CJNG Members Including "El Jardinero's" Godson Arrested in Czech Republic While Buying Weapons for Drugs

 “Socalj” for Borderland Beat

Four members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, are facing federal charges after they were arrested in the Czech Republic. The men are accused of trying to buy military weapons with drugs trafficked into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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How Mexican Drug Cartels Have Shifted Methamphetamine Production to Africa

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

Mexican cartels have expanded their influence in Africa. While they previously moved drugs to and from the continent, they have now established operations there to manufacture them as well. But what is the extent of the Mexican cartels' presence in Africa, and why has the continent become a key hub for their operations and expansion? 

Methamphetamine laboratories linked to Mexican cartels have been operating in Africa for years. According to AFRICOM, the first documented case occurred in Nigeria in 2016. Since then, laboratories have been located in countries such as Mozambique, Kenya, and South Africa. 

James Griego, head of counter-narcotics operations at AFRICOM, reported that 14 Mexican-run laboratories have been dismantled in Africa since 2023—four of them in Nigeria. Specifically, links were found between some of these laboratories and the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels. 

However, the most significant operation took place in May 2026. Nigerian authorities dismantled the largest clandestine methamphetamine laboratory discovered in Africa to date. More than 2.4 tons of methamphetamine and chemical precursors were seized, with an estimated value of $360 million. 

Three Mexican nationals and seven Nigerian citizens were arrested. To understand the expansion of methamphetamine production on the continent, experts point to a key factor: the export of Mexican "cooks" to Africa. While plant-based drugs like cocaine or heroin can only be cultivated in specific locations, methamphetamine can be produced wherever two elements are present: the necessary chemicals and the technical know-how. 

You might wonder, though: why did the cartels decide to expand into this continent? Africa offers numerous advantages. The first is its geography; vast stretches of forest provide ideal locations for setting up isolated, hard-to-detect laboratories. The second factor is logistical: West Africa offers direct access to Atlantic shipping routes, facilitating the transport of goods to Europe and other regions of the world. 

Added to this is the fact that some African countries have fewer regulations regarding the import of chemicals used to manufacture synthetic drugs. There is also less surveillance at their borders. This facilitates criminal operations and allows them to cut costs when supplying highly lucrative markets.

In Europe, the latest report indicates a 47% increase in methamphetamine consumption between 2014 and 2024. Meanwhile, in East and Southeast Asia, seizures of the drug hit an all-time high in 2024. Demographics play a role as well. According to Femi Babafemi, spokesperson for Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Africa’s large youth population acts as an incentive for criminal organizations, providing not only cheap labor but also a market for local consumption. 

This latter aspect is particularly concerning for local governments, as cartels are not merely looking to manufacture in Africa to supply other markets; they also see opportunities within the continent itself. Experts believe this expansion stems from a combination of factors. 

One is the increased pressure on traditional drug trafficking routes. Since Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency, Washington has stepped up actions against cartels, potentially accelerating the search for new routes and production hubs. Yet, that is not the only explanation—a view shared by Hugo Córdoba, a specialist with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 

Córdoba asserts that cartels are following a business logic: seeking new markets where competition is lower. Consequently, Africa is no longer serving merely as a transit route; it is becoming a new production hub and an increasingly important market for these organizations.

Source: BBC News Mundo

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César Gastélum Was Into Stirring Those Beans?

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat

The Mayiza mob publicly ridiculed their adversaries, the Chapitos, in a propaganda film they published a few months ago. In the video the Chapos were accused of stealing from a local sex shop. 

The way in which they presented their claims was humorous to say the least. While at the same time seemed like a total contradiction on their end. Everything they had to say within the broadcast centered on two men who were allegedly stealing dildos from a sex shop. 

Video translation is as follows: 

It’s not just about noisy exhausts anymore. Now, they’re making special modifications to the seats of those filthy bikes they ride. Members of the "Chafiza" gang are pulling off heists at a sex shop because, apparently, the pieces of junk they ride need accessories for the custom mods these lowlifes like to make. 

The tranquility of an adult store went down the drain when a group of desperate losers from the infamous "Chafiza" (Tacky Chapo’s) faction decided it was a bright idea to steal sex toys. Witnesses say they walked in like VIP customers but left like frustrated mechanics, carrying merchandise under their arms that they’d likely end up shoving somewhere else later. 

