Lawless Monterrey

Monterrey Sin Ley
Enrique Mendoza Hernández
Semanario ZETA
http://www.zetatijuana.com/2011/07/18/monterrey-sin-ley/

The mass killings in bars are no longer exclusive to Ciudad Juárez or Tamaulipas. Now the massacres also occur in Monterrey as seen at the El Sabino Gordo bar when 21 persons were executed on a Friday night, July 8th. .

The official version was predictable. According to Jorge Domene Zambrano, the Nuevo Leon State Security spokesman, “Until now the most likely motive was an attack by a rival gang because this bar had been identified as a drug selling point controlled by another group.”

Then, in a 24 hour period between July 11th and 12th, 18 people were killed in Nuevo Leon, including 2 fifteen year olds.

The next day, July 13th, another 5 victims were executed in Nuevo Leon, including another 2 teenagers.

What overshadows all the murders in Nuevo Leon is the lack of any investigation by the authorities, based on the official version that all the victims are linked to organized crime.

"I find it very troubling that when people are killed the official version by the authorities is that they are all criminals. This is serious because then the authorities believe there is no need to investigate”, says Sister Consuelo Morales Elizondo, Director of the NGO Citizens in Support of Human Rights in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

“There are a some bars like Sabino Gordo that was attacked last week where it is common knowledge that drugs are sold, so the question is why the authorities have not acted?"

"I do not believe the official version that everyone inside the bar was a ‘narcomenudista’ (street level drug pusher) but if a conflict of interest between members of organized crime at any given time can generate these massacres and the authorities are aware of this information, then the question remains. Why don’t the authorities act to prevent such painful situations that are taking us to a world of terrible inhumanity?”

The practice of criminalizing victims of violence comes from the top down as when President Felipe Calderon called the 15 adolescent and young students shot dead in Ciudad Juarez on January 31, 2010, “gang members”.

Lacking the ability to investigate and react, state authorities have continued the same practice of criminalizing victims, according to Sister Morales.

Sister Morales reminisces, "Last year, in March, a couple, Rocio Elias Garza and Juan Carlos Pena Chavarria, was killed after leaving their job in Anahuac, Nuevo Leon. State officials issued a statement, which they later retracted, that an extremely dangerous criminal called “La Gata” (the cat) had been caught.”

“The community of Anahuac was outraged when they realized what the authorities had said. According to the community the couple was leaving work to pick up their children at a daycare. That is when we started to realize the lies with which the authorities operate. It is unjust that we are criminalized to cover-up the failures of the authorities, and as this continues impunity continues to grow.”

“And as impunity grows, the executions continue to rise.”

Executions in Nuevo Leon have doubled.

Shootouts in downtown Monterrey, “narco” blockades, “narco” banners, “narco” fosas (clandestine gravesites), kidnappings, executions, extortions and police pursuits are the daily bread of residents living in the Monterrey metropolitan area, whose 4 million people comprise the bulk of the state population.

In the past four and a half years and according to information from Nuevo Leon’s Attorney General (PGJE) and the Federal Public Security Secretariat (SSP), Nuevo Leon has documented at least 2,443 murders linked to organized crime.

In 2007 Nuevo Leon counted 283 drug murders; in 2008 the count was 263; in 2009 it was 267; in 2010 the count jumped to 770; and up to June 30 of 2011 the count has more than doubled to 860.

The 2,443 murders rank Nuevo León as the fifth most violent state in Mexico. First thru fourth are Chihuahua with 11,264; Sinaloa with 6,055; Baja California with 3,072; and Durango with 2,800.

According to the PGR, "the phenomenon of increasing violence Nuevo León is explained by the clash between the Gulf Cartel and the 'Zetas' that has led to an increase in the number of murders since 2010".

No official statistics on the disappeared.

The violence in Nuevo Leon also includes many “disappeared, or missing, persons. Unfortunately the government of Rodrigo Medina, Governor of Nuevo Leon, does not provide statistics for missing persons in the state.

"A phenomenon that is of great concern are the disappearances where the young are being abducted, now even young girls are being taken.” Sister Morales responds.

“But this is not just about crime. We are also living with the anxiety of the military and Marines now patrolling all the neighborhoods as an answer for the protection of the citizens. The media portrays this as something very helpful but the reality is that this we are now receiving cases that tell us this is not the real picture.”

“For example, in Sabinas Hidalgo, in the last fifteen or twenty days, the Marines have taken more than 10 young people, including women and also a 54 year old woman and we can’t get any answers about them. We have gotten an injunction and the same Marines tell us they don’t have them.”

“We are really very concerned that institutions like the Navy, the military, SEDENA (the Ministry of Defence), are not even be able to tell the truth. We know they were Marines, soldiers, the parents know because some were taken out of their homes, and still they tell us it’s not true. We are in a serious situation, we are looking for all the people who have been taken without any help from the authorities."

Sister Morales says that the state authorities are not gathering any statistics of the disappeared in Nuevo Leon and the only quantifiable evidence is derived witness and relative’s testimony. "We have information from the same families who have been to the military searching for the disappeared that up to 20 complaints are being received daily.”

"A statement from SEDENA issued on Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon spoke of 1,700 disappearances. The report was posted for a short while and then removed. There are people searching for the disappeared who are denouncing the Marines and public prosecutors who do not register with us and the majority of the people don’t denounce anyone because they are too paralyzed by fear.”

The human rights advocate claims that the Attorney General of Nuevo Leon, Adrian de la Garza, does not follow through in the investigations. "Eight people testified before the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, headed by Javier Sicilia, about cases of missing persons in Nuevo Leon. It was decided to highlight these cases with the Attorney General, Adrian de la Garza.”

“De la Garza received the families of victims of the disappeared who told him they had reported the cases to the authorities and nothing has happened, and in some cases they had even been threatened."

"The Attorney General promised to have results within a month. So on June 7 De la Garza said he would have the status of the cases by July 7th."

