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

Thursday, April 30, 2020

CJNG---Distributes Covid-19 food boxes in 6 states and Guatemala

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

A BB follower sent this video in of CJNG distributing food boxes (pantries) in Guatemala.

Before I could post the video, YouTube in their questionable wisdom took the video down.   I did find videos of the giveaway on twitter and you can view below.  All images are of Guatemala with the exception of the one noted as Puerto Vallarta.

CJNG has been aggressively distributing the pantries, more than other cartels, taking advantage of the Covid-19 crisis to influence the hearts and minds of the populous.  Some state congressmen have followed suit.


CJNG has distributed the food and supplies to people in at least 5 states of Mexico, and within those states, distribution in multiple cities, mostly in rural areas of poverty. The states; Colima, Jalisco, B.C., Guanajuato, Morelos, and San Luis Potosi.  Each municipal entity seems to have a different CJNG label adhered to the boxes. Apparently CJNG has advanced well into Guatemala, and reflected in the video the population appears to welcome the CJNG Elite Group.

Wuhan was a fentanyl capital, then coronavirus hit

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat  TY Gus  LAT

Street fentanyl in counterfeit  prescription Oxy tabs

MEXICO CITY —  For drug traffickers interested in getting in on the fentanyl business, all roads once led to Wuhan.
The sprawling industrial city built along the Yangtze River in east-central China is known for its production of chemicals, including the ingredients needed to cook fentanyl and other powerful synthetic opioids.

Vendors there shipped huge quantities around the world. The biggest customers were Mexican drug cartels, which have embraced fentanyl in recent years because it is cheaper and easier to produce than heroin.

But the novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan late last year before spreading across the planet has disrupted the fentanyl supply chain, causing a ripple effect that has cut into the profits of Mexican traffickers and driven up street drug prices across the United States.

Few industries — illicit or not — have been unscathed by the pandemic that has upended the global economy and killed more than 190,000 people worldwide.

The narcotics trade, which relies on the constant movement of goods and people, has been stymied by lockdowns, travel bans and other efforts to contain the virus, according to government officials, academic researchers and drug traffickers.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Narco Message from "La Plaza" Addressed to "Los Salazar" in Guaymas

By Buggs for Borderland Beat
Anonymous source



Guaymas, Sonora.- On April 27, 2020 an armed commando dumped the lifeless body of a man, who had trauma, along with a cardboard with a written message. The message made reference to the mayor and police commander in Guaymas who are alleged to be colluding with Los Salazar. Los Salazar or Los Salazares are a faction of Gente Nueva, the armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel.

The incident happened on Calle 8 and Avenida 8 of the Centro community.

The dead man whose identity is unknown but was wearing blue denim pants and a gray T-shirt. It appeared that he was  executed in another location and dumped where he was found wrapped in a red blanket.

This is what the message said:

"All the violence that is happening in the port of Guaymas, is being generated by the mayor of the city Sara Valle, through Capitan America, El Marino, Cano Huir, municipal Police Commander Silvestre Armenta and the former commander Daniel Pardini, that have always been financed by Los Salazar. 

They continue executing police officers that you yourselves hire, as well as the families of these officers. Stop taking money from the Salazar de Navojoa. Keep in mind that we are taking this personal, Sara Valle and Cano Huir, we will no longer tolerate this. 

Attentive:

'La Plaza'

Fair is fair"

CJNG : El Ruso and three sicarios arrested in Aguililla Michoacan

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat  TY Follower via comments  CuartoPoderMichoacan 



Four alleged assassins of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación  (CJNG), originating from various states of the country, were detained by the Mexican Army in the possession of assault rifles, in the municipality of Aguililla.

According to the XLIII Military Zone, based in the municipality of Apatzingán, detainees are Arnulfo C. “El Ruso” –from Los Mochis, Sinaloa-, Alex G.  “El Mora” - Tepic, Nayarit-, Eduardo D.  “El Flaco” – Yautepec, Morelos- and  Marco Antonio I. “El Cocke” –of  Ciudad de México-.