According to initial reports, the suspects were looking to "innovate" on their noisy, stolen bikes. Apparently, the plan was to attach a sex toy to the seat to—in their minds—boost the "bounce" power. 

Security personnel arrived and opened an investigation, while the shop owners wondered if they’d need to beef up security with padlocks and alarms—or simply stop selling the products altogether, given the sudden high demand from the Chafiza crowd. Good grief. You can’t even run an adult toy shop anymore. Where will it all end with these "Chapo-Zetas"?

The argument that the Mayiza mob holds a prejudice against gays begs the question: Why would you ridicule anyone about their sexuality if homosexuals also exist in your ranks? 

César Gastélum’s recent death sheds light on this in numerous videos that show him to be romantically involved with a man that’s pretending to be a woman. At first glance it doesn’t seem so obvious, but once his partner, La Beba, speaks, the deep manly voice is heard loud and clear. 

Despite the Mayiza's contradictory claims. It raises the question of why do they bother saying certain things.

Sources: Contacto Revista  Borderland Beat Archives

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U.S. Government Offers Up to $102 Million for the CJNG Leadership

 U. S. Government Offers Up to $102 Million for the CJNG Leadership

 

On August 5, the U.S. government, through the Narcotics Rewards Program and the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), offered up to $102 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of eight senior leaders of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). Additionally, the State Department is applying visa restrictions to 65 individuals identified as family members or close associates linked to CJNG. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, together with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, unsealed indictments against senior CJNG members, collectively placing unprecedented pressure on the cartel's senior leadership. Combined with the rewards, these measures represent one of the most extensive U.S. efforts to target the leadership of a single transnational criminal organization.

 

In the indictments, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia state that "CJNG's leadership included a small group of top-tier commanders and a second tier of bosses that operated under the top-tier leaders." This command structure helps explain why U.S. authorities can concentrate pressure on a relatively small group of senior leaders despite CJNG's extensive territorial presence across Mexico.

 

The indictments also note: "The franchise model permitted each franchise group to customize its operations according to specific areas of expertise (for example, running clandestine methamphetamine labs) or market demands, provided it complied with naming, branding, and organizational structure requirements and followed the general direction of CJNG leaders. Because new franchises were easy to establish, the franchise model enabled CJNG to expand quickly." This organizational structure allows CJNG's leadership to combine centralized strategic control with decentralized operational autonomy, enabling the cartel to expand into new geographic areas and criminal markets while remaining difficult to dismantle at the local level.

 

This criminal franchise model has allowed CJNG to expand across Mexico and diversify its criminal portfolio without requiring the central leadership to directly manage every local operation. This decentralization reduces the organization's dependence on individual regional commanders and allows local cells to continue operating even when specific leaders are removed. Although highly effective, the model is not unprecedented in Mexico; a similar structure was employed by Los Zetas during their expansion in the late 2000s.

 

The following CJNG leaders are currently the subjects of U.S. rewards:

 

Capo di Tutti Capi

 

As previously reported, the U.S. government has identified dual U.S.-Mexican citizen Juan Carlos Valencia González (a.k.a. "El Pelón" or "El 03") as the principal leader of the CJNG. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $25 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction on charges related to the manufacture, transportation, and distribution of large quantities of narcotics, as well as the organization of numerous violent crimes.

 

The Captains

 

Audias Flores Silva (a.k.a. "El Jardinero") is one of the highest-ranking CJNG leaders publicly targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department. He was later apprehended on April 27, 2026, during a targeted military operation conducted by the Mexican Navy's Special Forces (SEMAR) in Nayarit. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction. Despite his imprisonment, the U.S. government continues to consider him a senior CJNG leader who maintains influence over vast territories across Mexico, where his network oversees the production and export of synthetic drugs to the United States.

 

Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytán (a.k.a. "El Sapo"), El Mencho's godson, is a senior CJNG commander who has served as the plaza boss for Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. He allegedly procured a significant portion of CJNG's weapons and trained sicarios at cartel training camps. He has also been linked to the Izaguirre Ranch in Teuchitlán and the escuelitas (schools), where he allegedly played a central role in the forced recruitment of new members. These facilities were reportedly used as training grounds for recruits lured through false job offers before being subjected to brutal indoctrination. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

 

Julio Alberto Castillo Rodríguez (a.k.a. "El Chorro") is the son-in-law of the cartel's now-deceased leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Mencho"), through his marriage to Jessica Johanna Oseguera González. U.S. authorities allege that he is responsible for maintaining criminal control over Pacific port of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, which serves as the principal point of entry for chemical precursors used in the production of synthetic drugs. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

 

Below the cartel's senior commanders, U.S. authorities also targeted a second tier of bosses responsible for enforcement, financial operations, and specialized criminal activities.