At the time Sister Morales regretted the failure of any investigation by the Attorney General’s office, saying “90 to 95 percent of what's in those files is information collected by the same families of the missing."

The ZETA staff requested an interview with Attorney General Adrian de la Garza and Governor Rodrigo Medina. As of July 14 no response had been received to the request nor the status of the cases.

Meanwhile, the consequences of insecurity are made clearly visible in the closure of businesses in the state of Nuevo Leon.

928 firms close.

In addition to the families of victims of violence in Nuevo León reflected in the doubling of the murder rate from 2010 to the first half of 2011 plus the thousands of missing people, Nuevo Leon is also being affected by employers that are going out of business due to the insecurity. .

The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) counts the number of companies of all sizes that generate formal employment and who are enrolled with the institute. The highest number of companies registered with the IMSS in the state of Nuevo Leon is 58,418 counted on October 31, 2008, while the lowest number of employers counted since was 56,926 counted in January 2010.

At the end of the first half of 2011, on June 4th, the number of employers stood at 57,490 according to the IMSS regional office in Monterrey. Taking into account the highest number of companies registered with the IMSS on October 31, 2008, this means 928 businesses have closed.

Nobody wants to be police officer in Nuevo Leon.

In Nuevo Leon nobody wants to be a policeman. After the assassination of the mayor of Santiago, Edelmiro Cavazos Leal, which occurred on August 18, 2010, Juan Ernesto Sandoval, President of the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism (CANACO) in Monterrey addressed the reduction of police forces in the state.

"Right now there are no police in some municipalities. In Santiago where they killed the mayor (Edelmiro Cavazos Leal), when the mayor took office the town had 120 police officers and right now I think there are 7. Many have been killed, others left due to fear or threats and some have been removed for being linked with organized crime."

Governor Rodrigo Medina reacted a year later by acknowledging that he needed a lot of police and was implementing a plan to recruit them from other states and bring them to Nuevo Leon because the residents of the state do not want to work in the municipal or state departments of public safety.

“Because of the situation that we are living in we are going out to other entities, we have crews in other states that have been recruiting and are working on all fronts,” boasted the Governor without providing statistics on how many positions need to be filled or how many police officers had been recruited in other states, mainly in the south.

"I prefer to reserve the data but the call has been answered in other states," Medina said to the media last May 7.

"It is a serious situation, but more important than a deficit in police numbers I think there is a deficit in the system of policing. We have been unable to develop a police model that can tackle the public safety issue for the citizens of the state,” declared Sister Morales.

But while the Nuevo Leon police leave their posts the Governor is not far behind and prefers the strategy of "every man for himself" as he has fled his state and moved to McAllen, Texas.

"It's a shame that our governor when he took office that said he would give his life for the people of Nuevo Leon and, well, that's the way he’s giving it, by going to live in the U.S. It sad because our Governor should be willing to suffer the same fate as the citizens," laments Sister Morales.

Rodrigo Medina de la Cruz vowed on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 that he would "regain the tranquility and peace at any cost."

But three months short of his second year in office his words have not translated into deeds.

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"Narco" Offensive Strikes Monterrey

El Norte.com
















The Monterrey metropolitan area and almost all the State of Nuevo León are adrift in a sea of drug cartel violence.

However, this tragedy did not occur overnight.

For over 15 years, the capital of Nuevo Leon was the choice for drug lords to live with their families, principally in the quiet and comfortable suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia, "the safest city in Mexico".

In the old days, executions occurred in the rural areas of Nuevo León and the bodies were found on remote roads and empty areas.

But since 2000, rival organized crime gangs have escalated their wars against each other, with the violence now occurring in broad daylight and engulfing the city and its population.

Monterrey now lives in a state of permanent terror and anxiety, something unheard of in the industrial capital of Mexico.

Chases, shootings, kidnappings, grenade attacks, extortions and roadway blockades are now a part of everyday urban life.

In recent weeks, the drug cartels have increasingly challenged the authorities. This past week, Edelmiro Cavazos, the mayor of Santiago, a tourist town 30 miles southeast of Monterrey was abducted and executed by gunmen and members of his own police force.

It is the first time that the drug cartels murder a mayor in office in Nuevo Leon.

The current bloody wave of violence is linked to the dispute being waged on the border between the rival Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, for control of drug trafficking routes into the U.S and the increasingly lucrative domestic drug consumption market and extortion rackets in Monterrey.

And now the presence of the ruthless “La Familia Michoacana” in the Monterrey area threatens to topple Nuevo Leon into a “failed state” status where the rule of law is only an illusion and its economic and financial power becomes a mere memory.

Last Friday, the Mexican army captured a La Familia armed group in a farm near Santiago, and also seized an arsenal. This group is being investigated in the abduction and murder of the mayor of Santiago.

Besides drug trafficking La Familia specializes in kidnapping for ransom in areas it has infiltrated, which is not good news for Monterrey’s wealthy citizens.

La Familia Michoacana and the Sinaloa Cartel formed an alliance of convenience, known as the Nueva Federacion, earlier this year with the Gulf Cartel in their bid to oust Los Zetas from control of drug trafficking on the Mexico-Texas border and in Nuevo Leon.

If this alliance is successful it may only be a matter of time before they turn on each other for sole control of the spoils of victory.

This cartel war has made 2010 the most violent year in the modern history of Nuevo León.

Nuevo Leon’s Forensic Medical Service has already recorded 420 executions linked to organized crime in 2010, a record that already doubled in just eight months the total number of homicides recorded in 2009.

It was in 2006 that organized crime began to exert its power more harshly and became more visible in Monterrey.

Gubernatorial elections were held in July of 2003 for a six year term and none of the candidates campaigned on the issue of security, but the situation changed dramatically after 2006.

The year began ominously for Nuevo Leon when on February 13, 2006, the chiefs of police of San Pedro Garza Garcia and Sabinas Hidalgo, a town 100 kilometers north of Monterrey on the highway to Nuevo Laredo, were murdered almost simultaneously.