The alleged gunmen were caught in the town of El Potrero, in Aguililla, the hometown of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes "El Mencho",  leader of the CJNG.

US CPB Busts $ Millions Worth Of Meth and Heroin at Int'l POE Bridges

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: US CPB / Global Incidents
CBP Officers Intercept Hard Narcotics Worth Over $11.5 Million At The World Trade Bridge
Release Date: April 27, 2020

LAREDO, Texas: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers intercepted a significant amount of hard narcotics with an estimated street value of more than $11.5 million in one enforcement action at the World Trade Bridge.

“This seizure was an enforcement action against transnational criminal organizations that exemplifies the vigilance and dedication our officers practice daily to stop the scourge of hard narcotics from infiltrating our communities,” said Port Director Gregory Alvarez, Laredo Port of Entry.

Video link: Mexican Military Finds Abandoned Cessna w 358 Kilos of Coke in Chiapas

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: DMUK
   
 Mexican military seizes $14 million worth of cocaine from small plane found abandoned on         clandestine air strip.

The Mexican military intercepted a cocaine shipment worth $14million Saturday, A Marines unit discovered an abandoned Cessna on a secret airstrip in Chiapas. The servicemen found 358 kilos of cocaine that in ten large bags. No arrests were made but the small plane and the drugs were turned over to Mexico's Attorney General office in Tapachula, Chiapas.

The Secretariat of the Navy said the successful operation was pulled off Saturday after intelligence reports revealed suspicious activity in the southern state of Chiapas.

Throwback Series: Gulf Cartel Kingpin 'El Puma' and the Case That Helped Shape Future US Drug Investigations

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat (formerly "MX")
Exactly twelve years ago today, on 29 April 2008, high-ranking Gulf Cartel member and former Tamaulipas State Police commander Carlos Landin Martinez ("El Puma") was sentenced to life imprisonment in the U.S. for his involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering. Though not widely known, El Puma's case was critical for future U.S. drug investigations and helped shaped the methodologies used today.

Authorities explained that they built the case against El Puma from the bottom-up, using the information from low-level criminals arrested in the U.S. and Mexico, which slowly led them to information about the cartel's leadership structure. Witnesses in El Puma's trial described the Gulf Cartel as a complex organization where low-level members were not allowed to participate in the criminal group's core operations, thus helping reduce the liability of the cartel leaders and their direct involvement in drug trafficking.

El Puma reduced his liability by taxing smugglers who operated in his turf and preventing his direct employees from moving drugs for the cartel. In the Mexican criminal underworld, this fee or taxation is known as piso. Investigators built a new methodology to crack him down. It would later become the foundation for future organized crime investigations. In this report, Borderland Beat will cover El Puma's career and how the investigation and trial unfolded.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Zetas Leader Z-42 Worried About Extradition to US; Judge Grants Him Motion to Prevent a Prison Transfer

"MX" for Borderland Beat
Omar Treviño Morales ("Z-42")
A Mexican federal judge granted a motion to Zetas leader Óscar Omar Treviño Morales ("Z-42") that prevents him from being transferred to a different federal prison from the one he is currently in. This motion was also extended to high-ranking Zetas member Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Díaz.

Z-42 is currently behind bars in the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 (also known as Altiplano), a maximum-security prison in the State of Mexico. The judge who granted the motion was Víctor Octavio Luna Escobedo.

Z-42 is worried about a possible "removal" (extradition) from Mexico. His defense argued that a prison transfer is usually a first step in removing an inmate from the country, and they told the judge to grant him a motion that prevents a prison transfer since there is no official order to remove Z-42 from Mexico. In the U.S., Z-42 is wanted along with his brother Miguel Treviño Morales ("Z-40") for drug trafficking and money laundering.

Sinaloa and Los Zetas Cartel hit-men deported from Texas

Chivis Martinez  Borderland Beat TY Gus ICE español website

ICE extradites 3 Mexican fugitives wanted for murder

 Alfredo Medina Martinez at left, Gujllermo Vazquez Saenz middle, 
and Alfredo Medina Martinez

Officers with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Detention and Deportation (ERO) in Houston, Texas, removed three fugitives Wednesday. wanted for murder in Mexico.