 

Lieutenants

 

Julio César Montero Pinzón (a.k.a. "El Tarjetas") directed a sophisticated international fraud scheme that targeted U.S. owners of timeshare properties in Mexico. Over the past decade, this operation allegedly laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in non-drug revenue used to finance the CJNG's drug and arms trafficking activities. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction. Montero Pinzón is also an alleged leader of elite hitman units that have access to military-grade weaponry and are responsible for acts of extreme violence and high-profile assassinations.

 

Carlos Andrés Rivera Varela (a.k.a. "La Firma"), a dual Colombian-Mexican national originally from Cali, Colombia, has resided in Mexico for many years.U.S. authorities identify him as a high-ranking CJNG leader operating primarily from Puerto Vallarta, where he serves as both an enforcement commander and financial coordinator. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

 

“Montero Pinzón and Rivera Varela founded and led a group of highly trained and heavily armed sicarios, or hitmen, known as the Grupo Elite. The Grupo Elite allegedly serves as the CJNG's enforcement arm to further the cartel's drug trafficking operations, including overseeing CJNG territories and murdering public officials and rival cartel members. Montero Pinzón and Rivera Varela allegedly had over 1,000 personnel reporting to them and ran the Guadalajara Plaza, one of the CJNG's most important territories.”

 

Ricardo Ruiz Velasco (a.k.a. "Tripa" or "RR") is identified as a commander of Grupo Élite, widely considered one of CJNG's most violent tactical branches of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). He has also been publicly linked to several high-profile acts of violence in Mexico, including the 2025 assassination of influencer Valeria Márquez. Ruiz Velasco is also allegedly involved in the transportation, importation, and distribution of drugs, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin, within the United States, as well as the collection of narcotics proceeds. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

 

Beyond its senior and second-tier commanders, U.S. authorities are also targeting individuals who supported CJNG's financial infrastructure and revenue-generating schemes.

 

Supporters

 

Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzón served as a contadora (accountant) and worked at a CJNG-controlled central office that oversaw the operations of the call centers managed by other contadores. She helped promote the Timeshare Fraud Scheme and conceal the proceeds derived from it. The U.S. Department of State has offered a reward of up to $2 million for information leading to her arrest and conviction. Her inclusion illustrates how the current U.S. campaign extends beyond CJNG's commanders and armed operators to individuals supporting the cartel's financial infrastructure and non-drug revenue streams.

 

Taken together, the rewards, indictments, and visa restrictions suggest that the United States is moving beyond targeting individual CJNG leaders toward attacking the central command structure that holds the cartel's franchise system together. CJNG's decentralized model may allow regional cells to survive the removal of individual commanders, but the current campaign appears designed to pressure the relatively small leadership group responsible for coordinating those decentralized operations.

 

If this pressure succeeds in significantly weakening CJNG's central leadership, regional cells with substantial operational autonomy could increasingly operate independently, potentially accelerating the fragmentation of the cartel into smaller regional criminal organizations. Rather than producing the immediate disappearance of CJNG, leadership decapitation could therefore result in a more fragmented criminal landscape in which former CJNG cells compete for territory, trafficking routes, and criminal markets.

 

Sources:  state.gov - justice.gov - dea.gov

 

 

 

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Lights Out With A Distracted Mayiza Supporter

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

It appears that César Gastélum, an alleged Mayiza supporter, wasn’t as concerned about his safety as he should’ve been during the recording of a live transmission. One of the men who accompanies him expresses his concern about the two males who suddenly drove by them on a motorcycle. 

His intuition tells him that something is off about the encounter. Gastélum doesn’t miss a beat in trying to downplay the significance of what just happened. Going forward with the interview is more important. 

Unbeknownst to them, the men on the bike are assassins from the Chapiza mob. And that first interaction was nothing more than a confirmation that had to be made between the duo before firing the weapon. 