Then on the night of September 5, 2006, Marcelo Garza y Garza, the highly regarded head of the Nuevo León State Investigation Agency (AEI) was executed outside of a cultural center in San Pedro Garza Garcia.

Garza's execution was a milestone because it carried a clear warning to the then Governor of Nuevo León, Natividad Gonzalez Paras, from the drug cartels..

A year before his death, on August 16, 2005, Garza and the AEI’s anti-kidnapping group captured 14 members of a criminal cell led by Jose Luis Carrizales Coronado, "El Tubi", an important Sinaloa Cartel assassin.

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Attacks confirmed on 3 buses between Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon

At 5:00 am on Saturday, April 23rd, on a stretch of highway near Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, two public service passenger buses, reported damages from gunfire projectiles, a third bus attack on the same date, has also been confirmed.

VICTORIA. - The government of Tamaulipas confirmed an attack on a total of three autobuses on the Victoria-Monterrey highway around the 82+400km in the city of Hidalgo, on the border of Nuevo Leon, which left three passengers injured.

According to a statement released by the State Attorney General’s office (PGJE), at 5:00 in the morning on that stretch of highway two public service passenger buses, reported damage received by firearm projectiles.

“In one of the autobuses, bound for the city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, traveled Imelda Coronado Benitez, 39 yrs old; and in the other bound for Nuevo Laredo, traveled Jose de Jesus Espinoza de Leon.”

"Both received injuries from the projectiles and were transferred immediately to the Civil Hospital of Victoria City to receive medical attention.

The first (Benitez) is out of danger, while the second (Espinoza de Leon) is in intensive care for assessment,” the statement explains.

The same source from the Federal Transit Police also acknowledged another bus bound for Monterrey in which Alejandra Lugo Smith, who resides in Linares, Nuevo Leon, was injured.

“The injured person was transferred by the Red Cross to the hospital of the Mexican Institute of National Health (IMSS) in the same city (Victoria), where she received medical attention and is out of the danger,” the statement explains.

At this time, Espinoza de Leon remains in critical condition, and the motive behind the attacks remains unclear. The state authorities have not announced any suspects but have condemned the attacks and are making plans to increase state and federal police presence in the city of Hidalgo.

“The Government of the State of Tamaulipas strongly condemns these acts of violence against innocent people, and will assume a rigorous investigation to clearly identify those responsible.”

Hidalgo, Tamaulipas residents by telephone, stated that the city has survived months of living in the shadows due to the presence of hitmen, for the last six months, at least, who have carried out shootings in every corner of the city.

Source: El Manana, Milenio

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Army Captures 9 Suspected Gunmen in Nuevo Leon

Army troops captured nine suspected Los Zetas cartel gunmen in Vallecillos, a city in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, where 21 hired guns died over the weekend, the Defense Secretariat said.

The suspects were paraded before reporters Monday at the Nuevo Leon State Investigations Agency, or AEI, headquarters in Monterrey, the state capital.

The gunmen were captured on Sunday near the town of San Carlos, the secretariat said.

The Department of Defense identified El Chabelo as the alleged leader of a zeta cell , organized in drug sales in the municipality of Sabinas Hidalgo, Vallecillos Agualeguas and Paras, and part of the state of Coahuila. Garza was arrested in an operation involving military, Federal Police and Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones (Investigation Department).

The suspects belonged to the Los Zetas cell led by Marco Garza de Leon, who was arrested over the weekend, the secretariat said.

A total of 21 gunmen were killed in Vallecillos over the weekend, including three on Friday, nine on Saturday and nine on Sunday.

Garza de Leon, the suspected Los Zetas boss in several cities in Nuevo Leon, and three associates were captured by army troops on Friday in Vallecillos.

Army troops, marines and Federal Police officers moved into the area after Garza de Leon’s arrest to deal with Los Zetas, which had a training camp in Vallecillos, located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Monterrey.

Garza de Leon was detained in a joint operation staged by the army, the Federal Police and the AEI in Vallecillo.

He was in charge of drug sales for Los Zetas in four rural cities in northern Nuevo Leon, where he also staged kidnappings, ran extortion rackets and smuggled drugs, officials said.

Nuevo Leon has been battered by a wave of drug-related violence since March 2010, when three rival cartels reportedly went to war with Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent criminal organization.

Los Zetas has been battling an alliance of the Gulf, Sinaloa and La Familia drug cartels, known as the Nueva Federacion, for control of the Monterrey metropolitan area and smuggling routes into the United States.

The most brutal incident in the turf war occurred on Aug. 25, when suspected Zetas gunmen set fire to Monterrey’s Casino Royale, killing at least 52 gamblers and employees trapped inside, most of whom died of smoke inhalation.

Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel.

After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas, considered Mexico’s most violent criminal organization, went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories.

Source: EFE

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Three More US Citizens Go Missing Near Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

The border city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, is again on the international spotlight after a mother and her two children, all US citizens, went missing while driving through a rural highway.

Investigators say that the family was in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, visiting family. When they drove back to Laredo, Texas on Sunday, they disappeared on the highway leading to Nuevo Laredo. The woman was driving a yellow 2014 Chevrolet Sonic with Texas license plates. Authorities confirmed that the vehicle never made it across the US-Mexico border.

According to official figures, over 20 people have gone missing this year while driving from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey. Other figures from civil organizations say that the number could be up to 50, with 15 of them occurring this past May.

At least 6 US citizens have gone missing in or near Nuevo Laredo this year, making it one of the most dangerous places for US citizens on Mexican soil.

In this most recent case, the Nuevo León Attorney General's Office issued a search report for the disappearance of Gladys Cristina Pérez Sánchez, 39, and her children Juan Carlos González, 16, and Michelle Cristina Durán, 9, respectively.

Borderland Beat Analysis

This case brings Nuevo Laredo back to spotlight, especially given the fact that several US citizens have gone missing in the area this year.

In mid-March, three women from Laredo, Texas, disappeared after crossing to Nuevo Laredo for a doctor's appointment. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believes they were kidnapped.

