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on the border line between the US and Mexico
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Monday, September 12, 2022

Alma Verónica and A Victim Who Was Nailed to a Tree By His Captors in Guaymas, Sonora

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 

Five victims were abducted by kidnappers and taken to a safehouse in Guaymas, Sonora, where some were tortured in ways such as finger amputation and having their feets being to a tree stump outside. One of the victims grabbed a kidnapper’s gun and tried to shoot his way out, leading to the Marines raiding the location and freeing them. 


But then, two of the rescued victims are “hunted” by their kidnappers who try to finish them off before they can testify against them. 


A Victim Tries to Escape 


On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, a kidnapping victim, who was being held for ransom at a safehouse in Guaymas, grabbed the firearm and began trying to shoot his way out of captivity. 


He was just one of the five captives who were being held against their will inside the home, which was located on Orquídeas Street, between Plutarco Elías and Curbina Streets, in the Burócrata neighborhood of Guaymas, an area reported to be controlled by Caborca Cartel subgroup La Plaza. All five victims had been nabbed at various times and locations two days earlier by the kidnappers, who were traveling inside a white Nissan double cab pickup truck. 



Neighbors heard the gunshots coming from the home and called the emergency line to report the gunfire. Because the home in question was located near an elementary school, a “code red” was activated. 


Dispatchers sent state and municipal police officers, as well as Navy (SEMAR) soldiers, to the reported location of the shooting. 


When personnel arrived in the area, they “saw two men in the front of a house, who were carrying firearms”, according to both Opinion Sonora and La Prensa





The Raid 


The article details that at approximately 7:30 am, the assembled group of police officers and soldiers raided the home. A teacher at a classroom in Nicolás Bravo elementary school heard the gunfire of the raid, ducked for cover, and recorded a video shown below. 


Video Source: Agueda Barojas


In the video, the teacher says "I'm lying on the floor - gunfire at this moment. I'm in my classroom. Please don't let anyone come [to school]. I'm lying on the floor - gunfire here, outside the school. I'm sorry to inform you that this situation is real.” 



Classes at the school were suspended for the day shortly after the teacher’s video was shared on social media. The press release about the raid, however, alleges all the gunfire occurred within the safehouse and the operation “never put the surrounding civilian population at risk.” 


According to the Opinion Sonora article, authorities “secured the criminals”, and “two hired killers were arrested”. 




And yet, the official press release about the incident made no mention of anyone being arrested or killed during the incident. There is no information such as the names of any detainees. 


Whether this is indicative of the kidnappers being quietly released by authorities, or if details of their arrest are being purposely withheld for other reasons is unclear at this time. This is important to keep in mind when reading the rest of this story. 




Eight firearms, ammo and a red Nissan Versa (note: not the white pickup which was used in the abductions) was seized from the property.



Additional videos of the incident: 


Radar Sonora


Noticias de Volada 


Aquí y Ahora Noticias





Rescuing the Victims 


After authorities secured the home, they located and rescued the five kidnapping victims. The five victims are Alma Veronica, 31, Jose Luis, 48, Ramon Antonio, 36, Ramon Ricardo, 42, and Jesus Javier, 19. Which among them grabbed the gun from a kidnapper and what happened after is not stated in any articles released so far. 




Warning: Graphic images below this point. 

When officers approached one of the victims, a 19 year old resident of Valle de Empalme named Jesús Javier, they noticed that he was standing next to a tree trunk, unable to move towards them. Its likely this tree stump was located in the backyard of the house, which appears to be walled off and concealed from outside observers. 


Once the officers got closet they realized that Jesús Javier had been nailed to the tree trunk by his captors, evidently as a form of torture. 


Opinion Sonora details that authorities “rescued a young man who was nailed to a tree and had the fingers of one of his hands amputated.” 



La Prensa writes “the 19-year-old was released, who showed signs of torture on different parts of his body, especially his feet and hands, was evidently nailed to the trunk of a tree. Because of this, the presence of the Red Cross was requested so that the victim could receive first aid and then he was transferred to a hospital, as he also showed injuries which included the amputation of fingers on one hand.” 



Twitter account Calvarie Locus posted photos that are alleged to show the state Jesus Javier was found in. The photos seem to have been taken as he was being transported and admitted to a hospital. In the photos, the toes of both of his feet appear to have been nailed to the stump as well as two fingers, severed from his hand, are visible above his left foot. 


The photos appear to show that a large section of the tree stump was cut off/removed from the ground and transported to the hospital, still attached to Jesus Javier. This was likely done so that medical professionals could evaluate how to best remove his feet from the stump without creating further injury.







The Kidnapping Group Wasn’t Finished With Them Yet


According to official statements made by the state Attorney General’s Office (FGE), all five of the rescued victims were offered protection measures such as moving them to an area outside of Guaymas or temporary bodyguards who would stay with them if they chose to remain in the area. One of the victims, Alma Veronica, 31, refused both options. 


Alma signed and fingerprinted an official FGE document stating that she was refusing the protection being offered. 


Despite this, municipal police officers still accompanied and guarded Alma after she left FGE facilities. She again dismissed the protection detail, saying she did not need the protection according to the municipal police report. 



