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Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Sinaloa Cartel's El Bob Esponja Killed in Cajeme, Sonora

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat


The former Sinaloa Cartel plaza boss of Escuinapa, Armando Russell García, alias “El Bob Esponja” was shot to death in the city of Obregón, in the state of Sonora.



The Shooting


At approximately 7:30 pm on the night of May 25, 2022, an SUV chased a white 2013 Volkswagen Vento sedan through the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood of the city of Obregón, in the municipality of Cajeme.


When the two vehicles sped down Quintana Roo street, the sedan ended up crashing with another vehicle, allowing the SUV to catch up and armed men inside the SUV began to open fire on those inside the sedan. The men inside also had firearms and tried to return fire.  


Ultimately, the four men inside the sedan sustained multiple gunshot injuries each and the SUV full of gunmen sped away from the scene once they were satisfied that they had unloaded enough bullets into the sedan. 






The police were alerted to the shooting after witnesses called the emergency phone line. Officers found that 3 of the 4 men present inside the sedan no longer had vital signs by the time they arrived on scene. 


The fourth man was badly injured but still alive and he was rushed to the emergency room. Later the man who was injured was identified in a state Attorney General’s Office statement as Juan Carlos, 40 years old. 


Warning: Graphic photos below this point.






Officers noticed that inside the vehicle there were 5 pistols, radios, license plates and a metal battering ram. 


The three deceased have been identified as: 


Rafael B. R. who was a resident of Cajeme, Sonora.


Josue Alonso C. R. and/or Juan Carlos Camacho Russell, who was a resident of Navolato, Sinaloa.


Armando Russell Garcia, aliases "El Lalo" and “El Bob Esponja” or The Spongebob, who was also a resident of Navolato, Sinaloa.



El Bob Esponja is the most notable of the men killed as he was previously believed to be a high ranking Sinaloa Cartel (Cártel de Sinaloa, CDS) leader. 








Early into El Bob Esponja’s life, his brother César Russell García was killed due to a cartel dispute. 


César died on November 8, 1992 during the Sinaloa Cartel attack on the Cártel Arellano Félix (CAF) brothers Francisco Javier and Ramón inside of a nightclub called Christine’s, located in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. 



The Arellano Félix brothers managed to escape the encounter alive but César, who worked as a judicial police officer at the time, did not. Press reports detail that hitmen from CDS and CAF were killed in the incident as well as multiple innocent bystanders, and it is unclear which of these groups César belonged to.


A few years after the death of his brother, El Bob Esponja joined the Army on August 2, 1995. He became a soldier in the 39th Military Zone, which is located in Chiapas. His Army contract ended in March 2001 and he moved on to join the Municipal Police in Culiacan, working as an officer from January 1, 2005 to August 30, 2007. 


At some point during his time as an officer, Bob Esponja became a member of CDS and he rose through the cartel ranks while continuing his day job in law enforcement. 


On February 25, 2015, soldiers from the Navy arrested Bob Esponja. He was found to be in possession of cocaine and a high-powered rifle. At the time of his arrest, the Sinaloa newspaper Riodoce wrote that “Bob Esponja was said to have been the ‘secretary’ of Manuel Aponte, El Bravo, who was El Chapo's security chief and who was killed days after the drug lord was recaptured in Mazatlán.” 



“Secretary” is a term for someone who manages a person’s houses and properties, keeping them running smoothly. Bob Esponja was later released from custody at an unspecified time. 


Bob Esponja was a part of the CDS leadership team which spearheaded the push to take over the port city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa in 2016. The city had been controlled by the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO), specifically Los Mazatlecos, since their split from the Sinaloa Cartel, although truces had allowed CDS members to operate in the city. 



He worked alongside Óscar Martínez Larios, alias “El Gabito” and Saúl Ernesto Loya, aliases "El Sierra" and “El Loya”. All three men were mentioned in a June 21, 2016 banner which threatened CDS forces in Mazatlán, naming “Lalo, Ivan Archivaldo, Gabito and Loya”, referring to Bob Esponja by his other alias of Lalo. 



In October 2016, Bob Esponja was arrested by SEDENA soldiers in Culiacán. He was found to be in possession of a 9mm firearm and multiple drugs including meth, cocaine and marijuana. At the time of his arrest, Sinaloa newspaper Riodoce alleged he was the current plaza boss of Escuinapa.





Killing of Bob Esponja Sources: FGE Official Statement, Tribuna, El Sol de Hermosillo, Radar Sonora, Sintesis Noticia , Sonora Informativo, Calvarie_Locus, Extra OficialAlarma Sonora Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Debate


Bob Esponja Criminal History Sources: Aristegui Noticias, Proceso, DebateEl Financiero, Book: Confessions of a Cartel Hit Man, Riodoce Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, El Mundo Narco



36 comments:

  1. El Bob Esponja 😂. I thought El Brad Pitt was the strangest name

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I greatly enjoyed writing out that alias each time I used it. It just made everything sound so absurd.