Culiacán, Sinaloa

Source: Equis 727

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MoneyFlip Currency Exchange CEO Arrested in Miami After Authorities Staged Victim's Death

"Socalj' for Borderland Beat

Marcos Arturo Kleiman Tronllan, CEO of MoneyFlip LLC, was arrested in Miami last Thursday, July 30, 2026, after paying undercover federal agents to murder a Mexican businessman over a debt, in a case that began as a money laundering investigation and ended with a federal murder-for-hire charge.

The 40-year-old Mexican citizen, a legal permanent resident in the United States, converted approximately $750,000 into cryptocurrencies to conceal drug trafficking profits, according to the complaint filed with the Southern District of California.

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Zacatecas: Between Extortion and a Drug-Run Government

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

The administration of David Monreal Ávila in the state of Zacatecas, which began in September 2021, has been defined by a spiral of violence that security institutions have failed to contain. During this period, the state has solidified its position as a strategic corridor for drug trafficking toward the northern border—an area fiercely contested by the "Los Mayos" faction of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS) and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)—while the situation has evolved to include systematic extortion of productive sectors and collusion among public officials.

Monreal Ávila’s tenure—which began after three previous electoral bids and follows his time as mayor of Fresnillo and as a senator—faces scrutiny regarding the effectiveness of his strategy in the face of crimes targeting the economic and political elite. His administration is marked by a structural inability to guarantee public order, having inherited and deepened a crisis characterized by constant homicides and the public display of corpses. The criminal phenomenon has shifted from isolated clashes between cells to what some analysts call "financial terrorism," wherein organized crime pressures businesses by demanding protection payments (*derecho de piso*).

The discovery of ten bodies in July 2026 across the municipalities of Pánuco, Morelos, and Sain Alto is the latest event exposing the vulnerability of state public security, despite intermittent deployments of federal forces and the creation of the State Peace-Building Roundtable. This mass killing—perpetrated with the signature method of death by strangulation—claimed the lives of former mayors and sitting officials, demonstrating that no one in Zacatecas is safe and debunking the official narrative of pacification.

The State's response has been reactive, limited to deploying Army Special Forces and the National Guard only after the atrocities have already been committed. At the same time, federal and state governments face political communication challenges stemming from the dissemination of messages attributed to the Sinaloa Cartel—alleging broken pacts by the Monreal administration—claims that the security cabinet dismisses as destabilizing fabrications.

The paradox of Zacatecas lies in its statistical indicators; while the July 2026 National Survey of Urban Public Security (ENSU) suggests an improvement in public perception in Fresnillo, the reality on federal highways 45 and 54—as well as in unmonitored municipalities like Pánuco and Sombrerete—reflects absolute territorial control by the cartels. This security failure is also a failure of governance, with the prosecutor's office now investigating the collusion of local public officials with criminal networks, while the U.S. government’s Level 4 travel advisory warns its citizens against overland travel in the state due to the risk of kidnapping.

The bloody chronology of the Monreal administration—which began with bodies hung in public view in 2021, continued with massacres in the historic center outside the Government Palace in January 2022, and persists with further criminal incidents—defines a six-year term in which statistical pretense clashes head-on with the brutality of reality.

BUSINESS LEADERS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

The massacre that took place on July 18, 2026, represents a direct attack on Zacatecas's economic structure, targeting social and political figures primarily linked to the municipality of Fresnillo—the home region of the Monreal family. The ten victims disappeared between July 16 and 17 after receiving calls to attend what were purported to be private meetings. The bodies were discovered at three separate locations, revealing the logistics of organized crime: five victims were found hanging from a highway overpass on the Zacatecas–Saltillo highway, near the community of Pozo de Gamboa in the municipality of Pánuco. Four additional bodies were left on a public road in the municipality of Morelos, and the tenth was found on a stretch of highway in Saín Alto.

Among the deceased was Ignacio Castrejón Valdez, a construction entrepreneur, CEO of the company CAVI, and former mayor of Sombrerete (2016–2018), who had reportedly been kidnapped the day before his body was found. Also among the victims were Fidel Alvarado de la Torre, the Secretary of Social Development for the Fresnillo municipal government, and Jesús Gerardo Muñetón Hernández, a member of the same municipality's Fire and Civil Protection Department. The list of victims included Andrés Vázquez Gurrola, a former city councilor and former Director of Public Security in Canatlán, Durango, and José Ángel Valdez Rivera, a prominent rancher from Jiménez del Teúl de González Ortega.