The following month, a man from Arkansas, disappeared near Nuevo Laredo after visiting his girlfriend in Monterrey. His whereabouts are also unknown.

In late May, two more US citizens from Houston, Texas, disappeared after they crossed the border into Nuevo Laredo. They were heading to San Luis Potosi to visit a sick relative. They never made it to their destination.

Full route the family intended to take from Sabinas Hidalgo (B) to Laredo (A). Authorities advise that drivers avoid driving in this part of Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas at night.

Nuevo Laredo is under the control of the Northeast Cartel (Cartel del Noreste, CDN), a splintered group of the old Zetas cartel. It is rival to the Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo, CDG), based east of Nuevo Laredo all the way to Matamoros.

In the past, the CDN has targeted American drivers in Nuevo Laredo by forcing them to pay money or "cartel tax" (cuota). Most of these incident happened near Luis Donaldo Colosio Avenue, which connects Nuevo Laredo with the federal highway leading to Monterrey.

A source consulted by Borderland Beat confirmed that the cartel has several outlooks posted across the highway that notify other cartel members of potential targets driving through. Borderland Beat published a story with videos showing how the CDN sets up blockades to extort drivers.

It is unknown is the US family of three made it to the Mexican Federal Highway 85D, a toll highway (autopista) that connects Sabinas Hidalgo to Nuevo Laredo. The kidnapping could have occurred on the non-toll (libre) road that connects with the federal highway.

Sources: Info7; Eje Central; El Sol de Mexico; La Silla Rota (1); (2)

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Resident of Dallas, Texas, Among the 57 People Gone Missing in Nuevo Laredo–Monterrey Highway This Year

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat; TY to "Anonymous"

José de Jesús Gómez Córdova went missing on 3 January 2021. His family has not heard from him since he crossed into the Mexican border at Nuevo Laredo.

A man from the Dallas, Texas, area is among the 50 people that have disappeared this year on the highway between Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. 

Jose de Jesus Gomez Cordova, 45, went missing in January while driving from Irving, Texas, to Guadalajara, Jalisco.

Gomez Cordova is originally from Guadalajara but was living in the Dallas area for over 15 years. He was a legal, permanent US resident and made frequent trips to Mexico to visit his relatives.

“My brother spoke with my mother to tell her that he was already in Laredo, Texas, and the next day he would leave for Monterrey, to get to Guadalajara,” Magdalena Lira Córdova, 36, Gómez Córdova’s sister, said in an interview.

“Two days passed, he no longer answered phones, we completely lost contact with him.”

As reported by Borderland Beat, at least 7 US citizens have gone missing in or near Nuevo Laredo this year, making it one of the most dangerous places for US citizens on Mexican soil.

However, the US embassy has not issued a statement yet on this specific matter. Following the recent killing spree in Reynosa and the travel alert issued by the incumbent Nuevo Leon governor, the movement of US personnel in this area was greatly reduced.

Borderland Beat Analysis

There are two ways to go from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey. The most common and quickest route is to take the Federal Highway 85D, a toll highway (autopista).

The other is to take the Federal Highway 85, a non-toll (libre) route that runs parallel to the other. Unlike the 85D, this freeway goes through several towns and rural communities and is about 30 minutes slower.

Sources consulted by Borderland Beat say that most of those missing have lost contact with their families in or around Kilometer 26 of the highway 85D. This point of the highway is where the toll booth (garita) ends when driving from Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo. This portion of the highway is part of the state of Tamaulipas.

The area shown in orange is where most of the people in this highway have gone missing. The media calls the Nuevo Laredo - Monterrey highway the "Highway of Death" (La carretera de la muerte). This portion of the highway on Kilometer 26 is being dubbed "The Death Stretch" (El tramo de la muerte). 

The cartel has several lookouts posted across the highway that notify other cartel members of potential targets driving through. Kilometer 26 has several abandoned warehouses (bodegas) where lookouts may hide to target drivers.

Cartel members generally target drivers driving SUVs or pick-up trucks (with four doors). These vehicles have a lot of places to tuck contraband away, and are efficient for rugged terrain should they go off-road. 

Nuevo Laredo is under the control of the Northeast Cartel (Cartel del Noreste, CDN), a splintered group of the old Zetas cartel. It is rival to the Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo, CDG), based east of Nuevo Laredo all the way to Matamoros.

US Citizens Missing

In mid-March, three women from Laredo, Texas, disappeared after crossing to Nuevo Laredo for a doctor's appointment. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believes they were kidnapped.

The following month, a man from Arkansas, disappeared near Nuevo Laredo after visiting his girlfriend in Monterrey. His whereabouts are also unknown.

In late May, two more US citizens from Houston, Texas, disappeared after they crossed the border into Nuevo Laredo. They were heading to San Luis Potosi to visit a sick relative. They never made it to their destination.

In mid-June, three more US citizens that were visiting their relatives in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, went missing when they drove back to the US via Nuevo Laredo. 

Sources: Dallas News; Borderland Beat Analysis & Archives

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Seven Abducted from Hotels in Northern Mexico

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon – At least seven people, one of them a U.S. citizen, were kidnapped Wednesday by dozens of gunmen who targeted two hotels in downtown Monterrey, the capital of Mexico’s Nuevo Leon state, a police spokesman said.

Between 10 and 12 SUVs arrived at the hotels, carrying the gunmen involved in the kidnappings, a Nuevo Leon State Investigations Agency, or AEI, spokesman told Efe.

The Holiday Inn and Mision hotels, located on Hidalgo and Garibaldi streets in downtown Monterrey, were stormed by nearly 50 gunmen who overpowered the security guards and then searched the rooms, abducting at least six men and an American woman.

The gunmen carried out the kidnappings at around 3:00 a.m., blocking several streets with large trucks so army patrols could not reach the hotels.

“They took several (people), they were armed, you could hear banging and screams,” a guest told Mexican media.

Investigators are gathering information and have still not identified the kidnapping victims, Nuevo Leon Attorney General’s Office spokesman Mario Perez told reporters.