      Delete
    2. Tambien se chingarom a el metro 27 o calamardo el año pasado

      Delete
    3. Have you heard el corrido de Bob esponja??? The song says how Bob esponja is the real deal, someone not to be messed with

      Delete
    4. That's hilarious, I'll check it out.

      Delete
  2. A highly trained sicario tactical team headed by Mr Krabs,Patrick and Squidward are already on their way to Sonora. They have been recieving training in Bikini Bottom ,Sinaloa by El Señor Sicario 006.

    Animo Sic006

    ReplyDelete
  3. There was a death list created by El Chapo(according to his public trail) El Bravo was on the list .
    Was he killed on orders of El Chapo or was he betrayed by Damaso el Lic?
    El Bravo saved El Chapo many times , he was as loyal as El Cholo.
    Atte: EL Señor De los Kraby Patties

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ivan had bravo killed.

      Delete
    2. 7:06 others say it was damaso hitman

      Delete
  4. Con que patricio y calamardo esten bien.. todo bien

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Calamardo fue rescatado por clones

      Delete
    2. Comandante Calamardo fue rescatado por clones dela PGE pero después lo encontraron cobijado solo queda Patricio

      Delete
  5. Hey SIR is this what you mean by cds having sonora on lock?🤣🤣🤣🤣

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 7:21 You know what, Salome?
      I will gladly eat my words if you bring them to me on a silver tray, or at least reference date and time...
      So ora has been had on lock by Maria Felix, the Almadas, alvaro obregon, putarco elias calles, but they are all gone, only powerful bitch remaining manlio fabio Beltrones "don Beltrone" running to the hills for his ass, new governor "durazo" can't get his shit together just like his PRIdecessors, SOOO...
      if you are trying to put shit on me, it is time to prove it or eat it yourself...

      Delete
    2. 6:04 shit im sorry SIR it was ment for The Humble guy who said sonora was on lock, i mistook your post with his cause you mentioned nacho coronel getting betrayed by mencho, but we all know it was chapo, still you and humble dude sound the same

      Delete
    3. Alkazeltzer for the feast eating crow, your'e welcome.

      Delete
  6. If I’m crazy enough to create criminal group I’ll name it EL GUapos. I just don’t have to balls to be one.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Empalme, Obregon and Guaymas are getting worse with each passing day. Every day it seems there are hits, disappearances, seizures, executions of police officers, etc. The frequency and intensity of things is increasing and the whole area feels increasingly dangerous. San Carlos has had spillover from time to time....I fear it's just a matter of time before this stuff is commonplace in San Carlos as well.

    ReplyDelete
  8. CDS is a mess right now

    ReplyDelete
  9. No winners in the drug game, they ALL get killed or arrested

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Only the high level mexican governments are the winners. They take millions in bribes and somewhat untouchables for being killed.

      Delete
    2. Not just Mexican officials but many US business men and politicians

      Delete
  10. All these guys deserve death in this manner and are lucky they died by a bullet instead of being dismembered alive.. all of them have killed, kidnapped, or shot someone.

    ReplyDelete
  11. And commenter said Sonoras on lock 🔐 supposedly i guess not

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love it when I read articles like this one. Cartel plaza boss killed. Yeah baby.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Is the SIR guy hiding under a rock after claiming cds had sonora on lock? Pinche mitotero, you lost all credibility with this one jajaja

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1:17 read above, Salomé misconfused another comment with your daddy's welcome.to the eating crow fest, hope they save the crow's ass for you.

      Delete
  14. Cuando dejo penjamo y se fue a Culiacán ese bob esponja corrido del bob echo por grupo maximo grado

    ReplyDelete
  15. Puro CARTEL Del CALAMARDO!!
    FIERRO

    ReplyDelete
  16. Funny I was just listening to Maximo Grades corrido of Bob Esponja,hahaha. Funny how they talk about his love for VW and he died in one. Una crabby patty for the fallen.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Ignorance abounds!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fue ese maldito Plankton, por no entregar la formula de Don Cangrejo

    ReplyDelete
  19. Next you will see a video of CJNG blaming the navy...lol

    ReplyDelete
  20. Con Razón el Nini quit he’s job. He believes la chapizza it’s setting up people to get the gringos drop their charges y pues ya la gente no confía en ese cartel el de los sapos. It got my attention El Memo Ochoa en Tiktok hiring people on USA soil to work for the chapizza I think he pays 8000 a week lol I remember when him and others got caught in Las Vegas so now he makes confidencial informant for las 3 letras.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 8000 Mexican pesos or 8000 American dollars?

      Delete

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