was removed shortly after the announcement.

The conflict has pushed Colima into the top spot of violence in January and February, a hair greater than second place Guerrero. 

On the Facebook page entitled C.D.S. Cartel de Sinaloa, it was reported that  “La Barredora”, a CDS jefe de plaza,  had met with a leader of the Familia Michoacana gang to establish their alliance and continue protecting local citizens against extortion, kidnappers, promising that criminals engaging in those acts would be exterminated.


The Manzanillo Port is a lucrative target for cartels.  Precursor, the ingredient to manufacture meth, is transported from off shore (China) through the port, and drug cartels utilize the port to traffic drugs out of Mexico.

Video:Alameda California Coast guard intercepts "Drug Sub" with 13k pounds of cocaine

Lucio R. Borderland Beat from US Coast Guard Twitter



Seizing over six tons of cocaine bound for USA

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Coast Guardsmen seized more than 12,800 pounds of cocaine and apprehended four suspected drug smugglers from a self-propelled semisubmersible, or SPSS, about 300 miles southwest of Panama March 3.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf from Alameda, California, was notified by a Customs and Border Patrol aircraft, about the SPSS off the two interceptor boats to stop the suspected drug smuggling vessel, which was laden with more than $203 million worth of cocaine.

“Transnational organized crime groups continue to adjust their tactics to avoid detection indicated by a recent rise in the use of SPSS vessels,” said Vice Adm. Charles Ray, commander, Pacific Area. “Despite these efforts, we will continue to execute an offensive strategy that targets, attacks and disrupts these dangerous criminal networks.”

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Sinaloa Cartels Heroin-Fentanyl Mix has landed in Arizona

Lucio R Borderland Beat from Arizona Daily Star
  

A strong synthetic opioid made by the Sinaloa cartel is increasingly making its way through Arizona, and officials fear a rise in drug-related deaths will follow.

The strongest opioid available in medical treatment, pharmaceutical fentanyl, is used to treat severe pain and is usually administered through a patch. The euphoria-inducing drug is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Over the last couple of years, more than 700 people have died of fentanyl abuse in the United States, but the real number is likely higher because many state labs and coroner’s offices do not routinely test for fentanyl. Most deaths are attributed to the illegally manufactured version of the drug.

Since 2015, law enforcement agencies in Arizona have made at least five seizures of fentanyl — ranging from 4 ounces to 16 pounds — found inside stash houses and vehicles.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

PGR reports CJNG expansion into the North Border of Baja California

Lucio R. Borderland Beat from El Universal

Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), one of the organizations with greater financial capacity, headed by  Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, (El Mencho) – has advanced to the border with the United States and in dispute for the plaza of Baja California with the Sinaloa cartel and the Arellano Felix Organization.

According to information from the Attorney General's Office (PGR), the organization has a presence in Mexico City, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Guerrero, Morelos, Veracruz and now in Baja California.

The expansion of CJNG was confirmed after the Armed Forces and federal public safety arrested Marco Tulio Carrillo Grande, “El Marlon”, a former Tijuana municipal police that operated as chief  of sicarios (hitmen) for the Sinaloa Cartel in B.C.

Carrillo Grande, was under the orders of Alfonso Arzate García, “El Aquiles”, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana, who disputed border area with Gabriel Ayala Fonseca, “El Tres Animales”, principal operator of  Cártel de los Arellano Félix.

"King Midas", Alleged Chief Financial Operative of Sinaloa Cartel, Arrested Today

"DD" for Borderland Beat


"As part of the strategy of the Government of the Republic to break the financial and operational structure of criminal gangs, groups of elite of the Federal Police and the Mexican Army, arrested in the city of Oaxaca to Juan Manuel Alvarez Inzunza, nicknamed  'El Rey Midas'   ('King Midas), and identified as the main operator of money laundering criminal organizations led by Joaquin Guzman Loera and Ismael Zambada Garcia.

Coordination at the highest level of intelligence work and in the field, between  the Federal Police and military elements, allowed them  to locate this guy, who normally  moved between the states of Sinaloa and Jalisco, but relaxed his circle of safety to vacation in  the capital of Oaxaca state.  The right moment to catch him was identified, and was carried out without the need for shots of firearms and without endangering other citizens.