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April 12th Mayhem in Monterrey: Grenade attack on Guadalupe city hall

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A grenade was detonated near Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon city hall, and only a few meters from a school Wednesday, according to Mexican news accounts.

The attack took place near the intersection of calles Hidalgo and Zaragoza in Zona Centro. No one was reported hurt and damage was limited to broken glass in the José Eleuterio Gonzalez school, three residences  and parked vehicles in the area.

Guadalupe suffered a violent incident the day before when a total of eight taxi drivers were shot to death by armed suspects near Cerro de Silla.

In related news, Mexican security forces in and around Monterrey have conducted several counternarcotics operations which killed two suspects and resulted in the detention of dozens more suspects.

• Operatives with the Nuevo Leon Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones (AEI) raided a safe house in Juarez, Nuevo Leon Wednesday killing two armed suspects and detaining nine.  Agents were dispatched to the location near the intersection of calles Getafe and Barcelona in Praderas de San Juan colony based on a tip concerning illegal activity when they were met with gunfire.  Return gunfire  by police agents killed two armed suspects.  A third armed suspect surrendered.
• An hour later the same operatives with the Nuevo Leon Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones (AEI) raided a second safe house in Juarez, detaining 12 suspects. The raid took place near the intersection of calle Mina Grande and San Miguel in Urbi Villa colony, where police agents seized a stolen vehicle.  Reports are Nuevo Leon state police agents and Mexican Army units are scouring around Juarez in search of mass graves, colloquially known as narcofosas.
• A Mexican Army road patrol detained four armed suspects in a traffic stop in China, Nuevo Leon Wednesday.  The patrol found several rifles aboard the vehicle soldiers searched.  Detained were Juan Sanchez Garcia, AKA El Tuercas, 19,  Jorge Alberto Treviño Perez, AKA La Marrana, 18, José Eduardo Castillo Rodriguez AKA El Núñez, 25 and Juan Carlos Hernandez Cabello. AKA El Pelón 19.
• Also in China, two armed suspects were detained in China in an apparent traffic stop in Rafael Buelna colony, who were travelling aboard a vehicle which had been reported as stolen.  A search of the vehicle turned up military uniforms and quantities of drugs. The detainees were identified as José Manuel García, AKA El Pelon, 22 and  Omar Cantu Martinez, 24.
• Five armed suspects were detained following an exchange of gunfire with Mexican security forces in Monterrey Wednesday.  Elements of the Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones (AEI) and Mexican Army had been conducting an operation on Avenida Pablo A. de la Garza in the Moderna colony when the police came under small arms fire.  Return fire provided by Mexican Army elements ended the battle.  The detainees were identified as Guillermo Martinez Velasco, Juan José Martinez Ayala, Noe de la Cruz, Luis Manuel Martinez and on unidentified minor.
• An unidentified man was found tortured and shot to death in Santiago, 20 kilomters south of Monterrey Wednesday.  The victim was found near Zona Comerical Los Cabazos hands bound, about 100 meters from the National Highway.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com

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Two More US Citizens Go Missing in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

These two US citizens are residents of Houston, Texas

Two brothers who were traveling from Houston, Texas, to San Luis Potosí to visit their father disappeared Sunday after crossing the international border crossing in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.

Upon losing contact with them, relatives tracked their cell phones and located them in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, but neither they nor their vehicle, a white Silverado 1500 pickup truck with Texas license plates, have been located. The Attorney General's Office has already issued a search alert.

Authorities presume that the brothers, identified as Víctor and Luis Felipe Aguayo Osorio, aged 48 and 28, respectively, disappeared in Tamaulipas. A police source mentioned that the men were traveling from Houston, Texas, to Villa Ramos, in San Luis Potosí, because their father was ill.

The source explained that at 1:45 a.m. of Sunday, May 16, Luis and Víctor contacted their relatives to let them know that they had just crossed the border bridge of Nuevo Laredo. Near dawn, the source said, the relatives tried to contact them to let them know that their father had already died, but neither Luis or Víctor responded to the call.

The family continued to send text messages and calls, but after failing to get a response, they tracked their cell phones. The GPS of the phones revealed a location near a ranch in Sabinas Hidalgo. However, the authorities presume that the disappearance occurred in Tamaulipas, where similar events have been reported in recent months.

They said that Luis has the words "Aguayo" and "Violeta" tattooed on his right arm, and Victor lacks incisor teeth.

Borderland Beat Analysis

This case brings Nuevo Laredo back to spotlight, especially given the fact that several US citizens have gone missing in the area this year.

In mid-March, three women from Laredo, Texas, disappeared after crossing to Nuevo Laredo for a doctor's appointment. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believes they were kidnapped.

The following month, a man from Arkansas, disappeared near Nuevo Laredo after visiting his girlfriend in Monterrey. His whereabouts are also unknown.

Nuevo Laredo is under the control of the Northeast Cartel (Cartel del Noreste, CDN), a splintered group of the old Zetas cartel. It is rival to the Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo, CDG), based east of Nuevo Laredo all the way to Matamoros.

Full route the brothers intended to take from Houston (A) to Nuevo Laredo (B) to San Luis Potosi (C), assuming they took the toll road south of Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey. In Nuevo Laredo, drivers have to drive for about 20 minutes south before reaching the toll booth. Authorities advise that drivers avoid driving in that part of the highway before the toll road at night.

In the past, the CDN has targeted American drivers in Nuevo Laredo by forcing them to pay money or "cartel tax" (cuota). Most of these incident happened near Luis Donaldo Colosio Avenue, which connects Nuevo Laredo with the federal highway leading to Monterrey.

A source consulted by Borderland Beat confirmed that the cartel has several outlooks posted across the highway that notify other cartel members of potential targets driving through. Borderland Beat published a story with videos showing how the CDN sets up blockades to extort drivers.

It is unknown if the brothers took the Mexican Federal Highway 85D, a toll highway (autopista) that connects Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey before leading to other highways that branch off to San Luis Potosi.

