CJNG Sicarios Attack Bars in Villaflores, Chiapas: Eight Kidnapped, Seven Found Dead

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A convoy of Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) sicarios dressed in tactical uniforms and driving cloned military pickups, burned two bars in Villaflores, Chiapas this weekend.

The attackers burned La Kábala Sport Bar-Karaoke and Anubis’s Disco Club, while kidnapping eight individuals, including the owners and employees. Three women suffered burn injuries during the chaos and were hospitalized.

This assault marks the latest violent action in the ongoing turf war between the CJNG and the Cartel de Sinaloa (CDS) over control of drug trafficking and migrant smuggling routes in the agricultural Frailesca region of central Chiapas.

The kidnapped victims were identified as:

Sergio Enrique Pereda Tamayo (owner of La Kábala)

José Armando Coutiño Ruiz (owner of Anubis’s, also a Cruz Roja volunteer)

Luis Rubiel Constantino Rodríguez

José Ángel Martínez Marina

Fernando Daniel García Pérez

Juan Ovani Camilo Girón

Mauricio Camilo Girón

Luis Fernando Fernández Ramírez

The search for the eight victims prompted a massive response from Chiapas authorities, deploying over 500 officers, supported by the Mexican Army, National Guard, and aerial surveillance, across the regions of Berriozábal, Cintalapa, and Ocozocoautla.

On Sunday, December 28, authorities rescued one victim alive and arrested seven suspected CJNG members at a safe house, seizing weapons and tactical equipment.

Images: @foro_militar

The body of Sergio Enrique Pereda Tamayo was found abandoned in a vehicle, dead from a gunshot wound to the leg that likely severed an artery. Officials noted Tamayo had a prior criminal record for drug dealing but had been released in November 2025.

On Monday, December 29, the remaining six bodies were discovered in the rural community of Santa Julia, in the municipality of Cintalapa, near where some cloned vehicles were recovered. Four more suspects were captured, along with additional weapons, drugs, tactical gear, vehicles, and homemade caltrops.

Authorities attribute the attack to a dispute over local drug sales between rival cells. The incident follows recent violence in the area, including frequent blockades and shootings. Chiapas remains a key battleground for Mexico's two most powerful cartels, with spillover effects even into neighboring Guatemala.

Sources: @foro_militar, @FuerzasMex, El Heraldo de Chiapas, El Heraldo de Chiapas, Proceso, El Pais