Allegedly Juan Manuel Alvarez,  34 years old,  placed proceeds from illegal activities such as drug trafficking and extortion  through a scheme of companies, currency exchange centers and and strawmen established mainly in Sinaloa and Jalisco, in which he may have laundered an estimated 300 to 400 million dollars a year, ie more than four billion dollars in the last decade."

"El Rey Midas" was arrested under a provisional detention order issued at the request of the Federal District Court in Washington so that he could be extradited for money laundering.     Alvarez Inzunza's alleged laundering operations extended across Mexico's border into Colombia, Panama and the United States, authorities said.    Research could also link him with an international money laundering network from cities like Tijuana, Culiacan and Guadalajara.

Alvarez was taken to Mexico City and turned over to the Attorney General's Office For Special Investigation of Organized Crime (SEIDO).

SourcesCorta Mortaja.



.

Happy Easter


As I sign off BB for the day, I wish all of you a wonderful day, wherever you are, whoever you are with.

I am spending Easter with my clan, which is my favorite place for me to be,  with my family.

But, as in all holidays, I stop and think of those who have suffered in the world, who because of great tragedy can't be with their love ones.  Not today, and for many, never.

Such as the parents of the 44 normalistas, who refuse to stop in their search for justice, or for the family of my friend Doctor, Manuel Mireles.  I wonder what Doc is thinking today, yet another day without freedom...  I have renewed hope for his release, with the release of Nestora.   But without a doubt, it is him that is the greatest threat to the government. 

Please never forget my friend or the other almost 500 autodefensas wrongfully imprisoned.

Paz,

Chivis

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Absurdity of the day: "All is Calm in Acapulco", says Fed Police Commissioner

Posted by DD Republished from Mexico News Daily.

Crowne Plaza Acapulco, hotel of choice for Federal Police
What is happening in Acapulco is in no way funny or humorous.   It is a tragedy for the city, the state of Guerrero, for Mexico, and certainly for all the family and friends of all those being murdered.  

The criminals there have achieved the distinction of making Acapulco the third most dangerous city in the world 

The response of the EPN administration to the violence is also a tragedy.  But the spin they put on the horrible situation in Acapulco is so outrageous  and ludicrous it almost makes you laugh.  That is the reason for the title to this article.  

                           All is calm in Acapulco despite 35 murders in last 8 days

The Federal Police commissioner was accused this week of confusing Acapulco with Disneyland after he said all was calm in the resort destination despite a wave of assassinations.

A day later a state official with the Citizens’ Movement party urged that Galindo (Federal Police Commissioner)  be shown a map indicating where Acapulco is located so as to avoid confusing it with Disneyland.

Cartel godfather to be freed from U.S. prison. More to follow soon.

Posted by DD. Some material republished from My San Antonio and Houston Chronicle

With all the fragmentation of the major cartels into smaller cartels or just multiple gangs over the recent past   it is hard to keep up with who is the leader of which cartel or even how many cartels there are.  

Things could get much more complicated in the near future.  In the next 4 years,  3 'major players' and/or  founders of some of Mexico's most notorious cartels will be released from U.S. federal prisons.  How will they react with all the young Turks who now seem to running many of the cartels today.  Only time will tell.

 Jesus Hector Palma Salazar
 
Photo: HO, AFP/Getty Image

The first on the list to be released in the next 4 years is Palma Salazar.   He was an early leader who along with Chapo Guzman was instrumental in building the Sinaloa Cartel in the power it  became.  He is to be freed by June 2016, according to the U.S  Bureau of Prisons, as he has completed his sentence of 19 years.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Morelos: 3 Missing Youths Found Dead; Lady Found Decapitated




Javier Mencia Molina, Erick Mauro Sánchez Mencia and Jorge Amaro Mendoza



By: Jaime Luis Brito | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

The bodies of three youths with tied hands were found in a Yautepec river in a place known as El Rocío.  According to preliminary versions, it consists of three youths from Atlihuayán who have been missing since last Saturday and whose family had organized a demonstration this past Wednesday.