Alfredo Medina Martínez, 29; Guillermo Vázquez Sáenz, 51 and Eduardo Antonio Pérez Don Juan, 53 - all citizens of Mexico - were escorted to the port of entry in Laredo, Texas, where they were presented to the Mexican public order authorities.

Medina Martínez is being sought by Mexican authorities for murder. Vázquez Sáenz and Pérez Don Juan are being sought for aggravated murder.

Medina Martínez has been extradited from the United States to Mexico on three previous occasions: On January 5, 2019, February 27, 2019, and May 10, 2019. He was ordered to be removed by an immigration judge on June 30, December 2018. Medina Martinez was convicted of illegal entry on January 2, 2019 and for illegal re-entry on February 26, 2019 and October 15, 2019.

He is a documented member of the Mexicles, a Mexican street gang allied with the Sinaloa Cartel.

Monday, April 27, 2020

Cartel Free “Ethical Weed” Grown and Sold in Mexico

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: MND / MazatlanPost/ GrowthOp

The face of marijuana cultivation in Mexico is changing as more and more independent, boutique cannabis growers are popping up, providing high-quality “ethical” strains of weed free of cartel violence and influence.

Farmers turn to cultivation of ‘blood-free,’ ethical marijuana, Boutique cannabis growers don't sell to cartel middlemen; Sinaloa farmers are growing cartel-free ‘Ethical’ Weed.


There are a number of factors at play in this new dynamic, including the availability of specialized seeds from the United States and Europe, the possibility of legalization within the country by the end of the year and a decline in demand for mass-produced weed due to legalization in the U.S.  

There are a number of factors at play in this new dynamic, including the availability of specialized seeds from the United States and Europe, the possibility of legalization within the country by the end of the year and a decline in demand for mass-produced weed due to legalization in the U.S.  

But there is also a growing social consciousness among consumers that these small independent growers are banking on, marketing potent strains such as Chronic, Purple and Blue Dreams as “blood-free” weed, write Deborah Bonello and Miguel Angel Vega. Given the choice which would you choose ?

Social Distancing, Latin American Style: A Photo Essay

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: BBC
El Salvador's jails: Where social distancing is impossible
All photos by: Tariq Zaidi.
Latin America has some of the most overcrowded jails in the world. With prisoners crammed into tiny cells by the dozen, social distancing is impossible and poor medical facilities mean any outbreak of coronavirus would spread like wildfire.

The United Nations has urged governments to do more to protect inmates and has suggested the most vulnerable be temporarily released to ease overcrowding.

Chile, Colombia and Nicaragua have announced they will move thousands of prisoners into house arrest with priority given to the elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions. Brazil has already started moving inmates over 60 into house arrest and Peru says it plans to give vulnerable inmates an amnesty.

Mexico City Mansion Owned by 'El Señor de Los Cielos' Will Be Auctioned Next Week

"MX" for Borderland Beat

A Mexico City mansion where Juárez Cartel leader and millionaire drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes ('El Señor de los Cielos', The Lord of the Skies) once lived will be put for auction on May 3 by the newly-created Institute to Return Stolen Goods to the People (INDEP). The auction's starting price will be MXN$53 million (US$2.1 million). The mansion is in Lomas del Pedregal, an upscale residential neighborhood in Álvaro Obregón borough.

For many years, Carrillo Fuentes avoided capture from Mexican and U.S. authorities because he was successful at maintaining a low-profile. Several high-ranking members of the Mexican Army were also convicted for providing him protection. During his tenure, he amassed a multi-million dollar fortune by successfully using planes to smuggle drugs into the U.S. from Mexico. Carrillo Fuentes died on 4 July 1997 in Santa Monica Hospital in Mexico City following a plastic surgery.

