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Friday, June 24, 2022

El Camaney, Cartel Regional Leader & La Vaca's Brother-in-Law, Arrested in Colima

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 


Cristian Jonathán 'N', alias “El Camaney”, was arrested in the state of Colima. He is a Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) regional leader (or possibly a CJNG defector) and a brother-in-law of José Bernabé Brizuela Meraz, alias “La Vaca”. 


The Arrest

On Thursday, June 23, 2022, during the morning presidential press conference, Undersecretary Ricardo Mejía Berdeja announced Camaney’s arrest along with a number of other cartel arrests from across the country. 



Between around timecode 38:40 - 39:40 on the official video, he said the following: 


“In an operation coordinated by the Navy (SEMAR) […] with the Secretariat of Public Security of Colima and their anti-kidnapping unit, two people were arrested and various pieces of evidence were seized in relation to the Federal Law of Firearms and Explosives. 


This occurred on June 22 in Colima and the following were arrested: Jonathán 'N', aka 'El Camaney' or 'El W', along with a woman. This subject is the brother-in-law of José Bernabé, aka 'La Vaca', who is the main generator of violence in Colima, who is part of a criminal group, a splinter of the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation and who was also involved in criminal events in the prison of that entity.”


On that same day, the Colima’s Security Coordination Table sent out a press release which detailed that Cristian Jonathán 'N', aliases “El Camaney” and “El W”, had been arrested a few days earlier on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 (which differs from the date of June 22 given during the press conference). 



The press release is especially scant on details, not even disclosing the municipality where the arrest took place, only describing that it happened “in the north of the municipality of Colima”. They detail that he was arrested alongside a 25-year old woman, who is allegedly involved with a cartel organization, and a white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was seized from his possession. 



They state that El Camaney was found to be in possession of fake state government uniforms and fake IDs, which he was using in order to evade law enforcement detection. Interestingly, 277 bullets of various calibers and 17 mags of 9mm were listed among the items seized but no firearm listed, so it appears that drug possession and firearm possession charges cannot be pursued against Camaney. 




El Camaney was presented as one of the top 8 CJNG leaders within the state of Colima on a federal intelligence chart shown during a presidential press conference back in February 25, 2022. Unfortunately, he was one of the few men on the chart who had no other photos or details that could be found online. 



Even Camaney being a brother-in-law of La Vaca is something that was not previously disclosed by authorities, nor discussed online, and was only made public during the announcement of his arrest. 


Recently, La Vaca split from the CJNG and took his followers with him, forming a splinter group sometimes called Los Mezcales. It is unclear if El Camaney stayed loyal to the larger CJNG organization or if he left along with La Vaca.



Sources: Official Video of Press Conference, Official Transcript of Press ConferenceOfficial Press Release, Milenio, Proceso, La Jornada, El Occidental, El Comentario






More Borderland Beat Stories About Cartel Activity in Colima




For more details about the CJNG vs La Vaca conflict and the history of La Vaca himself, please see this previous story.

For more details about CJNG’s Colima leader El Chorro, please see this previous story.


For more details about Sinaloa Cartel’s Colima leader Changuito Ántrax, please see this previous story.


For more details about one of CJNG’s Colima plaza bosses, El Sky, please see this previous story




14 comments:

  1. So there are fighting each other? I though La Vaca broke away from CJNG.

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    Replies
    1. La Vaca did leave the CJNG. I wasn't able to find if Camaney sided with the CJNG or with La Vaca after the split.

      The federal intelligence chart from February doesn't show the same conflict graphic next to Camaney's profile that they show next to La Vaca's profile. So that might mean that he is still CJNG.

      But things could have changed since the chart was presented or they were simply unaware of his affiliation. If anyone has more information, please leave a comment.

      Delete
    2. Says it’s not clear whether he’s on his side or not. Anyways it’s definitely gonna be interesting.how this will all play out. Also, it’s really fishy how no guns or drugs were found on them… a cartel regional leader unarmed.

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    3. Yeah, and that he was carrying belts of ammo on him but no firearm. Fishy, indeed.

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    4. There are 3 sides to every story. Somewhere in there lies the truth. Hearst another great job! Thank you for your hardwork, & dedication to these stories.

      Delete
    5. Hearst, i take Sargy with a grain of salt but a while back he interviewed somebody that was allegedly speaking for Pa Vaca meaning he was authorized to answer Qs on his behalf and was given some letters to say on behalf of La vaca basically giving Vacas account of what happened/his side of the story and if i remeber correctly the spokesman Vaca chose was THIS GUY... his brother in law and his right hand man who also spoke up for La Vaca on his own accord besides relaying the msgs Vaca had asked him to relay. He didnt mentiom his name during the interview but just ID himself as Vacas Cuñado

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    6. I've heard people discuss that interview before but I never got a chance to watch it. Very interesting, I will look into that.

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    7. HEARST do you understand español? If you do, SARGY videos are very informative when they're of current and relevant issues even if he can expand a bit on the topic. In my opinion he has the most information and better understanding of the situation in Michoacán. In order to see the videos quicker I'll increase the speed to 1.5 or 2x since I can clearly understand what he's saying but will put it at normal speed when he's speaking with someone.
      If possible he does want to be credited with the information he puts out and I think that's fair.
      Regarding Guanajuato, David Saucedo has a new map of the situation in the state. How accurate his information is, that'll be up to the readers. It might be worthwhile for you, Itzli or IVAN/CHAR to check it out.

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    8. Ese juan Camaney, looking better every day...
      te va a ir bien en el bote güey!

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  2. Why do sinaloans cross their legs when they sit like a woman with a short skirt? 👯

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  3. Is this individual wearing a MORENA shirt?

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