Even though some officials have warned that the youths drowned, no one has explained the ropes that were tied to their hands and presumably to the waist on the bodies.

According to the authorities, the bodies showed signs of having been in the river for 72 hours or more.  According to the images, the bodies had tied hands and their waists were tied to rocks in order to prevent them from coming to the surface, as well as exhibiting swelling.

The disappeared were Javier Mencia Molina, 22; Mauro Sánchez Mencia, 21; and Jorge Amaro Mendoza, 23, residents of the neighborhood Emiliano Zapata, in the town of Atlihuayán, located in the municipality of Yautepec, from where they left last Saturday to go fishing in the place known as Barranca Honda and never returned home.

The day before, Telésforo Mencia Reynoso, father of one of the youths, said that, during a round carried out along the roads and trails in the area, the manager of a bar called El Jaripeo, told him that the youths had been picked up by armed men, and that they had given him the backpack of one of the youths.

Government adds to Guerrero's Most Wanted List

Lucio R. Borderland Beat material from BB archives and PGR

click to enlarge


It appears that just as in every high profile case, weapons found are connected to Fast & Furious, it also seems that every bad guy in Guerrero is connected to the kidnapping and killings of 44 normalistas in Iguala.  44 is the true and accurate number of students, counting Julio Mondragon, whose tortured body was found with its face flayed.

It is the assertion of the government that the reason the students were killed, was the assumption by the Guerreros Unidos cartel, thinking that  members of the Los Rojos, a rival gang, had infiltrated the students and were a part of the group.

A more credible scenario offered by those close to the case, is that on one of the buses transporting the students, was a cache of drugs belonging to G.U.  Buses are notoriously used to transport drugs for cartels.

The Attorney General's Office (PGR) offered rewards ranging from a million and a half to 3 million pesos for those who provide information to authorities, that assist in the capture of  the 13 major criminals operating in Guerrero and Morelos.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Zetas Money Laundering Case: Pancho Colorado gets 20 year sentence in his retrial

Lucio R. Borderland Beat from U.S. Press release and Archives
Pancho Cessa Colorado suffered heart attack in Louisiana courtroom in January re-trail
Note from Lucio: This is the second retrial won by Cessa Colorado on Appeal .  The  retrial was in January of this year  in the first trial for laundering, sentencing of the 20 years  was concurrent with the 5 years sentence in the first trial  for attempting  to bribe the judge.  

During his re-trial, Cessa Colorado was rushed to the hospital,  mid trial and under heavy security, suffering from chest pains.  The Shreveport Times published this report at the time:
“Cessa was rushed from court mid-trial Tuesday and transported under heavy security via ambulance to University Health where he was listed in stable condition, and released later the same day. 
He was back in the courtroom early Wednesday, sitting among his defense team wearing a hospital bracelet and sporting bandages on his arms and hand. A member of the defense team said he'd suffered a minor heart attack.
Despite Tuesday's medical emergency, court proceedings carried on as usual the next day as undercover officers took the stand to testify. These agents told the jury how Cessa, his son and his business partner reportedly attempted to pay off a federal judge in exchange for a shortened sentence on money laundering charges being levied against them in early 2014.”

The murder of Adriana Coronado and her father

The Murder of Adriana Coronado and her father


I wasn't surprised or shocked when Adriana Coronado, the 14 year old girl, who captured headlines for a few days, after her disappearance, which occurred after her father was found shot multiple times, and set on fire, was found dead.  I was struck with a gnawing sense of certainty, as I read she had been tossed in a field, casually, still wearing her pajamas and slippers.  A familiar feeling of hopelessness and nausea as I read, and see, the carnage all around us, on both sides of the border.  

In the past, I have written about killings on the US side of the border, that drew similarities or relation to killings in Mexico, the most recent ones I can recall, did not have any direct connections to cartels, or cells, or clicks in Tijuana, or elsewhere.  The parallels and common themes were enough for me to feel that I needed to share what I had read, or what I felt.  Here, is no different.  But, we have these facts, and we can mourn Adriana, and her father, and take an educated guess at what happened. 