CJNG massacred 18 sleeping Viagras/LFM in La Huerta, Aguililla

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat   TY Follower via comments  Source 

The attack on an organized crime camp, (narcocamp) in the community of La Huerta, municipality of Aguililla, perpetrated by the  Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, left 18 rivals from that group dead, and an arsenal and two "monster" vehicles seized, residents of the region confirmed, as there is no official version of the state authorities.

On Sunday morning, Army personnel who traveled to La Huerta, after the report of heavy shootings, found an organized crime camp and in it, 12 dead men, who would be members of "Los Viagras" - "Carteles Unidos".  The victims were executed, apparently being caught while they slept, by the CJNG.

At the bottom of a nearby ravine, six other bodies were found, which were sprayed with gasoline and set on fire. Due to the difficult terrain, until the afternoon the rescue work of those bodies continued.

In addition, 16 heavy-caliber weapons were seized at the site, including a 50-millimeter Barret rifle, as well as magazines labeled with the legends "FM" (from Familia Michoacana, members of Carteles Unidos) and "Viagras".  Likewise, two trucks with artisan armor, called "monster", were seized.

According to inhabitants of the region, a couple of days ago, after holding shootings in El Aguaje and El Limoncito, Aguililla, members of Los Viagras - Carteles Unidos displaced the Jalisco Cartel.  After taking control of those places, Los Viagras - Carteles Unidos looted homes and businesses and then went to La Huerta to rest, where they were ambushed.

Read backstory of Viagras/CJNGwar here  --GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW

Human Rights Commission Delegate Killed With His Son in Drive-by Shooting in Guerrero

"Parro" for Borderland Beat; TY to "Chava"
Eliseo Jesús Memije Martinez
The delegate of the Human Rights Commission in the state of Guerrero's Costa Grande region, Eliseo Jesús Memije Martinez (aged 52), was shot to death with his son Uriel Memije Ávila (aged 20) on Friday night.

The incident occurred as they drove their 2010 Ford Escape truck through the Acapulco-Zihuatanejo federal highway, at the entrance to the Yetla community (Coyuca de Benítez municipality), from where they originated. 

According to a report from the Ministry of Public Security, the subjects shot them multiple times, instantly killing Eliseo Jesús. The report indicates that Eliseo Jesús's corpse was picked up by his relatives and taken to his home, on Calle Benito Juárez, in Yetla.

Video: LFM Decapitates a young CJNG member: Once allies, the betrayal and war between Viagras and CJNG

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat


El Americano alive?

Sometimes these interrogations reveal a piece of relevant information.  In this case the victim says he works with “El Americano”. 

A person known by “El Americano”, was reportedly killed in 2018, in a Colima bar.  Colima was the state he fled to when he was marked as a target. 

However after the reported death, nothing was heard about him again, no official acknowledgement by authorities and no photos, plus reports on social media that he faked his death.

Americano, is Luis Antonio Torres, a person who CJNG tagged to infiltrate the autodefensas movement as a “reformed Templario”.  He established “H3” AD in Buenavista, Michoacán.

H3 stands for the 3rd AD group to organize.

BB photo sparked investigation

In 2014, an image BB posted of Americano with La Tuta I gleaned from a video spotted by a friend in Morelia who goes by “Pepe”.

In the video El Americano, is seen briefly as he listens to the Tuta and Carlo Sierra Santana discussion, (as he flosses his teeth)

I captured his brief appearance in the footage and published several times.  It finally caught on in Mexican media leaving the state government no choice but to arrest him.  He was arrested, interrogated, and released after the government said “through scientific resources” it was determined the man in the image is not Americano.  They did not provide the scientific proof. 

He was released and free to conduct his business side by side with Viagras and at the direction of El Mencho.  He then sided with Viagras after the Mencho split. Read the story here


Once allies: The war of CJNG and Los Viagras

After the death of its maximum leader and founder of La Familia Michoacana "Nazario Moreno", alias "El Chayo or El Más Loco", as well as the capture of  Caballeros Templarios leader, "Servando Gomez" alias "El Profe , El Tío or La Tuta ”; Los Viagras , Nueva Familia Michoacana,  and Cárteles Unidos had established an alliance with Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho or El Señor de los Gallos", leader of the CJNG, to eliminate the remaining remnants of the Caballeros Templarios and clearing out of the Michoacán autodefensas.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

San Luis Potosi: CJNG dismembers man for beating his 3 y/o toddler stepson to death

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat Source



Today, the dismembered body of a man was located in the fairgrounds of Santa María del Río, SLP, by residents, as they were on the way to the market to shop.