There is another route the brothers could have taken that is far more dangerous: the freeway (libre) roads from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey. Libre roads are usually two-lane roads and tend to be much older and less sophisticated than toll highways. Since libre roads generally connect to more towns and villages, there is more cartel activity in these roads.

Toll roads in Mexico are generally considered safer than non-toll ones.

Sources: El Norte; Epocaviolenta; Borderland Beat Archives

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Leader of Loz Zetas in Nuevo Leon Captured

Translated for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana article by Otis B Fly-Wheel
Captured in Neuvo Leon, regional bosses of Los Zetas

During the weekend, Federal forces headed by the Marina captured five presumed criminals of Los Zetas cartel in two different actions in the state of Nuevo Leon

The National Commissioner for security, Monte Alejandro Rubido, informed that the first operation was carried out in the Municipality of San Pedro Garza Garcia, where they captured Daniel Menera Sierra, 33 years of age originally from Tiqucheo, Michoacán.

 This action was followed by a timely follow up to the arrests made by Federal forces on March 4th also in Nuevo Leon with which they obtained new lines of investigation towards the criminal group that operated in the state of Coahuila.

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Zeta Boss arrested-responsible for deadly August 21st attack on GATE elements

Chivis Martinez for Borderland Beat 

An alleged leader of Los Zetas with influence in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, was captured in Nuevo Laredo by elements of different federal security institutions, the National Public Safety Commission reported.

Nuevo Laredo borders with Laredo, Texas and is the most important Zetas plaza, or gateway city for the trafficking of drugs.

Mario Alberto Arce Moreno,  is credited as being the architect  of the attack Coahuila's GroupSpecial Weapons and Tactics (GATE),  that occurred in the town of Hidalgo on 21 August which resulted in the deaths of 4 (official count) with 3 gunmen and 1 GATE element.  Other reports state there was a much higher death count in the balance of GATES elements than what was officially reported. 

The pursuit began in Hidalgo, Coahuila and ended in Nuevo Laredo. In Nuevo Laredo the gunfight audio was captured on video, follow the link above to hear the intense conflict.

According to information disclosed, Arce' work in the criminal organization was to intimidate and threatened municipal heads into not supporting federal forces.

Similarly, the official report states that the cell led by the now arrested man, had threatened the mayor of Hidalgo, Coahuila, demanding removal of any operational action Group Special Weapons and Tactics (GATE).

Arce is attributed with the trafficking of migrants in the NE section of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon.

Following intelligence work,  the Federal Police, determined the  whereabouts of Arce to be in a Nuevo Laredo home which was placed under surveillance.

With the information gathered, a special operations group of the Federal Police, an operation was conducted in which he stopped, without firing a shot, and taken into custody.  

The 31 year old Arce is a native of Hidalgo, Coahuila, and who is reported to be one of  the main leaders of Los Zetas in the NE area of the state of Coahuila.  

Arrested along with Arce is; Carballo Lorena Vazquez, 24 years; Aguirre Alejandro Pino, 20; and Fernando Manuel Reta, 18.

Borderland Beat-YahooNews

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Murders of Kombo Kolombia attributed to Los Zetas

El Poderoso Kombo Kolombia was a young band that over the past three years had made their name known around Monterrey, Mexico, and the surrounding state of Nuevo León. Possessing a seemingly endless wardrobe of band t-shirts, proclaiming themselves alternatively as El Vallenato y el Poderoso Kombo Kolombia, or just Kombo Kolombia, the group’s members got their name out.

The execution of 17 members of the musical group "Mighty Kombo Kolombia" happened in the context of escalating violence in that state where the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas are fighting for control of the " neoleonesa plaza."

Seventeen members of the band were kidnapped, driven to an abandoned ranch named "Estacas" located at kilometer 92 of the Monterrey-Monclova highway, approximately 300 meters from the junction to Espinazo..

They were shot. Coup de grace. Their bodies discarded into a well. One of them, luckily, escaped and led authorities back to the horrific scene of the crime.

The attorney general of Nuevo Leon said it was confirmed the identities of the 17 bodies recovered pulled from a water well in a rural area north of Monterrey.

The State Investigation Agency (AEI) reported that the deceased wore jeans and a shirt with the logo, the legendary “El Poderoso Kombo Kolombia” the creators of the best cumbia the planet."
 

The 17 slain musicians are: José Antonio Villarreal Villarreal, 39 ;back up vocalist; Heiner Iván Cuéllar Pérez, 24 años, keyboardist, originario de Colombia; Víctor Ángel Santamaría Cruz, 43 ,  staff;  José Baudelio Santos López, 38 años, saxofonista; Javier Flores Valerio, 29, trompetista;  Édgar Dimas Montes, 31 años, trombón; Francisco Javier Alfaro Hernández, acordeonista. also Saúl Reynoso Sáenz, 30 , second voice; Reyes Alejandro Mendoza Rodríguez, 25 años, staff; Mario Alberto Beltrán Ortega, 24 años, guacharaca; Juan Ignacio Herrera Ortiz, 42 años, staff; Juan Tomás Carrizales Rodríguez,  guitarrista; Ricardo Alfonso Verduzco Sáenz, 27 años, congas; Carlos Alberto Sánchez Aguirre, 37 años,  primera voz. Y José Rodríguez Rostro, timbales, Federico Iván Méndez, trompetista, José Francisco Jiménez Díaz, audio engineer

Funerals took place, musician friends dismissed beloved cumbias choosing to play different pantheons of the suburbs of the state capital.

The families of the musicians demanded justice from the authorities and denied that their relatives were related to a group of organized crime.

Mexican authorities yesterday announced the arrest of a person allegedly linked to the killing of seventeen members of the musical group Kombo Kolombia and attributed the crime to Los Zetas.

The person they detained was not directly involved in the murder of the members of the band, but he allegedly acted as a "lookout" for the criminal organization responsible for the multiple murders.