Armed Group Enters Chilapa;Demands Return of Arms




By: Gustavo Alberto Nava | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Around 200 armed civilians entered Chilapa at dawn for about two hours demanding the return of their weapons from the ministerial police.

Around 0:30 hours, they arrived aboard trucks armed with shotguns and rifles, stationing themselves in the vicinity of the plaza.  A few meters from where they were, a hotel where a group of the federal police is staying is located as well as the headquarters of the municipal police.

Taxi drivers who work during the night shift and are based on one side of the plaza immediately withdrew upon seeing the arrival of the armed group.

In the morning, it was confirmed that the group of armed civilians came from communities south of the municipality from the same ones that came on May 9-14 2015, when around 300 armed civilians broke into the municipal capital of Chilapa where they took control of the public security, in search of, according to them, members of a criminal cell who they blame for dozens of disappearances and other crimes.

Neighbors of the municipal capital blame them for being linked to rival criminal group and denounced them for the disappearances of 16 people during their stay in the city.

Authorities and residents of the communities of the south that border the municipalities of Mochitlán and Quechultenango constituted themselves into the Civil Association of Community Members for Peace and Justice.

Jalisco: Federal agents discover military grade weapons cache at CJNG camp

Lucio R. Borderland Beat material from PGR website

It is uncertain why the attorney general is referring to this as a "dismantling of a major cell" as only 3 persons were arrested, but the weapons seized was an impressive find for such a small camp.


Message presented by Elizabeth Hernandez the Head of the Specialized Investigation of Crimes against Health Unit.

Mexico City

"Good morning ... friends, friends from the media, thanks for joining us ... 
In a coordinated effort between the Attorney General's Office, the Mexican Army and the Federal Police of the National Security Commission managed to dismantle a major (CJNG) cell of a criminal organization that operates in the state of Jalisco.  
Near the town of Las Palmas, in the municipality of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, operatives were able to locate a camp, wherein  a group of heavily armed people were discovered. 
This armed group, realizing the presence of federal agents opened fire against them with heavy weapons, causing federal agents to repel the attack.
Realizing they were outnumbered the attackers fled, which began a chase that ended with the arrest of three of them, each carrying a weapon, two of which had 40 mm caliber grenade launchers."

Monday, March 21, 2016

Tamaulipas: Mexican Navy Takes Down 7 Alleged Criminals




Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Members of the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) took down seven alleged members of a criminal group operating in the region of Ribereña, in the state of Tamaulipas.

In a statement, the Tamaulipas Coordination Group (GCT) reported that on March 19th, in the municipality of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, members of SEMAR were attacked by gunmen, and in repelling the attack, they took down seven of them.

According to the GCT, the attack occurred at kilometer 15 of the highway Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, on the border with the municipality of Parás, Nuevo León, where the marines were carrying out ground reconnaissance.

Upon arriving at the location, they were suddenly attacked by armed individuals who were traveling in several vehicles, they then proceeded to repel the attack in defense of their lives.

In a breach that is located about three kilometers from the starting point of the attack, the bodies of the seven attackers were left; two were identified as Miguel Ángel López Zárate, originally from Sinaloa, and José Luis Luna Garza, a native of Parás, Nuevo León.

Alejandro Hope: Silver or Lead? Dangerous Liaisons

DD For Borderland Beat-Republished with permission by Alejandro Hope El Daily Post


D
angerous liaisons. Over the past decade, every political party has been burned by revelations that some of their candidates or public officials had ties to organized crime. The price paid by the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) for the 2014 Iguala tragedy is a case in point (Note for those not in the know: the PRD mayor of Iguala was in cahoots with the drug gang that kidnapped and probably killed 43 students). More recently, the conservative National Action Party has been embarrassed by the intimate ties of one of its local legislators in Sinaloa with Joaquin El Chapo Guzmán. So to prevent those mishaps, opposition parties (the PRD, in particular) is calling on the government to vet their candidates to public office. That procedure seems superficially attractive, but it is actually a lousy idea.