As it turns out, the victims were actually in need of just that kind of protection. The local Sonora newspaper Tribuna writes that, according to unofficial information: “The people who were rescued, [...] were then 'hunted' by the people who had kidnapped them.”


At 8:13 pm on the same day they were rescued, armed individuals tried to enter the hospital where Jesus Javier was being treated and they attempted to attack him, according to Tribuna, Sonora Informativo and Valor por Tamaulipas


Tribuna writes “they tried to enter the IMSS - Bienestar hospital, but due to a strong police presence, it was impossible for them to get in to finish off the young Jesus Javier, 19 years old, who was inside the hospital with several torture wounds.” 


Then at 8:30 pm, Alma Veronica was shot to death, killed just 13 hours after she was rescued from the safehouse. According to the official FGE statement, Alma was killed “in the streets” of the El Rastro neighborhood in Guaymas. Proceso seems to confirm the shooting took place on the streets, writing “Verónica was shot to death on Third Avenue.” 




According to Tribuna, she was “outside her home in El Rastro neighborhood, was riddled with several bullet wounds and was left lying in the middle of the street.” They add that, unofficially, the woman "ran away" from the Municipal Police officers who were guarding her home. 


Valor por Tamaulipas article writes that, “Initial reports on social media alleged that Alma was a drug distributor, along with a family member.” 



A tweet from Calvarie Locus alleges something similar, saying “Follow up: The woman who was rescued this morning, Alma Veronica RL, was executed this afternoon after being liberated. She was a known drug distributor along with her aunt in El Rastro Playa. “ 


Whether there is truth to this and Alma was a member of La Plaza, along with her aunt, is unknown.







Sources: FGE Statement, FGE Press Release, Opinion Sonora Article 1, Article 2, El Sol de Hermosillo, La Silla Rota, RositaDeHmo, Proyecto Puente, Calvarie Locus, La Prensa, El Imparcial, Mural, Mexico Detail Zero, Sonora Informativo Post 1, Post 2, Post 3Proceso, Tribuna



47 comments:

  1. Good article indeed, seems like something deeper at play than your regular hostage/ransom situation. It’s evident in the group returning to try to finish them off.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. It's strange.

      If it's true that she's La Plaza affiliated, then either she did something to piss off her own group or the kidnappers were from a rival or independent group.

      Her then running away from the municipal police who were guarding her house, if true, is also interesting because the Guaymas and Empalme police have been accused (in narco messages) of colluding with CDS Los Salazars.

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    2. 100% they where not inocent people made bad choices and pay the price

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    3. Safe houses like this often hold people for completely different reasons. Somebody who owes money but works for the cartel can be right next to a businessman with 9 toes held for ransom. t's possible she was being held not as a kidnap victim for ransom but for other reasons. It would explain why she felt secure. And if they went to kill the 19 year old to prevent any backlash it makes sense that they would kill her too.

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    4. That kid who was nailed to tree for ransom. What was his ''100 percent'' bad choice? You sound like you know him, so I'm curious.

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  2. I don't know what to think. That poor kid nailed to a tree or he did something to deserve that? Strange

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    Replies
    1. Kidnapping for ransom, they torture them for money, from relatives.

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    2. The details are unclear so far, but don't think like that- it's insidious, and serves the cartels purposes. They rely on people seperating themselves mentally from the ''guilty'', meaning the victims, as if they are no longer really human. This kid will be ostracised in his community now like he has the plague.

      Delete
  3. Excellent news put into one.
    First of all the rescued from the kidnappers,
    victims get their full names and ages published, but when it comes to criminals their names get omitted and their faces get covered, stupid Mexican laws favor more the criminals, than the victims. Might as well publish there home address.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not only Mexican laws favor criminals. United States Eid a good example of doing that as well.

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    2. 12:17
      But but but the the topic is Mexico, they pub published names and ages of the victims. But but criminals get there names and faces protected from the public.

      Delete
  4. Gruesome crucification. Is the military the largest employer in Mexico? It seems there are armed soldiers / security elements ready everywhere for deployment including small towns.

    Canadian girl💋

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am glad to hear the 2 stabbers in Canada were caught.

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    2. Canada girl is not safe in Canada.

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    3. 1:58 maybe not for indigenous women hitch hiking but other then that never really ever felt unsafe here its a great country wish the world would follow Canada's lead.

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    4. 3:30 but Canada girl had said, Trudule
      Has let his country go bad, accepting criminals from other countries.

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    5. 3:30 would you feel the same way if they were caucasian woman hitchhiking? Indigenous woman hitchhikers lives matter!! Do they not?

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    6. Canadian Girl- I don't think its even close but I might be wrong. They need to keep recruitment rates high cos of all the deserters, so that probably confuses the data (meaning it confuses me). And don't forget that the only times we tend to hear about the army pulling an operation like this is when it is in an area where it cant be hidden, or if it's a success.

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  5. Estos pinches sicarios ..