Forensic reports revealed that eight of the victims died from asphyxiation due to strangulation—a technique the Sinaloa Cartel has historically used in the state to mark its executions. Two additional victims died from gunshot wounds. A detail that sparked controversy was the toxicology results, which tested positive for narcotics in five of the bodies—including those of the Fresnillo officials—information that Prosecutor Cristian Paul Camacho made public during the investigation. The motive for the crime centers on two main aspects: a massive extortion network operating under a "protection racket" scheme and the collusion of local public officials. Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza, the Secretary General of Government, confirmed that five of the victims were legitimate business owners in the construction, mining, and livestock sectors.

This incident forced business associations to suspend nighttime logistical transport and demand increased security measures on highways bordering Durango and Coahuila. The massacre not only eliminated prominent regional figures but also exposed the business community's vulnerability to what is known as "financial terrorism," a situation where cartel control stifles lawful economic activity. Governor David Monreal Ávila described the events as barbaric, though he faced criticism for noting that the lack of prior reports regarding the disappearances had hindered an effective police response. The Prosecutor's Office has initiated financial audits and the freezing of bank accounts in Fresnillo, identified as the epicenter of the extortion network that led to these executions.

THE CDS SIGNATURE

Investigations and direct messages from criminal groups point to the faction led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos—alias "El Mayito Flaco"—as responsible for the mass killing in July 2026. This cell, identified as CDS-MF (Sinaloa Cartel – Mayo Flaco Faction), maintains dominance in the northern and central parts of the state, where it contests territory with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. On July 20, 2026, a video message circulated in which a group of about twenty armed, masked men claimed responsibility for the execution of ten people, stating that it was a "hit" ordered against those who fail to honor agreements.

In the video, the criminal organization directly accused Governor David Monreal of breaking prior pacts and threatened his family, asserting that "betrayal in politics costs lives." Although the federal security cabinet and the state government dismissed the footage as a staged event featuring dubbed audio intended to sow political instability, arrests made during "Operation Rastrillo" confirmed the Sinaloa Cartel's active presence in the area where the crime occurred.

On July 21, state and federal forces arrested three individuals on a dirt road in Fresnillo: Leonel N. (23, from Mazatlán), Oswaldo N. (22, from Durango), and a 16-year-old female minor from Jerez. Identified as key drivers of violence, the group was found in possession of 113 packets of methamphetamine, six magazines for .223-caliber rifles, ballistic vests, and 40 metal tire-puncturing spikes. Days later, authorities reported the arrests of América Yael N. and Carlos Daniel N., both of whom stated they were active members of the same organization that had claimed responsibility for the massacre. Formal charges against the accused include aggravated homicide, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, and possession of firearms reserved for exclusive military use.

The Sinaloa Cartel's territorial control over municipalities such as Fresnillo, Sombrerete, and Pánuco has enabled it to establish a surveillance and extortion network that operates with impunity across rural areas. Following the massacre, the Federal Government ordered the deployment of 100 Special Forces troops from the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) to capture high-priority targets from the CDS-MF, supplementing the more than 500 National Guard personnel already deployed along federal highways 45 and 49. The criminal group has issued a direct challenge to General Porfirio Fuentes Vélez, asserting that they are undeterred by the military deployment.

The Zacatecas Attorney General's Office is analyzing ballistic evidence and video footage to link the detainees to the logistics behind the dumping of bodies on the Pánuco bridge and in the streets of Morelos.

Arrest of three members of “Los Cabrera/MF,” who are under investigation for their possible involvement in the recent massacre of ten people in Zacatecas.

AN INCOMPETENT GOVERNMENT

David Monreal Ávila’s administration began under the shadow of extreme violence and has remained on that same path throughout his six-year term. On January 6, 2022—barely four months after he took office—ten bodies (eight men and two women) were left inside a Mazda SUV in front of the Government Palace, beneath the Christmas tree in the Plaza de Armas. This act was interpreted as a direct challenge to the seat of state power. The governor responded by claiming the situation was a legacy of past administrations and urged people to "entrust themselves to God," while announcing arrests for which no clear details were ever provided.