 Here’s why:

All internal efforts to vet candidates would go down the drain once that task is subcontracted to the authorities. The first line of defense against the infiltration of organized crime in politics should be the parties themselves. If they simply throw the towel, my guess is that more candidates with ties to criminal gangs will make the cut.

IRIS: A "Guerrilla" Against Corruption






By: José Gil Olmos | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Another ingredient has been added to the chaos occurring in Michoacán: a group emerging in the troubled Tierra Caliente region.  But according to its members, it isn’t a cartel or an autodefensa group…nor does it even have high-powered weapons.  It is called IRIS and, as its spokesman says, its goal is to unmask-pacifically-corrupt politicians, beginning with Silvano Aureoles and Alfredo Castillo.  Mexico needs a spark that detonates change, he says, and “we want to be that spark.”

With only two videos that are less than a minute long, shared on social networks in February, the Insurgency Group for the Institutional and Social Rescue (IRIS) put Michoacán Governor Silvano Aureoles on alert, who also disqualified them saying that they are a “joke”.

In an interview with Proceso, José María, spokesman and representative of this armed group, argues that the governor made a deal with drug traffickers and announced a declaration of war against all politicians who are linked to organized crime.

The meeting with a dozen members of IRIS took place in the mountainous area of Michoacán that borders with the state of Guerrero.  Along the way, squalid shacks are seen inhabited by the people who barely survive from the planting of corn and avocado, and the possession of some cows and chickens.

“Our area is Tierra Caliente, that is where we met for eight months to make the decision to rebel.  We know that the government is already investigating us and we are in the midst of criminals, but we couldn’t sit with our arms crossed,” José María explains, moments before starting the interview.

Flanked by Pável, another member of this group, the spokesman of IRIS rejects the descriptions used by the government of Silvano Aureoles and even from members of the Catholic Church, in response to messages on social networks with which the group unveiled on February 6 and 22.

He claims that it’s an insurgent social movement that does not rule out the use of weapons, but only to defend themselves.  He announces that its strategy will be more political and of denouncing-directly or through social networks- mainly with politicians who are in collusion with organized crime such as Alfredo Castillo, who is accused of having made a pact with Los Caballeros Templarios, the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, Los Viagras, and the H3.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Tijuana: 'El Gordo' de CJNG detained

CJNG operative detained in Tijuana

For months rumors and banners have announced, implied, threatened, that the CJNG was in, or coming to Tijuana.  These rumors had many versions, some claimed longer then a year ago, that the Arellano Felix remnants, left adrift after Inge's 2014 arrest, had many an agreement with Jalisco to traffic in Tijuana, and fight the Sinaloa cells.
These arrangements were said to be made when old members of Arellano Felix met Jalisco reps in prisons in Guadalajara state.  Another  'El Gordo', Manuel Garibay, also known as 'El Manuelon' who was aligned with CAF, after his release from prison was said to have Jalisco contacts, and was later murdered in that state.

Garibay was one of the biggest traffickers in Mexicali, with Los Garibays, his families organization.  He served time in Puente Grande, where he hooked up with CJNG, and people of Inge.  When he was released he was said to be working with both groups.  

Other versions claim it was El Atlante, the former overweight cell leader, who, made an alliance with Jalisco.  Maybe it was all of them.  Now, banners and corridos have claimed CJNG is in alliance with CTNG, led by El Grosero, El JP, and Jose Soto 'El Tigre' Gastelum, former El Teo via Arellano Felix, via Inge loyalist, who was known to previously work with Sinaloa.

The first Jalisco member officially detained in Tijuana may be 'El Gordo', a hunched over, heavyset man, with an ill fitting long shirt, detained with several assault rifles in the Otay Mesa area, near the Friendship Park.  His name is Esteban Ramirez Gonzalez, 44, native of Guadalajara.

 He was in a 1999 Jeep Cherokee, and has confessed to being in Tijuana to smuggle weapons, assumedly coming from San Diego, and possibly to arm and support cells in Tijuana, under CTNG.  The State Preventive Police, (PEP) are responsible for the arrest, what isn't clear is why he was arrested.  

