El Mayo Gave up Macho Prieto

Borderland Beat by Chivis

 

The leaders of the Sinaloa cartel gave the Green light for the execution of   Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza. Inzunza  already an embarrassment,  could no longer be controlled, the last straw came when he, in order to expand his business, was executing other members of the same cartel.

What transpired: On December 12, 2010 in Sonoyta-Puerto Peñasco, El Macho Prieto had murdered Payón Paulo Osorio, “El Pablo”.   El Pablo was a close friend and ally to Manuel Torres Felix, aka “El Ondeado” or “M1”, a leader of the Sinaloa.   M1 gave the order to kill Izunza.

Aware of the plan, El Macho Prieto began buying heavy artillery from the United States to face M1, but  M1 was killed in October 2012 in a clash with members of the Ministry of National Defense.

With the ground clear, El Macho Prieto returned to his base of criminal operations in Puerto Peñasco, where he continued invading territories of other criminal cells and killing members of his own group in a method of controlling criminals

In a move  to eliminate him, his criminal organization gave up his location to the authorities, it was that information that resulted in the December 18th  shootout in Puerto Peñasco, where according to witness reports, the bloody corpse of the criminal leader was picked up by his men before fleeing the scene. Below is an RioDoce article translated into English and sourced by a Zeta Magazine article.
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Inside the criminal circles of the Sinaloa cartel, Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza´s head had a price.  Working under direct orders of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, Inzunza was blamed for killing “people of his same company”, and denying it afterwards. Federal Agents got to the mix;

Conclusion: Claiming he was too disobedient, the leaders of the cartel gave the order for his execution on the first days of December.

The execution was planned with the Government ending the life of “Macho Prieto”. The government was provided with his whereabouts, to facilitate the government in a capture or kill plan.

That plan was inacted on December 18th, which resulted in a chase and shootout lasing two hours in a luxury area of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora. The aftermath was five dead bodies. After the shootout, they recognized that one of those dead was “El Macho Prieto”, but neither PGR nor the National Security Council confirmed the identities of the dead bodies



As a matter of fact, at ZETA´s press time, only Manuel Mondragon, national commissioner, talked about the shootout in Sonora. On December 19th he told the press that Inzunza´s men stole his body from the crime scene –Although he was unsure if in fact the body was taken,  he stated DNA tests were being conducted on the blood left at the scene to make sure it was Inzunza Inzunza.

According to his version, only four bodies were recovered by the authorities because the fifth was stolen. However, ZETA consulted  with the mortuary agency in Puerto Peñasco, they stated the bodies were picked up on December 18th at 6 PM and they remain under military custody ever since.

Once again, the Federal Government´s policy of not informing is creating doubts around those dead in the shootout between the Federal forces and the alleged criminals led by Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza.

For Inzunza, the problems inside the Sinaloa cartel began three years ago- this according to intelligence reports inside Baja California´s State Security Council- “Macho Prieto” lived in Tijuana at least from February to June of that year (2010), hiding from hitmen of the same cartel he worked for.

His relocation took place after the death of Paulo Osorio Payon aka “El Pablo” on December 12th, 2010, precisely on the Sonoyta-Puerto Peñasco highway. “El Macho” either killed or ordered the execution of Osorio Payon; “this led to an order for his execution given by Jose Manuel Torres Felix aka “El Ondeado” (see foto above), criminal leader for the Sinaloa cartel and in-law of “El Mayo”.

At the time, several criminal groups arrested in Sonora by the army in possession of arsenals, told authorities Inzunza was buying a lot of weapons from the  US in order to fight Torres Felix, who was killed on October, 2012 in a shootout with members of the National Defense Secretariat. Around those days, “El Macho” returned to the Mexicali valley and then transferred himself to Peñasco, his criminal operations base.

He kept invading areas from other criminal cells and executing his criminal partners in order to take charge; that´s why the second order for his execution was given the first week of December, 2013.