Jorge Domene Zambrano, spokesman for the northern state of Nuevo Leon, said in a Security Council press conference,

"The main line of investigation is that Los Zetas murdered them,"

The suspect was not identified except as "El Erus" (the spy), but Domene said the suspect worked as an informant for the criminal group, one of the most violent Mexican cartels.

Information provided by the State Investigation Agency (AEI) indicated the reason for slaughter of the Kombo Kolumbia is that they performed in places controlled by the Gulf cartel, a rival of Los Zetas.

Los Zetas is a group that began as an armed wing of the Gulf cartel, but split up in March 2010 with the criminal organization and since then keeps a bloody struggle for control of various regions of Mexico.

Jorge Domene, spokesman for the State Government Security, indicated suspect was arrested by the Highway Patrol after stealing a truck and being involved in a car chase on the road to Monclovia, but he was not directly involved in the actual kidnappings and murders of the musicians.

Photo: Tex

"This person has been declared to be a lookout for the organized crime group, where he was ordered to monitor a certain place without knowing in detail what was going to happen, then after finding out  what had happened. He is not involved, has not participated in the murder of the band," Jorge Domene continued.

"When the informant's job of monitoring the area where the members of Kombo Kolombia were deprived of life, and after Los Zetas concluded the killing, they told him to leave."

The investigation indicates that Jose Isidro Cruz Villarreal, "El Pichilo", alleged leader of Los Zetas in the the municipalities of El Carmen, Hidalgo and Abasolo Mina was who orchestrated the murder of Kombo Kolombia.

Villarreal Cruz  fled from prison last February 19, 2012  in the town of Apodaca, Nuevo Leon, with thirty prisoners, butchering 44 Gulf Cartel inmates as they were leaving. 

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Blame it on the "futbol"

After being paid their wages and celebrating the Tigres victory over Santos Laguna a group of Zeta "sicarios" were captured Friday morning past midnight in the municipality of Hidalgo, located on the northern fringes of the Monterrey metropolitan area.

A total of eighteen men were captured, and one killed, during the joint federal and state operation in Hidalgo, which stradles federal highway 53 on its way to Monclova in northern Coahuila.

According to authorities the head of the Hidalgo plaza, who was only identified by his alias of "el Chicho", had called a gathering of his gunmen at a bar in Hidalgo for payroll and to watch the first match of the Tigres vs Santos Laguna championship futbol series.

Also captured in the operation was a regional Zeta cell coordinator/paymaster, "jefe de estacas", that was also identified only by his alias, "El Sapo".

El Chicho and his gang also controlled the neighboring municipalities of Mina, Absolo and El Carmen.

Hidalgo and El Carmen are two of Nuevo Leon's municipalities that no longer have a standing municipal police force.

Up to 19 of Nuevo Leon's municipalities, especially in rural areas of the state, have had their police forces disappear after federally mandated background checks and anti drug investigations led to the termination or imprisonment of most or all of their officers. Other officers in undermanned police forces have fled or no longer patrol their jurisdictions due to threats of violence.

The operation in Hidalgo unfolded after a Mexican Army patrol observed a group of heavily armed men outside of a bar on Niño Heroes street. The authorities had apparently gone unspotted and were able to surprise the criminals, who surrendered after a brief firefight in which one of the gunmen was killed.

Weapons, grenades, drugs, cell phones and radios were also seized but an exact number was not given.

Earlier in the week a network of "narcomenudistas", or retail drug dealers, was taken down in the municipality of Juarez, a longtime Zeta stronghold located in Monterrey's eastern metropolitan area.

Local retail drug sales are one of several significant sources of money for Los Zetas and the loss of a retail network often results in a short term revenue shortfall in smaller plazas. Narcomenudistas are also prime targets for rival gangster attacks as seen by Los Zetas and Gulf cartel gunmen frequently killing each other's pushers.

According to Sedena, Mexico's Defense Ministry, the drug dealing network was broken up with the arrests of 18 persons, including 2 minors, in separate arrests this past Tuesday. All the suspects admitted to working for Los Zetas.

In the newspaper "El Norte's" coverage of the arrests it was noted that several of the suspects had previous arrest records for the same crime and it was not known how they had obtained their freedom.


sources:
http://www.elnorte.com/seguridad/articulo/664/1326275/
http://www.elnorte.com/seguridad/articulo/663/1325964/
http://notirex.com/2011/12/detienen-a-18-sujetos-en-narco-reunion-en-hidalgo-n-l/
http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/impreso/9063683?quicktabs_1=0

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Capos Captured in 2014

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

The detentions of El Chapo Guzman and Vincente Carrillo Fuentes were big hits against the Sinaloa and Juarez Cartels

City of Mexico:
The maximum security prisons of Altiplano in the state of Mexico, and Puente Grande in Jalisco had new organised crime tenants in 2014

Among the most important captures of the year are Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera, El Chapo, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, and Vincente Carrillo Fuentes, El Viceroy, head of the Juarez cartel.

Other cartels also suffered big hits to their structures, Beltran Leyva, Arellano Felix, Knights Templars, Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Los Rojos, La Familia Michoacana, Los Zetas, CDG, and Guerreros Unidos.

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The Trail of Corruption Behind Mexico Casino Attack

As the Mexican city of Monterrey struggles to recover from the effects of an arson attack on a casino which killed 52 people, corrupt local governance is again emerging as a major part of the story.

By: Patrick Corcoran

In Sight

The clearest sign that the assault on the Casino Royale was linked to local government corruption, as well as to the broader decline in security in Monterrey, is the videotapes in which Manuel Jonas Larrazabal, the brother of mayor Fernando Larrazabal, is seen collecting huge sums of money from a local casino. This has led to speculation that he was involved in an extortion or money laundering scheme thought to have precipitated the attack, and he was detained by state authorities on Friday.

Mayor Larrazabal subsequently distanced himself from his brother’s activities and requested that the state investigate the videotapes. However, the national branch of Larrazabal's PAN party has requested his resignation, a move the mayor has said he is considering.

