"Char" for Borderland Beat
This article was translated and reposted from RIODOCE
July 15, 2024
Deaths and arrests in the capo's defense; R-8 was one more, not the security chief
Aureliano Guzmán Loera, El Guano, considered one of the most wanted drug traffickers by the Mexican and U.S. governments, was the target of the Sedena during last week's operation in Badiraguato, but he managed to escape thanks to the various security rings that repelled the military attack from both the air and the ground.
According to versions of people who live in the towns of Soyatita, San José del Llano and Santa Gertrudis, the operation began after 10:30 in the morning of July 8, when at least three Black Hawk helicopters began to fly over the area and suddenly tried to land near San José del Llano, while, simultaneously, convoys of soldiers began a ground operation near Soyatita.
"What one of the guys who goes around with the gang (the gunmen) said, is that when they became aware of the operation, the people of Guano started shooting at the soldiers to plot with them and not let the boludos (helicopters) land, that's why they started shooting at them, because almost at the same time they were reporting that the guachos (soldiers) were also coming by land here by Soyatita, and the order was to stop them," said a resident of that town, to whom this reporter had access.
The story, reconstructed with different versions from people who lived through the operation, suggests that the problem then was not the soldiers coming by land, and that they were still far from where Aureliano Guzmán Loera was, but the helicopters that were prepared for the attack and that were defending themselves from the resistance of the gunmen from the ground, since the order they had - everything indicated - was to land and take Guano away.
"They didn't let them land, while one of the boludos was trying to land near El Nogalito, the others were protecting him, but then the gang didn't let them and fired shots so that they couldn't even get close," said the same Soyatita resident, who asked not to be identified.
According to information from Sedena, during one of the confrontations, the capo's lieutenant, identified only as R-8, was detained. He had offered to confront the military offensive when they had already passed the community of Santa Gertrudis and were almost to a ranch known only as Oso Bravo, already in Durango territory.
"They almost had him, but the R-8, he stopped to confront the soldiers, that's why I tell you, if the Guano had not been there, the guys would not be plotting, but as I say, they had to protect their boss," observed a neighbor of Santa Gertrudis. Sources also said that several hitmen were killed in the defense of Guano. It was speculated that one of them was the son, Aureliano Guzmán Araujo.
'HELICOPTER'. Landing under fire.
According to different media reports, the authorities arrested four people, among them R-8, who that same day were transferred to Mexico City and taken to a maximum security prison.
Although it was said that R-8 was Aureliano Guzmán's security chief, sources from the Sedena clarified that he did not have that level and that he was just one of the leader's gunmen. They also ruled out that among the gunmen killed was Guano's son.
A ghost of flesh and blood
This would be the eighth time that federal authorities have tried to catch El Guano and once again he escapes them, although last week was the closest the military forces have come to capturing him.
Another time he was almost caught was at the end of 2015 when the Navy surrounded the La Lagunita ranch, where Guzmán Loera barely managed to escape by leaving on an ATV in the middle of the night and hours later was rescued by his men.
In 2023, in El Durazno, Durango, elements of the Army were also on the verge of apprehending him after besieging the community for more than 72 hours in search of him, as there was information that he was there.
El Durazno and El Limón, two communities near Tamazula, Durango, are places where the Guzmán brothers have historically been sought, since in addition to the 2023 operation, in November 2015, military elements were also on the verge of catching Chapo Guzmán, after his escape from the Altiplano prison on July 11 of that same year.
"What they say is that someone is giving him the finger, because he is a man who is very careful, but it is clear to them that there is someone who is passing information to people in the government, and right now everything is quiet, because the guys are still around, but when they leave I think the old man will make some adjustments," said people close to the faction.
Reward
The DEA is offering a $5 million reward to anyone who provides any information leading to the capture of Guano, who since 2022 has been facing a drug trafficking indictment in federal district court in Arizona and is accused by the Mexican government of being one of the main causes of the violence in the area known as the Golden Triangle, which includes the states of Sinaloa, Durango and Chihuahua.
According to information provided at the time, El Guano was at the funeral of Doña Consuelo Loera Perez last December, and it is believed that since then authorities have been keeping an eye on the region in their efforts to catch him.
"We are still looking for him and sooner or later we will find him to extradite him so that he can face the authorities in this country," DEA spokesmen in the United States said laconically. If captured, El Guano could face the same fate as his brother Joaquín, El Chapo Guzmán, and would be extradited to the United States.
Article published on July 14, 2024, in the 1120th edition of the weekly Ríodoce.
