Information Warfare Conducted By Armed Groups In Mexico

 "Enojon", "Pernicious Propaganda" and "Char" for Borderland Beat 

Photograph By VendettaTamaul1 on Twitter (Banner placed by 'Los Chapitos' of the Sinaloa Cartel Threatening National Guard personnel)

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CJNG Celebrated During Concert In Tinaja de Vargas, Michoacan

  "Enojon" for Borderland Beat

(Photograph of metal structure with banners of Cervantes and Javier)

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Zacatecas: Narco-mantas Hung in Calera Announce War for Plaza

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

April 5, 2016- During the beginning of this week, narco-mantas (narco-banners) were hung on a pedestrian bridge. The message was directed between organized crime groups.

The Cartel Del Noroeste (CDN) confirms the war that had been launched previously by their opponents, the Gulf Cartel (CDG), had finalized and warned that they will recover municipalities in Zacatecas.  Now the CDN responds with the narcomanta stating that they are ready to start and continue the war for the plaza as well as reporting on corrupt officials who are in collusion with organized crime, and that they are also going after them.

According to unofficial sources, the CDN required to request reinforcements to other states and municipalities in Zacatecas where they still have a presence to fight and to go against the CDG, the latter which uploaded a video to social networking sites showing a shocking video that was recorded in first person depicting them attacking an armed commando of the CDN with rifles.  The shootout shook throughout Ojocaliente a few days ago.  The white Ford that the CDN were traveling in was shot at by the CDG which is recovering much of the south of Zacatecas.  They are seen as the leaders throughout the area.  With the video they showed their opponents such as Los Zetas, the CDN, and others, to not occupy the areas and regions of theirs.  But the CDN doesn’t lower their guard and launched new attacks, and now with these narcomantas, it shows that the violence is expected to rebound again like in previous years where it didn’t let up.

Just 72 hours ago in Tacoaleche, another unidentified armed commando was attacked by another armed group with bullets, which left various men injured, leaving some fleeing to be treated in community hospitals in the region, the municipal police can’t go up against the heavily armed convoys; it requires the help of the PEP (State Preventative Police), SEDENA (Secretariat of National Defense), or SEMAR (Mexican Navy), who are suitable for this type of combat.

The CDG maintains its leadership in Zacatecas, occupying most municipalities, followed by the CDN who are advancing from the north, as well as Los Zetas who didn’t separate to form the CDN, who occupy some places in the north and south, as well as the center, to a lesser extent.  The CJNG (Jalisco New Generation Cartel) is present in the southern region, near Jalisco and some municipalities in the central north.

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Violence Continues In Michoacán; Reign of Impunity Extends

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Michoacán is one of the states with the most violence in the country due to the dispute between drug cartels in the Tierra Caliente region, which covers 17 municipalities in the state along with nine in Guerrero and five in the State of Mexico.

Municipalities include:

Michoacán: San Lucas, Tuzantla, Susupuato de Guerrero, Nocupetaro, Caracuaro, Tiquicheo, Huetamo de Nuñez.

Guerrero: Arcelia, San Miguel Totolapan, Ajuchitlán del Progreso, Tlapehuala, Coyuca de Catalán, Zirándaro, Cutzamala del Pinzón, Pungarabato, Tlalchapa.

Estado de México: Tlataya, Amatepec, San Simón de Guerrero, Tejupilco, Palmar Chico, Sultepec, Zacualpan.

The autodefensas

The fight from organized crime for the control of the plazas and the inability of the state government to maintain a state of peace caused the armed uprising of hundreds of civilians from the communities of La Ruana and Tepalcatepec to make up groups called autodefensas in February 2013.

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Authorities Arrest El Menchito

Updated with additional info

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Authorities in Jalisco detained Rubén Oseguera González, “El Menchito”, son of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes “El Mencho”, known by authorities in Mexico and the United States as the most dangerous criminal organization in the country.  Journalist Carlos Loret de Mola from Primero Noticias reported the capture Tuesday morning.

Rubén Oseguera was captured in a residential zone in Zapopan, Jalisco

Oseguera was captured early Tuesday morning and was taken to Mexico City.

According to official sources, the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) carried out an operation in Prados Vallarta, located in Zapopan in order to capture the son of “El Mencho”.

In the residential complex, some torn surveillance cameras were able to be seen, while another had the lens aiming at the sky and another camera was sprayed with a red liquid to prevent any visibility.

The National Security Commissioner, Monte Alejandro Rubido, stated that at the time of his capture, Oseguera González did not have any security deployment due to his low profile.