Despite Mayor Larrazabal’s attempts to separate himself from his brother, and Manuel Jonas’s denials of any wrongdoing -- he says he merely went to collect payment for some products that he sold the owner -- the revelations have touched a nerve in Monterrey, which has suffered a dramatic decline in security since the beginning of 2010. One of the wealthiest cities in the country, and once one of the safest, Monterrey has seen its murder rate soar as Zetas and the Gulf Cartel fight for control of the region.

The potential links between government corruption and the Casino Royale massacre go beyond the mayor’s family. Investigations also resulted in the arrest of a state police officer, who is accused of having served as a lookout while the attackers set the casino ablaze. Nuevo Leon officials said that further arrests of police personnel were likely as the investigation continues.

Such collaboration between local police and criminal groups is not a recent phenomenon in Monterrey, though the rise in violence has increased concern about the issue. In diplomatic cable from March 2009, released by WikiLeaks, the U.S. consul general in the city warned Washington that half of the state and local police in Nuevo Leon were corrupt. Another WikiLeaks cable revealed that a former mayor of Monterrey and his counterpart in the wealthy suburb of San Pedro Garza Garcia were also suspected of receiving payments from casinos.

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Mexican Marines Kill 8 Zetas in Shootout

Bustamante, Nuevo Leon - Eight gunmen were killed and several others wounded in a shootout with Mexican marines at a ranch in the northern state of Nuevo Leon, a military spokesman said Monday.

The shootout started Sunday afternoon when marines arrived aboard helicopters and in vehicles at a ranch near the town of Bustamante that served as a training facility for Los Zetas, a gang of army deserters turned criminals, a navy officer said.

The marines found nearly 80 gunmen who had gathered to prepare and launch an offensive against the gang’s rivals in the ongoing war for control of the drug trade in northern Mexico, the officer said.

The Zetas opened fire on the helicopters, drawing return fire from the marines, who killed several of the gunmen, the military spokesman said.

The gunmen fled from the ranch in several vehicles, heading in different directions and avoiding capture despite a land and air search that did not end until early Monday.

The marines suffered no casualties, the military spokesman said.

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Kombo Kolombia: Possible Link to Zetas, CDG Accused of the Killings

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

The video below for Reporte Indigo, was released yesterday.  The video is in Spanish so I have pulled facts from the video to create an overview in English.  If you are English only I would recommend you view the video anyway as it contains an influx of video and still footage.

The second video is an interview by  María Julia Fountain in Milenio Radio,  of Maria Cristina Saenz Villanueva, mother of Saul Reynoso Saenz, whose body was identified yesterday.  Anguish is detected in her voice as she describes her loss, her son, and her dismay of her treatment by authorities. 

Note that this interview was before the body of her son was identified so hope remained in her heart that he was not with the group and still alive.  He was identified yesterday as one of the bodies.  He was 30 years old

Reporte Indigo:

Authorities of Nuevo Leon have investigated as a probable motive of the kidnapping and execution of the members of the group Kombo Kolombia, a possible connection with drug trafficking.  While the cartel CDG, aka Cartel del Gulfo is suspected of the mass killing.

One of the lines of investigation of the PGJE is pointing to a possible connection to the cartel known as Los Zetas.

Sources claim the disappearance of the 16 musicians and 4 helpers could be part of the war between the zetas and the CDG in Nuevo Leon, but the mass execution mainly subscribe to  the dispute that these two drug cartels maintain for the route of the road 'Monterrey – Monclova' that connect the states of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila.

The bodies that have been taken out one by one were found half naked, and presented signs of torture and coup de grace in the head. Authorities surmise they were executed by their kidnappers shortly after being taken. (the witness reported they were beaten, shot and thrown into the well by 2s)

The band is said to have played at Topo Chico penitentiary, arranged by Zetas

The Governor Rodrigo Medina revealed that the that the bodies found, 17 as of today, belong to the musicians. (there are rumors that the well was possibly used for disposing victims of other killings) 

Kombo Kolombia performed live in dance halls and night clubs found in Monterrey and the metropolitan area that form part of the drug distribution net of the zetas. Among these places,  stand out night clubs as El Sabino Gordo, Internacional and Dorado Saloon, have been the location of previous  attacks by hit men of the Gulf Cartel, as the locations are considered as a financial net of the zetas.

A high caliber  official  reports that the zetas in Monterrey supported the musicians by booking them performances and gained  contracts with the bars that paid protection fees to the  criminal group

Also being investigated are the performances  of Kombo Kolombia in private parties that members of the zetas organize in Monterrey and even performances in the penitentiary of Topo Chico in Monterrey.

Most of the members of the kombo Kolombia are inhabitants of the colonia Independencia, home of the movement of Colombian music or ‘Vallenato’ in Monterrey, but it is also a neighborhood where drug trafficking has put down roots and has become a source of hit men of organized crime, mainly for the zetas cartel.

The death of the members of the Kombo Kolombia adds to the number of murders of other musicians and singers that have been executed for possible nexus with organized crime in Mexico.

On this list are “Sergio Vega”, “el shaka”, and “Sergio Gomez”, of the band Kpaz de la Sierra.

Last year in Nuevo Leon, 5 members of the rap group Mente in Blanco were executed in the municipality of San Nicolas by hit men linked to CDG, today is the turn of the musicians of Kombo Kolombia.

“My son has fear, he said that this was his last gig”

Mother of Saul Piña Reynoso Saenz (Maria Cristina Saenz Villanueva) via telephone:

Question: Did your son told you about who had hired them for the performance last Thursday on the municipality of Hidalgo on the bar la Carreta?

The boss of the group with alias Vallenato, was who received the call and was arranged to meet at one place,  but then they were taken to this place, La Carreta. I went to that place and saw the things, the instruments, the trucks were with the doors wide open, the truck/bus that carried the instruments was also there, open. It was painful to see the place.

I am tired of this situation; I have lost faith; I don’t know what to do, my son was a good person, he wasn’t involved in anything bad.

Question: Had your son tell you about any problem or threat that they had received or that he wanted to retire from the music world?....... -continues on next page-

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