A grim chronology of atrocities has unfolded in Zacatecas since Monreal Ávila assumed the governorship. In November 2021, the state saw a series of executions bearing the hallmark of "hanging" victims: ten people were found in Ciudad Cuauhtémoc—nine of them hanging from a vehicular overpass—while days earlier, three other bodies had been found hanging from trees in Loreto. In total, Zacatecas recorded 1,652 homicides in 2021; at least 42 of the victims were displayed hanging from bridges or trees—a signature tactic of the Sinaloa Cartel in its conflict with the CJNG. Government incompetence was further exposed on September 27, 2023, when six of seven youths aged 14 to 18—who had been kidnapped in Malpaso, Villanueva—were found dead in the community of La Soledad following days of aerial searches.

Violence has shown no signs of abating throughout 2026: on February 11, two businesspeople from San Luis Potosí were found dead in Pinos; on April 10, armed clashes paralyzed García de la Cadena, leaving one person dead and police patrol vehicles riddled with bullets; and on May 18, improvised explosive devices—planted to target security convoys—were neutralized on Federal Highway 54. The kidnapping of Gustavo Domínguez, the former director of the Investigative Police, in May 2026, and the assassination of former Fresnillo Mayor Benjamín Medrano Quezada in Guadalajara on July 7, 2026, confirm that political figures and former public officials remain under constant threat. Medrano Quezada, who governed Fresnillo from 2013 to 2015, was shot in the face and killed while at an ice cream shop, despite having an outstanding arrest warrant against him in Zacatecas.

The Monreal administration has seen a succession of security secretaries—such as Arturo López Bazán and General Adolfo Marín Marín—yet the pacification strategy has failed to yield tangible results in reducing mass killings. The situation has triggered forced displacement in Valparaíso and Jerez, turning entire communities into ghost towns due to fear and the absence of an authority capable of responding to the onslaught of criminal activity.

PERCEPTION

Data from the National Survey of Urban Public Security (ENSU), published on July 24, 2026, reveal a statistical paradox that the state government is touting as a sign of success. According to the National Institute of Statistics, Geography, and Informatics (INEGI), the municipality of Fresnillo recorded a drop in the perception of insecurity, falling from 86.7 percent in June 2025 to 73 percent in June 2026. This figure allowed Fresnillo to drop out of the top five spots nationwide for citizen fear—a position it had held for years—landing instead at number 21.

However, civil society views this decline as a mirage, given that seven out of ten Fresnillo residents still report feeling unsafe—a figure that remains above the national average of 59.8 percent. Furthermore, the INEGI report itself notes that Fresnillo experienced the country's largest increase in conflicts and direct confrontations among the population, jumping from 10.5 percent to 27.4 percent, which suggests a breakdown of the social fabric. The perception of improvement is limited to the urban areas being monitored; municipalities that have been epicenters of recent violence—such as Sombrerete, Pánuco, Jerez, or Sain Alto—are not individually measured by the ENSU because their population densities don’t meet the criteria for major urban centers.

On the other hand, the metropolitan area comprising the state capital, Zacatecas, and Guadalupe recorded an increase in citizen fear, reaching 75.9 percent and placing 16th in the national ranking of cities with the highest levels of fear. There is a stark contrast between the survey results and reality, as the INEGI measurement was taken in June 2026—just weeks before the July massacre of ten businesspeople and officials, an event that shattered any sense of security in the region. Business associations have contradicted these statistical improvements through concrete actions, such as suspending logistical transport operations and demanding armored highway security in response to persistent robberies and kidnappings on the federal routes connecting to Durango and Coahuila. The state prosecutor's office has also had to intervene in the Fresnillo municipal government to investigate official collusion in extortion networks, confirming that the danger hasn’t vanished but has instead become institutionalized. Zacatecas remains on the U.S. government’s "red list" with a Level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory—a classification it shares only with states experiencing open warfare, such as Tamaulipas and Sinaloa—thereby invalidating any narrative of normalcy based solely on survey-based perceptions.

Source: Zeta Tijuana

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One Police Officer Dead, Two Injured After Car Bomb Ambush in Luis Moya, Zacatecas

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

One police officer was killed and two others were injured when a criminal group detonated a car bomb as their patrol vehicle drove by in Luis Moya, Zacatecas last Friday. This is at least the second car bomb attack this year in this region, as a criminal group used another car bomb to attack a police station in March.