    Grot de Guardianes de la Galaxia

    ReplyDelete
  6. The lady was given temporarily protection, and because she did not want protection look what happens. If the law enforcement, rescued the kidnappers and caught the cartel members in the home, isn't that enough evidence, to show to the judge??? It puts the kidnapped in danger, if they had to go testify.
    Did the cartel think, that if they kill the victims, they would be set free??

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  7. It sounds as if at least Alma was into the game. She may have owed money or had pissed off someone. Nonetheless, there was no need for the torture of the victims if they were into the game. I'm glad that at least one of the victim attempted an escape which alerted authorities and averted further tragedy. Had the kidnappers succeeded, they would have continued on to kidnap and torture innocent civilians who failed to pay piso.
    Nice find for a story and well put together Hearst. This story has a lot of good elements that should make into the U.S. media. Borderland Beat once again providing a valuable service to English readers who honestly care about what occurs on our borders, while most Americans remain in the dark.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 9:36 Guaymas Sonora is faaar away from your sacrosanct borders, but has been corrupted by US criminals too.

      Delete
    2. This is a particularly brutal crime even by current standards in Mexico. This occurred only 250 miles from the Arizona border and yet the Arizona Republic will report on a gang murder in Chicago 2,000 miles away but not on this crime right in their own region.

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    3. Guaymas is away? Wow. You sure don’t know Sonora. Guaymas is one of the biggest hubs, and only one hwy away from several border crossings, 4-5 hour’s drive on a good day. Guantes is THE biggest issue in Sonora, since the port operates now as an own international port, this is why you see all the rise in criminal activity.

      Delete
  8. 9:36
    The articles cover different angles. Some saying something different story, that the police was letting the criminals free, so they can go kill the victims.

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    Replies
    1. 10:52 there must be a story there to pursue, and ask the governor of Sonora WHY THE FUCK the criminals got released

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    2. @11:40… stupid question Mister, because MX is corrupt. Duh. The governor has NO power, especially since politicians’ pockets are getting filled with money by the best (not even the highest) narco offers.

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  9. The problem is...Mexico has No order. In the 90s...80s... Enen 2000s this wouldn't happen. Their was order.

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    Replies
    1. 11:05 40 billion dollars spent by the US in México to pursue their War on Drugs For the Drug business and to steal from the US treasury is what happened before, these are the consequences, and every ody was warned before it started, even by Pope Francisco.

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    2. That's because in the 80's 90's cartels had actual leaders with a businessman mentality, they all knew each other they all had agreements with each other and the governments, had their "codes" or set of rules and they were respected, a cartel was managed like a business back then, and as a armed conflict today.

      Delete
  10. This is one heck of a story. You can almost right a book about this story alone.

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    Replies
    1. Actually I was thinking, they should make a movie about that. Alma Veronica, that refused police protection, can be played by Selma Hayack.

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    2. Nobody would care

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    3. Bueno pues, if this is the case then there are thousands of stories and if book selling was the answer then cartels wouldn’t sell drugs. This is a good article, but these stories are happening in a daily basis, they just don’t get covered.

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    4. 9:43:
      The Mexican media is intimidated by these groups and the U.S. media totally ignores the small scale conflict in Mexico even though Mexico is our neighbor.
      Most Americans have only a vague idea of what is going on in Mexico at best. If more knew the true situation, a lot of Americans wouldn't be vacationing in Mexico. You have to wonder if the tourist dollars are keeping the U.S. media silent. Airlines and travel agencies spend a lot of money on advertising and the U.S. media doesn't want to endanger these advertising dollars.

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  11. Talk about biblical! Seems like someone really wants them dead badly. Even after being kidnapped, tortured then rescued they were hunted down. Alma knew she couldn't trust the police.
    I can only imagine the emotions of being kidnapped then tortured then being saved thinking I'm sooo lucky then later that same night looking up and seeing guns pointed at you.
    Seems like it was their own people or the police sold em out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Veronica didn't trust the Police, because they would deliver her to the cartel safehouse. No police protection, because the police would kill her when sleeping. She still ended being killed the same day. She should have had cameras at her home and stay at a hotel for the night and check if she was being hunted, apparently she found out the hard way, death was lurking.

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    2. If that's why she turned down the offered protection, then why be out side in front of your house 13 hours later??? The same house she got kidnapped from in the first place. If she didn't trust the police, the ones that rescued her earlier, then why not leave town for a bit. Why stay in that same town and in that same house??? Makes no sense.

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  12. No one thought of chain sawing that log down to maybe only a foot's length, pun intended

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    Replies
    1. 3:24 less work than sawing the tree trunk, saw the nails, after local anesthesia

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  13. Alma Veronicas hours to live, were running out. If only she had a way to leave town, and tell no one for awhile, she would be alive today.

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    Replies
    1. The MX Navy gave her the option, she chose not to. It’s not like she didn’t know her fate, she knew.

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    2. Imagine living in Mexico and alittle brush with criminals, your fate is sealed to live for a few more hours.

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  14. Replies
    1. This is the second brilliant extensive article I've read this week. Thankyou.

      Delete
  15. Great article. What type of sick fuck nails someone to a tree

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Criminals that know, they can get away with murder.

      Delete

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