In the morning, local residents discovered the dismembered corpse of Moisés N., who was identified as allegedly responsible for having beaten to death his stepson; a little boy of just three years of age and also having beaten his mother.

The subject, originally from the town of Lourdes, had fled, but was known to be wanted by various groups of men.

The execution and dismemberment of the corpse was adjudicated by CJNG.

World's Most Dangerous Cities

Parro Borderland Beat World Atlas

Before planning your next vacation, it may be worth doing some research into the cities you plan to visit - especially if the itinerary involves locales in Mexico and South America, where the top 10 most dangerous places in the world are located. According to a report by the Citizens’ Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, these cities have documented the highest homicide rates per capita.

Below is the Most Dangerous Cities list according to World Atlas.

Tijuana is the most dangerous city in the world

[My analysis; USA has 10% of the most violent cities in the world.  Mexico has 30%.]

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Lawyer Who Defended Tijuana Cartel Kingpin Was Killed in Ensenada

"MX" for Borderland Beat
Rubén Arenivar Garza
Lawyer Rubén Arenivar Garza, who defended a Tijuana Cartel kingpin in court earlier this month, was killed by unknown assailants in a drive-by shooting in Ensenada, Baja California, on Friday. The incident occurred at around noon in Bahia neighborhood while Arenivar Garza was inside his vehicle a few blocks from his law firm.

Eyewitnesses told the police that the suspects were wearing military uniforms and were driving two vehicles. One of the vehicles was abandoned a few blocks from the scene and the gunmen drove off in the other getaway vehicle. The perpetrators are currently at large.

Chihuahua: Sinaloa Cartel's Gente Nueva distributes food pantries for Covid19 support- Bearing Osama Bin Laden's image

Parro Borderland Beat  LaJornada

Osama Bin Laden's image on the bags



In photographs that circulated on social networks this morning, you can see several armed men distributing pantries in different areas of the city, which has around 12 thousand inhabitants.

Containing products such as wheat and corn flour, oatmeal, coffee, sugar, soups, soap, and toilet paper, the bags have an image of Osama Bin Laden's face.

In the images on social media,  subjects who distributed the pantries were aboard a recent model white double-ram Ram pickup truck without circulation plates, which had a decal attached that said Gente Nueva and the Bin Laden image.

At least five men who wore face coverings, camouflage clothing, helmets and vests,  also carried assault rifles, the so-called “goat horn” AK47.

Friday, April 24, 2020

New York Man and Girlfriend Quarantining in Mexico Are Shot and Killed

"MX" for Borderland Beat; NBC News

Pat Landers and Karla Baca
A New York man and his girlfriend were shot and killed while driving down a street in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, authorities said. Pat Landers, of Baldwinsville, and Karla Baca were driving in a black Jeep with New York license plates on Monday when they were attacked, according to NBC affiliate KTSM-TV in El Paso, Texas.

Police say at least 20 gunshots were fired at the vehicle. No arrests have been made. Landers was the father of a 6-year-old boy, according to NBC affiliate WSTM-TV in Syracuse, New York. He met Baca, a physical education teacher in Juarez, during a trip to Texas.

Guatemalan Drug Lord With Ties to Mexico Is Removed From Kingpin Act List in Possible Deal With the US

"MX" for Borderland Beat
Otto Roberto Herrera Garcia
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this week that Guatemalan drug kingpin Otto Roberto Herrera Garcia, who had ties with Mexico's Sinaloa and Gulf Cartels, was removed from the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) list. The fact that Herrera Garcia was removed from the list may suggest that he could have struck a deal with U.S. authorities to keep his assets safe.