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2 Dead, Five Injured in Attack on Opening Night of Bar in Cuernavaca, Morelos

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A group of gunmen killed two people and injured five more early after an Sunday morning in an attack during the opening night of a bar in Cuernavaca, Morelos.

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Capture of Cartel de los Reyes Boss Sparks Narco Blockades and Shootouts in Michoacán

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

Cartel de los Reyes boss Alfonso Fernández Magallón, “Poncho La Quiringua”, was captured in an operation by Mexican security forces in the town of Imbarácuaro in Los Reyes de Salgado, Michoacán yesterday.

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Explosives Manufacturing Facility Dismantled in Guadalupe y Calvo

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen security and restore order and peace in the mountain region, agents from the State Investigation Agency (AEI)—attached to the Southern Zone District Prosecutor's Office—coordinated with personnel from the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) to locate and destroy an explosives storage and manufacturing site. This operation took place in the locality of San Pedro Chinatú, in the municipality of Guadalupe y Calvo.

 

During ground reconnaissance patrols, operational personnel identified the site—allegedly used for criminal activities—and seized hundreds of materials, tools, components, and supplies believed to be used for the production and manufacture of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

 

The seized items included various components such as containers, reactive substances, power supply systems, initiation and activation mechanisms, and connection and assembly materials, as well as some completed homemade mortars.

 

Following the completion of inspection procedures and the securing of evidence, the facility was destroyed and rendered unusable in accordance with established safety protocols, thereby preventing its continued use for the manufacture of such devices.

 

The State Attorney General's Office, through the State Investigation Agency and in close coordination with authorities across various levels of government, reaffirms its commitment to combating crime head-on and ensuring public safety.

Guadalupe y Calvo, Chihuahua

Source: La Opción

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Unión Tepito Members Hunted Down Across Mexico City by CJNG-Backed Rivals

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A flare up of violence between drug gang La Unión Tepito, Cartel de Tláhuac, and their Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) -backed rivals the Anti Unión Tepito, has resulted in a dozen targeted killings in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City. 

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Cartel del Golfo Escorpiones Torch PepsiCo Delivery Vehicle Fleet in Matamoros, Tamaulipas

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

On Tuesday morning a serious fire broke out within the parking lot of the PepsiCo/Sabritas facility in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, eventually destroying 57 delivery trucks. The exact cause of the fire has not been publicly confirmed by authorities, but it is most likely related to extortion demands from the Escorpiones faction of the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros. 

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Los Chapitos Financial Operator "El Tío" Captured in Mazatlan, Sinaloa

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

Mexican federal forces captured Ricardo Ozuna Tirado, alias “El Tío,” a key financial operator and leader of a Los Chapitos cell, during an operation in the upscale El Cid subdivision of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, on Saturday, July 25, 2026.

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A New Video of the CJNG in Cotija is Circulating

“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat 

A new video attributed to suspected members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) has begun circulating on social media, showing armed men in tactical gear and carrying high-caliber weapons outside a Farmacia Guadalajara—allegedly in Cotija, Michoacán—thereby highlighting the insecurity in the municipality.

The nighttime recording shows a group of individuals—purportedly members of the criminal organization—standing in the town center, accompanied by loud music and surrounded by several parked pickup trucks.

The footage shows the men wearing tactical gear and, in some cases, carrying long guns, as they flaunt their presence in the territory and signal their control over the area.

This footage follows another video released recently—also showing an armed group in Cotija—which was linked to a CJNG cell allegedly led by Heraclio Guerrero Martínez, known as "El Tío Lako."

Regarding the previous recording, Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla stated this morning during his weekly press conference at Casa Michoacán that authorities are analyzing the content to verify its authenticity and establish the circumstances under which it was filmed.

The governor noted that information must be verified before a definitive position is taken, as materials sometimes circulate that may relate to different events or be shared out of context.

“The authenticity of the video is already being investigated,” stated Ramírez Bedolla in response to questions regarding footage showing armed men in the municipality of Cotija.

This new material once again highlights the security situation in that region of Michoacán, where residents have reported the presence of criminal groups and incidents linked to territorial disputes between criminal organizations.

Thus far, state authorities have not officially confirmed the identities of the men appearing in the video or whether they are members of the CJNG, although the circulated footage shows them wearing bulletproof vests bearing the initials of that criminal group.

Cotija, Michoacán

Source: Contramuro

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