Hell at the port

The night of December 18th, the near 50 thousand inhabitants of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, slept in doubiety. The fear was for the possibility of another shootout, just like the one just hours before in an area known as Las Palomas, a condo complex at beach front. That morning, a military operation, commanded by a Special Team of the Navy Ministry arrived at the area. They were being backed up by a pair of helicopters and sealed the whole area.

According to several versions –all of them unofficial- a chase erupted, the military received help from two helicopters, they even used grenades to try to stop a pickup truck which finally ended completely burned in front of a small roundabout located at the exit of the condo complex. Two dead men laid dead there, both of them of heavy build, executed. One was close to the pickup truck, the other near the sidewalk.

At the same time, another shootout erupted at the entrance of the complex, there laid another of the hitmen facing upwards, in the middle of the median road, with a AK-47 on his side, loaded with a round magazine.

More bullets were shot in the hallway between the vacation buildings, there are even signs of the shootout in one of the condo´s facades, the luxurious apartment was left full of blood. In total –according to witness reports- there were five casualties. The other two bodies remained on the floor, without official custody, not even the yellow tape used to define the crime scene.

For hours, residents of Peñasco drove thru the roundabout, with their cameras, cell phones, anything that could record the scene, then fleeing the scene afterwards. Those people uploaded to social networks pictures of the shootout´s aftermath.

That Wednesday, school activities were suspended by authorities, the holyday celebrations and all public acts were suspended too in this port of Sonora, known for its spectacular landscape and calm waters in the Cortez Sea. ...continues

Up until press time, no federal authority had given official information, social networks are filled with  pictures, videos and comments about what happened in Puerto Peñasco that morning. 

The only official versions were given by Peñasco´s mayor and Sonora´s State Attorney General via Twitter. The last was given by Mondragon. 

The mayor, Gerardo Figueroa Zazueta(PRI), was quick to  say “Puerto Peñasco is quiet right now…”, inviting citizens to continue with their daily activities. Meanwhile, State Attorney General Carlos Navarro only confirmed the 4 deaths and the shootout that erupted when federal agents chased the alleged criminals, and the Navy personnel arrived to bring help. We don´t feel scared, we feel discouraged” said a resident of Peñasco in regards to what all the bad press will mean to the residents of the area.

Hours of fear

Since mid-afternoon, on December 17th, incertitude began building up in that area of Sonora, at about 3 PM a shootout erupted in the outskirts of Sonoyta, in an area known as “Papagos” neighborhood. A man nicknamed “El Cholo” died there, after an alleged Federal operation.

The shootout in Puerto Peñasco took place hours later, a place heavily visited by regional tourists and home for hundreds of American retirees.

The area of Las Palomas in an exclusive complex – mostly occupied by wealthy Americans- but has been used as refuge for narco traffickers operating in the Sinaloa-Sonora-Baja California corridor. Inzunza Inzunza was one of those and according to local police, his presence had already caused several clashes.

Just two years ago, members of the Mexican Army seized a real arsenal, including grenade launchers and high caliber rifles, it was officially reported it belonged to members of the Sinaloa cartel. One and a half years ago ran the version of “Macho Prieto” getting out of Peñasco fleeing from an approaching convoy of cars full of hitmen on their way to kill him.

“Macho Prieto” is considered by authorities as one of the Sinaloa cartel´s main leaders in the area–along with Luis Fernando Castro Villa and/or Cenobio Flores Pacho aka “El Checo” aka “El 6” and/or “El Oaxaco”- he was also considered at some time as security boss for Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in Sinaloa.

His record mention he was an extremely violent person, about 80 murders are attributed to him. The U.S. Government listed him as a major drug dealer in 2011. At press time, the United States Government´s representatives in Tijuana had not confirmed his death.

San Luis, Mexicali, The Valley

Baja California´s State Security Council identifies Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza as the main executioner for the Sinaloa cartel in the area. They identify him on the same criminal command level as Cenobio Flores Pacheco aka “El Checo”, Sergio Campos Salcido and another leader only known as “Tony”.