The Kingpin Act is an economic sanction that freezes all U.S.-based assets owned by an individual or entity and prohibits U.S. citizens and companies from engaging in business activities with them. It is used to disrupt criminal financial networks and bring top criminals to the international spotlight.

La Familia Michoacana debates journalist - "We should be applauded" for Covid19 help "Ungrateful ones, will be killed"

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat
The narco set up a temporary twitter account to communicate with the journalist;   he wanted to "explain" .  Asked what happens if people denounce them?  "Then we will kill them for being ungrateful".

MVS Journalist Oscar Balderas spoke about the conversation he had with delivery of pantries (food boxes) of "La Familia Michoacana".

“A direct message came to my Twitter account last Saturday. It seemed to come from a false account: Because the profile was a jumble of letters and numbers with the image of a weapon. Many times they are bots that send false death threats. But this one… it seemed different”, he related.

"He spoke to me about himself and sent me the link to the Criminal Nation that three days before he had shared with listeners: the history of the world, and in Mexico, of the false aid of organized crime to the victims of the Covid-19, from loans to drug dealers. Then he presented himself as a dispenser of pantries for La Familia Michoacana and said he wanted to explain himself: he did not understand why people criticized him instead of applauding him, "he said.

CDS Executes a CDG Member

By Buggs for Borderland Beat
Sent to us by anonymous source.

Zacateca: Members of the Sinaloa Cartel #CDS interrogate and execute a member of the  Cártel Del Golfo.

Message:
"Keep sending more idiots like this one "F25." You are next "F 25."
Attentive: CDS



CJNG Question Members of LFM

By Buggs for Borderland Beat
Source, sent anonymously.


Valle De Bravo,  Edomex: Members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel #CJNG question members of the La Familia Michoacána/Viagras cartel before executing them.

Message:

CJNG
We are already in Valle, we come united with Ixtapan de la Sal, here is your fucken extortionist, the cleansing has started in Valle and Ixtapan, we are going after you Tambo, Botas, Buho and all the faggots that support La FM

Attentive
CJNG

Videos next page:

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Guerreros Unidos Boss and CJNG Ally 'El Chato' Arrested With US Extradition Request

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat (formerly "MX")
Edgar Pineda Celis ("El Chato") at the moment of his arrest; eyes were blurred by Mexican authorities

Mexican authorities arrested Edgar Pineda Celis ("El Chato"), one of the suspected leaders of Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors), a criminal group based in Guerrero, Mexico. He is wanted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for drug trafficking and organized crime involvement.

According to investigators, he was an active participant in the cartel's international narcotics trade and helped coordinate methamphetamine smuggling operations from Mexico to Altanta, Georgia. He worked closely with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

To operate under a low-profile, El Chato used the alias Régulo Castor Romero. He fled to Bacalar, Quintana Roo, in early 2020 to escape the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s trace. The DEA was looking for him since September 2016.

The conflict at LeBaron Ranch

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat Reforma ElBarzon LAT


After fleeing Mexico due to threats, activist Julián LeBarón returned to the country after the conflict registered on Sunday between members of El Barzón and his family on a ranch in the Municipality of Buenaventura, Chihuahua.

"I came back as soon as I saw that my brothers were being threatened, I came on Sunday" LeBarón said.

"I am not going to let my brothers be killed," he said of his return.

LeBarón had left Mexico because US authorities informed him that he was in danger as there were threats against him by a criminal group.

On February 19 he left the community of LeBarón, in the Municipality of Galeana, with his family, and sheltered for a few days in another locality, until he was escorted on February 23 by federal elements to an international crossing to enter the United States. , where you also have citizenship.

Last Sunday night, Barzonistas and members of the LeBarón community clashed at Rancho La Mojina, owned by the latter, in Ejido Constitución, Municipality of Buenaventura, Chihuahua, where there were detonations of a firearm.

"We were shot inside our own ranch," said Julián LeBarón.