Rubido  also stated that “El Menchito” showed signs of having undergone a recent nose job.

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The War In Michoacan: Peña Nieto's Version

By: José Gil Olmos

May 26 2013

Coalcomán, Michoacán

The mayor’s words strongly thundered like rockets on Sunday, May 19 setting the public on alert when the military arrived to try to disarm the people:

“The situation was unbearable!  We were all being extorted.  Even in the municipality we had to give them 10% of the budget each month and they were already starting to ask for 15%.  This happens with all the municipalities in the state and the governor even knows about it.  We accepted it at first, but when we stopped was when they started to mess with our families; they raped and took our wives, our daughters.  That’s when we said—Enough! This is a matter of dignity.”

Self-defense Group in Buenavista, Michoacán
Photo: Octavio Gómez

It’s Tuesday morning on May 21^st.  Outside the town hall is a group of armed soldiers.  They arrived in armored vehicles parking on the corners of the main square as if it were a war zone.

 

Military Surveillance on the Roads of Michoacán
Photo: Octavio Gómez

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Self-Defense Groups Claim That They Disarmed the Knights Templar Cartel In Michoacán

By: Rubén Mosso

The relatives of the 34 people who were detained by the Mexican army for allegedly being linked to organized crime by acting as community guards for the community Felipe Carrillo Puerto (La Ruana), in Michoacán, requested for the intervention of President Enrique Peña Nieto to release the detainees, because they say that they are innocent. 

Farmers who demonstrated outside the Assistant Attorney General's Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime (SIEDO) reported that the firearms that their relatives had were seized from the Knights Templar Cartel, who live within the community and have also committed a series of abuses against the community.

 The wives, mothers, sisters, and other relatives warned that in case they don’t receive support from the president, they will take matters into their own hands by arming themselves in order to defend their community from various criminal groups operating in the area of Michoacán.

“Release the guys that you brought, they’re innocent, they are people like us, lemon harvesters, who left their family, wives to their children.   They seized the weapons in order to defend us from the Knights Templar Cartel, simply because it was too much what they were doing,” said one woman.

--What were they doing?

--“They increased the price of tortillas and meat.  They were charging us for each box of lemons that we packed, they would take a portion.  We would work three days a week, with those three days, do you think that we were going to be able to support our children and apart from that they would take away our money.”

The complaint mentioned that the owners of the trucks that would transport the lemons had to pay “Los Templarios” 200 pesos per car, a situation for those who would harvest lemons, their payments would go down, plus they also had to pay to work.

--Who gave the weapons to the guys?

--“They took them from “Los Caballeros”.  In La Ruana, we caught “Caballeros”, when we started to rise up in arms we were all saying: there lives a guy; he’s a “Caballero”.  We would all go and take their weapons away.”

They commented that the municipal and state police in those zones are “leaders” of the Knight Templar Cartel, so they decided to go and also take their weapons, bullet-proof vests, and trucks away.

--“The weapons that the guys had belong to the Knights Templar Cartel.”

The complainants say that their families do not have a lawyer, or even a public defender.  They were informed that they would be transferred to jails in Matamoros, Veracruz, and the state of Mexico.

Last week at a press conference, both officials from the Secretariat of Governance (SEGOB) and the PGR said that the detainees were armed by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación), a group linked to the drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Family members have not determined whether they will be staying at the outskirts of the SIEDO, but they do ensure that they will insist federal agencies for the release of those detained, as they called it an outrage.

Source:  Milenio - Rubén Mosso

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Police find 16 dead in Guererro state

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 16 unidentified men were found dead inside a truck in Guerrero state Monday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.

A story posted on the Animal Politico new website said that police in Coyuca de Catalan municipality were dispatched to the location based on an anonymous phone tip at around 1000 hrs.

According to a document uploaded by the Guerrero state Procuraduria General de Justicia Estado (PGJE), the victims had been tortured and then shot to death.  They were found aboard a Ford F-350 one ton truck.

According to the Animal Politico article, Guerrero governor Angel Aguirre Rivera remarked that the victims were all from neighboring Michoacan state, and the victims were killed as a result of a intergang dispute.

Since last year and the destruction of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel, the vacuum created has allowed three competing criminal gangs, Los Zetas, Jalisco Nueva Generacion and Caballeros Templarios to fight for control of Michoacan state.

The last, the Caballeros Templarios, comprises many former leaders of La Familia Michoacan.  One of the leaders, Servando Gomez Martinez AKA La Tuta, recently released a video essentially declaring war on Los Zetas and promising to kills its leader, Miguel Angel Trevino AKA Z40.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com

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