Who Was Sierra 3, Leader Of Pájaros Sierra Found Dead In The Puente Grande Prison

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

The San Jose de Gracia massacre and the disappearance of police officers from Santa María del Oro are two of the crimes attributed to this criminal boss.

Sierra 3 was facing criminal proceedings for disappearance and homicide. 

Cornelio Armenta, alias 'Sierra 3' or 'El Negro', was held in the Puente Grande penitentiary center, Jalisco, for his apparent participation in the disappearance and murder of police officers from Santa María del Oro. However, in circumstances still unknown , the prison authorities found him dead.

Unofficial reports shared by the Quadratín agency indicate that the death of 'Sierra 3' was recorded by prison staff on March 17, 2024. Apparently, he took his own life inside his cell.

Without further details being offered about the moment in which they confirmed that he no longer had vital signs, it emerged that his body has already been delivered to his family, after notification to the corresponding Public Ministry.

Cornelio Armenta, originally from Badiraguato, Sinaloa, was identified as one of the main leaders of the Pájaros Sierra group, a cell that emerged from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and now disputes control of the territory that connects said state with Michoacán.

Portrait of 'Sierra 3' shared by the Jalisco Prosecutor's Office after his arrest.

Presumably, 'Sierra 3' was 35 years old at the time of his death and was facing multiple criminal proceedings for aggravated forced disappearance, homicide and aggravated torture, crimes committed against municipal police officers who were abducted in Santa María del Oro in July. of 2022.

He was imprisoned for these crimes in January 2024, after the Sinaloa State Police stopped him by chance when they noticed that he was speeding in Culiacán. After stopping him, the agents corroborated his identity as one of the main generators of violence in Jalisco with an active arrest warrant.

'Sierra 3' had already been detained in September 2022 by elements of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) in the municipality of San José de Gracia, Michoacán, where seven months earlier he ordered one of the most violent episodes in recent history of the country.

Investigations indicate that the massacre perpetrated on February 27, 2022 during a wake was an act of revenge by Los Pájaros Sierra against Alejandro García Bautista, alias 'El Pelón', who deserted the CJNG after one of the ringleaders murdered his brother.

Despite the elements that pointed to 'Sierra 3' as one of the masterminds of the massacre, he was released shortly after his capture in 2022 because the Approved Police Report had erroneous data.

According to information from Quadratín, the military said they had detained him on public roads in possession of a large arsenal, but in reality they had taken him from a home.

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