Gordo may be the first of many, if some of the banners and gossip are to be believed, as CJNG may send up cells to traffic and possibly fight for the plaza, if Aquiles and his people don't decide to quietly leave the plaza, which is incredibly unlikely.   Gordo is likely, given his proximity to the weapons is just another runner, a proxy, a coordinator and facilitator of arms coming south.

Elements of Los Caballeros also smuggled weapons through San Ysidro, and trafficked crystal north, and their people were never violent in the city of Tijuana, they paid plaza to whom they had to, when it was needed.  

Is this a calm before a storm, the beginning of an era, or another quiet arrest that will fade away, perhaps beginning with his release in a few weeks?  It's difficult to tell, in an increasingly crowded and violent plaza. 

Sources: AFN Tijuana 






Saturday, March 19, 2016

Government seizes property of Sinaloa and Los Zetas Cartels

Lucio R. Borderland Beat
House belonging to Z42 Nuevo Leon

The office of Mexico’s Attorney General (PGR), conducted operations in five states of Mexico, targeting members of the Sinaloa and Los Zetas cartel.  The operation was to seize property.

The first operation was in th Sinaloa Capital City of Culiacán, where authorities seized 12 vehicles and 5 aircraft, used by the Sinaloa Cartel.

In the Monterrey suburb of General Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, an upscale neighborhood, a home owned by now imprisoned Los Zetas leader, Omar Trevino, (Z42). 

In the video below there is footage from the seize and a previous confiscation of vehicles of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Tanhuato massacre: Mexico skirts transparency, seals Tanhuato investigation for 5 years

Lucio for Borderland Beat published by Animal Politico, Mexico Daily translation, recommended by Daily Reader-Thank you related BB post link here

Mexico’s transparency and access to information agency has denied a request for information about a gun battle last year that has drawn claims of extrajudicial killings by security forces.

The National Institute for Transparency and Access to Information (Inai) denied the request filed by The Associated Press (AP), in in connection with the clash between an alleged criminal gang and federal forces in Tanhuato, Michoacán on May 22, 2015.

Last October, the AP requested the release of autopsy reports on the 42 people killed by Federal Police, after the one-sided death toll drew suspicions. One police officer died in the confrontation.

But Inai refused, ruling that the information must be considered a state secret for the next five years.

The institute also rejected accusations that any human rights violations occurred at the ranch where the shooting occurred. After reviewing a 12-volume report on the Tanhuato events, it said the evidence indicated Federal Police acted within the law.

“No sustainable elements were found in regards to willful misconduct on the part of the Mexican state that could suggest there was any arbitrary, summary or illegal execution [at the ranch]”, the agency said, adding that “there was no indication . . . of any suspicious or unclear conduct on the part of security forces.”

Friday, March 18, 2016

Mexican Actress Kate del Castillo Explains Seemingly Flirtatious Text Messages to ‘El Chapo’

Mexican actress Kate del Castillo and Hollywood actor Sean Penn have been embroiled in controversy since the revelation that they met with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the most wanted drug lord in the world, in person while he was on the lam last year.

Mexican authorities want to interrogate her as a witness in an investigation and have insinuated they could be potentially investigating her for allegedly taking money from Guzman for her tequila company, Honor del Castillo, according to the newspaper El Universal.

This past January, del Castillo’s private text messages with El Chapo were leaked to the media, suggesting another kind of scandal -- that the two of them could be romantically involved.

But del Castillo is now sharing her side of the story and insists in an interview with ABC News'sDiane Sawyer that there was nothing romantic between her and the drug kingpin, whom she met in person last October.

NESTORA FREE

Posted by DD
Borderland Beat has covered the saga of Nestora Salgado extensively in past issues.  If you will type in "nestora" on the BB search box you will find probably 30 stories that are about her or mention her.  Because of that abundance of material in the archives of BB, I will go into a great lot of detail about her past and what she did in Olinala.  
 
We have been so disappointed in the past when we have been told by the Mexican officials that Nestora would be released and then our hopes dashed when she wasn't, I am posting these as proof that she has been released this morning.  When I finish writing the story later today I will add more text (and hopefully video )telling her story.

Nastora Salgado leaving prison after judge ordered her release (photo from KOMO TV