Nuevo Leon: Tracking a Huachicol Tunnel in Monterrey

By Redlogarythm for Borderland Beat
              
 The intake once it was detroyed by Pemex workers

On April 12 elements of the Municipal Police and of the Guardia National broke into a cellar on the Colonia Gloria Mendiola, Municipality of General Escobedo, on the Monterrey Metropolitan Area. According to official reports an anonymous complaint made on April 4th had detonated an investigation led by the PGR that in less than two weeks located a massive illegal oil intake (or Toma) which had been used for stealing oil directly from Pemex´s pipelines. In this case the illegal draining facility had been built underground, through a tunnel connecting the Pemex buried pipeline with the cellar where the oil was decanted into massive deposits taken later to the street market in pick-ups or tanker trucks.

The huachicol, as oil-theft is known in Mexico, is not a novelty in Mexico. It started being exploited by illegal actors during the 1980´s and by the 90´s had evolved into a multimillion industry led by dozens of entrepreneurs and ``businessmen´´ that created real monopolies over the industry of oil theft. During the 2000´s several organized crime factions joined the industry by partnering or absorbing these entrepreneurs. The CDG, for example, started draining the Cuenca de Burgos shale gas deposits massively. 

The CDG and soon Los Zetas were caught dealing with several Texan companies the exportation of shale and natural gas condensate through the border to several storing facilities at Port Elizabeth. The penetration of drug cartels into the oil theft market was due to the cannibalization of sources of revenue. When illicit actors start needing funds to cover their operational expenses they first absorb illicit markets since they´re not subjected to Government protection and the people running them (such as the original huachicoleros) don´t have any other option but to partner or die. After the illicit markets comes the cannibalization of licit businesses: maquilas, restaurants, gas stations, shopping malls, casinos, etc. One after the other, they all fall into the arms of organized crime, either by direct absorption or through extortion/derecho de piso. 

By the 2010´s most of oil theft networks operating in Mexico belonged to organized crime factions. This doesn´t mean that there aren´t independent huachicoleros. In fact, there are multiple examples of groups running their own theft schemes. But it is impossible for them to operate such an illegal market without paying a fee to the criminal cell controlling the territory where they operate. 

Violence in Sonora Continues Unabated

By Buggs for Borderland Beat
Many sources to include some anonymous


An intense shootout happened in Cibuta, south of the city of Nogales.


As a result of the firefight, two men were killed, 4 vehicles were riddled with gunfire while another was set on fire. One of the vehicles was an armored black Jeep Cherokee that sustained more than 100 impacts from long guns.

This confrontation is just one more act of violence that has increased in Sonora. Three days ago four men were killed and one injured by an armed commando in Caborca.

These attacks were attributed to a criminal group operating in Sonora, who are believed to have beef with drug trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero who has an active warrant from the U.S.

Under the command of Caro Quintero are members identified as Nacho Paez, Tavo Paez, Rodrigo Paez Quintero el "Lito o "R," Oscar Pascual de la Rocha "Chapon" and Jesus Darío Murrieta Navarro "Cara de Cochi."

This criminal group was also recently pointed out by the federal government as playing a part in some of the violent robberies of mines that have occurred in Sonora, along with extorting immigrants by demanding large sums of money from their family members in the United States in exchange for their released.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

VIDEO: Ton of Meth Seized off Yacht in Australian Waters

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Sydney MorningHerald / rnz.co.nz
Thanks to BB Commenter !
A tonne of drugs worth up to $750 million that was destined for Australia has been seized after police and immigration officers swooped on a yacht just off the NSW, ie New South Wales,  coast without two men on board knowing what was happening.

The large seizure of methamphetamine has prompted state and federal police to warn that international drug syndicates continue to target Australia despite severe restrictions on movements imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic.

April 21, 2020: AMLO Asks the Cartels to Stand Down; Mexico’s Most Murderous Day

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Sources

The same day that Mexican President López Obrador asked drug traffickers to “simmer down,” the highest number of homicides in 2020 was recorded.  Mexico already has all the ingredients of the tragedy: kidnappings, enforced disappearances, executions and clandestine graves.  López Obrador asked criminals to think about the pain they cause their mothers.