Local authorities blame on him the violence generated in the last year between San Luis, the valley and Mexicali, this as a result of his internal fights with the cell leaders of the group known as “Los Garibay”, the following are some of the murders attributed to him:

On October 2011, real estate agent Martha Fernandez Maldonado was executed in Mexicali, one of the investigation versions mentions she was killed as a vengeance from some drug dealers after several homes rented from her were raided by the Army. A former member of the Army´s GAFE (Airmobile Special Forces Group) was arrested after her murder by local police; his last name was Parra Camargo, his brother being a Ministerial Police agent in Mexicali, and according to local intelligence areas, close friend and bodyguard of “Macho Prieto”.

On January, 2012, Jesus Daniel Samaniego, member of the Mexicali municipal police was shot on broad daylight just outside the main campus of Baja California´s Autonomous University, Unofficial reports mention the officer was executed in retaliation for stealing drugs from a group of narco traffickers under the leadership of Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza.

After this, a former member of the same corporation was executed, David Yahuaca Tamayo was under investigation for Samaniego´s murder.

The investigation concluded the same weapon was used for the Agents murder as well as the real estate agent.

It was known thereafter that this wave of murders was related to the operations in Mexicali of the Sinaloa cartel, specifically, the group led by Gonzalo Inzunza.

According to authorities data, Inzunza has a well-established criminal network that allows him to smuggle drugs into the US using three routes: Venezuela, Honduras, Costa Rica, Sinaloa; Chiapas, Acapulco, Mexico City, Jalisco and from there to the US; and the final route, from Sinaloa to Sonora, Mexicali, Tijuana, and finally, The US.

His criminal associates are identified as: Abraham Inzunza Inzunza aka “El Peque”, Ismael Bernal aka “El Mongolo”, “Mando”, “Bart”, “Isaac el Chichi” and Jorge Avalos Meza aka “Yucateco”.

Since September 26th, 2011, PGR offers a three million Mexican Pesos (roughly 230000 USD) reward for Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza aka “El Macho Prieto”.

Riodoce and Zeta Magazine

Siskiyou posted the following story from el Universal shortly before the story above broke.:

El Macho Prieto had a "shadow"

About 15 days before the shooting at the Sonoran port, a federal agent infiltrated the Bella Sirena, set to become the shadow of Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza, 'El Macho Prieto'; spying on him day and night.

The mysterious federal agent rented a villa, as part of the strategy to arrest the alleged offender, chief of assassins of Ishmael 'Mayo' Zambada.

Stuck in the mouth of the Wolf, agent almost didn't sleep, did not use the beds and sometimes walked the hallways, with apparent sleeplessness, they count in the villas.

People didn't pay attention to him and the staff looked at his "eccentricities" as rare behaviors of someone who "came to relax, to put aside the stress", he narrates.

Their blankets were behind the door, he slept in the open or behind a glass door, where everything could be seen.

His reports were key in the operation on December 18. The action began about 4:25 hours, a special group who "invaded" the Bella Sirena.

The shooting began immediately; the response of El Macho Prieto's bodyguards was so violent that the element of surprise was lost so the intervention of two American manufactured Black Hawk helicopters was require, whose .50 caliber weapons wreaked havoc on the cars of the assassins. Two aircraft gunships  also participated.

Inside the rooms the battle lasted a long time, at least two hours; afterwards reinforcements of the " El Macho Prieto" began arriving, and federal forces tried to stop them from reaching the Bella Sirena.

Two cars blocked the entrance so more cars with "El Macho Prieto's" reinforcements couldn't enter.

The battle occurred in the Villa 8, which was destroyed, where it is presumed that Izunza, who established his residence in this port, constantly changing living addresses.

But the operation was not there; some suspects tried to flee and a persute began; the vehicle overturned.

The balance: five dead, among them Inzunza, although his body disappeared, but the federal Government has no doubt. By intercepting the calls of criminals, they learned that he was killed.

"I can't believe that I had "El Macho Prieto"  as a neighbor," says a tourist, who says that sometimes he exchanged greetings with him.

While a local businessman criticized the operation, because it went out of control. "They cause us all this bad reputation for violence, scare away tourists with its shootings, and don't even have el Macho Prieto, neither alive nor dead."