The epidemic of violence in Mexico seems to have no stop. This week it has been confirmed that March is, so far, the most violent month of 2020. The 3,078 homicide victims accounted for, show the urgency of putting a stop to a scourge that has been increasing in the last decade.

This Monday the record of intentional homicides in the country was broken. According to daily numbers from the National Information Center of the Executive Secretariat of the National Security System (SESNSP), on April 20, 114 crimes were committed nationwide.

Video: CJNG 60 vehicle convoy enters Valparaiso Zacatecas

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat   TY Follower for sending in


CJNG continues their fight for Zacatecas, last night they sent a large convoy of vehicles into the state.  Reports of 60 to 70 vehicles are being reported. 

This BB follower estimates 30 vehicles, and he appears to have seen the convoy:

“Last night in Valparaiso Zacatecas there were approximately 30 trucks of CJNG with people heavily armed. They parked in front of the presidencia (mayor) or town hall they were there for a good while.”

Valparaiso is approximately 1 ½ hrs away from Fresnillo.    CDS, CDN, Los Talibanes and CJNG,  are vying for control of the logistically central state, surrounded by 7 states.  Video Below

You Know Things Are Fucked When ‘El Chapo’ Is a COVID Savior....

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat TY RB Source
NARCO-CARE

CALI, Colombia—As the outbreak spreads, hospitals across Mexico are falling short of vital medical supplies. And with state and federal authorities unable to meet their demands, some health centers have turned to an unlikely savior: El Chapo

El Chapo 701 is a private company named after infamous drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and owned by his daughter Alejandrina Guzmán. (The 701 refers to Guzmán’s one-time ranking on Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people.) In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, Chapo’s namesake enterprise has seized international headlines by doing things the government can’t or won’t do.

The Guzmán family’s outfit has already set up an aid hotline for senior citizens on social media. Masked workers take to the streets to hand out care packages emblazoned with the company’s website logo—a stylized El Chapo himself. He may be serving life without parole in the United States, but among the needy in Guadalajara his face is everywhere. And now, as requests flow in, the company has vowed to help supply hospitals in four major Mexican cities, including the nation’s capital.

The El Chapo franchise is not alone. Cartels and crime groups in many parts of Mexico—indeed, in many parts of Latin America—are taking it on themselves to answer the coronavirus call.

CJNG Leader Imprisoned in Uruguay Could Go Free After US Refuses to Accept Extradition Deal

"MX" for Borderland Beat
Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) leader Gerardo González Valencia, who is imprisoned in Uruguay since 2016 for his money laundering activities, could go free after the U.S. government refused to accept the extradition deal proposed by the Uruguayan government. He is wanted in the U.S. for his alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

In February 2020, the Uruguayan government agreed to extradite González Valencia to the U.S. just as long as he did not face the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty. But U.S. authorities want to have the possibility to convict González Valencia of life imprisonment and have refused to accept the terms. Since González Valencia already fulfilled his money laundering sentence in Uruguay, it could be a matter of time before he is released.

Mexico: Record 3000 Homicides in March, the coronavirus connection...

Chivis Martinez  Borderland Beat  Source


April 19 was the most violent day of the year with 105 murders


MEXICO - The open war between Mexican drug traffickers resulted in 3000 homicides in  March.  Making it as the most violent month during the administration  of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO.

The coronavirus pandemic has been one of the factors that is attributed to the increase in homicides by limiting the movements of drug traffickers due to the partial closure of borders with the United States, according to several experts.

This has a direct implication for organized crime, whose business is equivalent to 24% of the country's GDP, according to a report by the Institute for the Economy and Peace.

According to professor Juan Carlos Montero, researcher at the School of Social Sciences and Government of the Tecnológico de Monterrey, the current situation is leading to a triple idiosyncrasy: it has become increasingly more difficult for drug traffickers to traffic to the United States, receive chemical precursors from China to manufacture synthetic drugs, or sell so easily.