La Laguna ranked 4th in homicides as 4 more die

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Despite  the seemingly good news a few days ago of a dramatic drop in homicides from the Coahuila Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (PGJE), in the first two months of 2014, according to a group in Mexico the La Laguna region registered the fourth highest murders in Mexico nationwide in 2013, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news dispatch posted on the online edition of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, the group El Observatorio Nacional Ciudadano de Seguridad, Justicia y Legalidad (CCI)  said that murder rates have dropped from 2012 to 2013, 35.9% in the Durango side and in La Laguna Metropolitan Area fell 42.4%.

Despite the drop in homicides, according to the group, murder rates have risen seven percent in 2013 in all of Coahuila state when compared with 2012. 

Marco Zamarripa, director of the La Laguna Consejo Civico de las Instituciones (CCI-Laguna), was quoted in the report saying there is a large information gap in gaining crime statistics in the region.  The CCI-Laguna says on their Facebook page they are a non-government organization. 

Marco Zamarripa may have been referring to the Coahuila PGJE report last week, which has been no help as in the past that office has cooked statistics to make crime statistics appear more moderate.

La Laguna is a metropolitan area consisting of several municipalities from eastern Durango state and western Coahuila state.  Police operations even with federal support have failed in the region because of jurisdictional problems between the two states and among the several municipalities which compose La Laguna.  The three largest municipalities in the region include Torreon, Coahuila and Lerdo and Gomez Palacio, both of Durango.

Four individuals were killed in the La Laguna region since last Saturday according to Mexican news reports.

Three victims were found aboard a Ford Explorer midnight Saturday by local police in Lerdo municipality, according to a news report which appeared in El Siglo de Durango news daily.

The victims were two men and a female, one of the men of which was identified as Ricardo Marquez Rivera, 25.  They were found in ejido El Huarache on Avenida San Carlos in Benito Juárez colony. The location where the dead were found was near the Coahuila-Durango border.

Meanwhile in Gomez Palacio, Durango a bus driver was shot and later died Sunday, according to a separate news account which appeared in El Siglo de Durango.

The victim was identified as  Gregorio Lopez Mireles, 56, who was driving a bus between Gomez Palacio and Tlahualilo, near ejido  Arturo Martinez Adame.  An armed suspect shot the victim in an apparent robbery attempt.

According to data supplied by El Siglo de Durango, a total of 22 individuals have been murdered since the start of the year in the Durango side of La Laguna, including the three found in ejido El Huarache, but apparently not including the bus driver killed last Sunday.

In January, nine men died, while in February eight men and two women were reportedly killed in the region.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and Borderlandbeat.com he can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

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7 die in La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of seven individuals have been killed in ongoing drug and gang related violence in Mexico's La Laguna region Monday, according to Mexican news accounts.

Newa accounts which appeared on the online editions of El Siglo de Torreon and El Diario de Coahuila say that five unidentified taxi drivers were gunned down at a taxi stand in Ciudad Lerdo, one of the larger towns in La Laguna region of north central Mexico.

According to the reports, the shooting began at about 1330 hrs when armed suspects with AK-47 rifles fired on the victims in the Centauro del Norte colony near the Ciudad Lerdo to Juarez highway.  At the moment reports fail to make clear if anyone survived the shooting other than one unidentified man who was taken for medical treatment.

Only an hour before in Gomez Palacio, which is directly adjacent to Ciudad Lerdo, two men were shot to death near a primary school.

The victims were identified as Ruben Huereca Gaytan and Jesus Rivera Rangel, and were shot near Benito Juarez primary school in Bellavista colony by armed suspects using AR-15 rifles.

The La Laguna region which comprises several western Coahuila and eastern Durango municipalities,  recently underwent a change in its security status when it was announced that the Mexican Army would take over all police functions. Until that announcement, La Laguna had suffered with a high amount of criminal activity including armed robbery.

Gomez Palacio had had part of its police department dismissed earlier in the year and were disarmed by the Mexican Army enforcing the Explosive and Firearms Act. 

Mexican federal information policy makes it nearly impossible to gauge how well Mexican federal security operations in the region fares, but as with several other regions in Mexico including La Laguna, La Tarahumara and northern Tamaulipas, it appears that federal security elements may have been redeployed to Michoacan to deal with the renewed violence in that state, leaving the other regions with reduced security deployments.

In other security news in Coahuila state a total of eight unidentified suspects were detained near the town of Cuatro Cienegas by Coahuila state Policia Estatal units, according to a news account posted on El Siglo de Toerreon.

The suspects were detained on a variety of offenses including murder, kidnapping and extortion.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com

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8 die in La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of eight individuals were killed or were found dead in the La Laguna region of Mexico since Friday, according to Mexican news accounts.

Two unidentified men in their 20s were found shot to death and abandoned in a Volkswagen sedan Monday, according to a news report which appeared on the website of Yancuic.com  The Victims were found between ejidos Valle Eureka and 18 de Marzo in Gomez Palacio municipality in Durango state shot once in the thorax and head.

Elsewhere in Gomez Palacio, one unidentified armed suspect was killed by Durango state police in an exchange of gunfire, according to a  news account which appeared on the website of El Siglo de Torreon.

Somehow a patrol of the Policia Estatal encountered suspects who were travelling aboard two vehicles, one of them a Chevrolet Aveo sedan and the other an SUV on Bulevar Ejercito Mexicano near the Expo Feria de Gomez Palacio fairgrounds.

However, according to a Facebook post by Codigo Rojo Laguna, the SUV has been carjacked by a local drug gang headed by an individual identified only as TONY.

In the gunfight the remaining gang members, some of whom are claimed by Codigo Rojo laguna to be minors, escaped.

Meanwhile in Torreon in Coahuila three individuals were found shot to death, according to a news account which appeared on the website of El Diario de Coahuila.

The find was made near the intersection of calles Ninos Heroes and Fourth in Jose Ayup Tedy colony.

The victims were identified as Maria Luisa Flores Reyes, 45, Francisco Huerta, 46, and Antonio Valero Valero Parrilla,20.  A total of 15 each .223 caliber spent shell casings were found at the scene.

According to a Facebook posting by Codigo Rojo Laguna, armed suspects said to be associated with the Sinaloa Drug Cartel were seen at at least two bars, presumably in Gomez Palacio municipality.  The suspects had been intimidating bar patrons.

Friday, two more dead were found in Torreon in Coahuila, according to separate reports which appeared on the website of Vanguardia news daily.

•  An unidentified man in his 20s was found shot to death Friday night near the intersection of Periferico Raul Lopez Sanchez and Calle Francisco I Madero in Nueva Laguna Norte colony.
• A man in his 20s was shot and later died while receiving medical attention.  Martin Alejandro Ruiz Soto, 20, was brought into an Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) clinic by two relatives who said the victim was shot near the intersection of calles Juarez and Adolfo Lopez Mateos in ejido Zaragoza by a shooter travelling aboard a motorcycle with another driver.

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

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14 die in La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 14 individuals have died or were found dead in the La Laguna region of north central Mexico according to several Mexican news reports.

A news account which appeared on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily said that the 10 of the killings took place between last Friday night and Sunday in the Coahuila side of La Laguna

Saturday night in Matamoros municipality, three unidentified individuals were shot to death near the intersection of calle Niños Héroes and Avenida Cuarta in José Ayup Tedy colony.  One of the victim was reported to be a woman.

According to a news account posted on the website of El Siglo de Torreon news daily, Sunday morning three men identified as lawyers were shot to death at a gathering in  ejido Ana de Torreon in Torreon municipality.  The victims were at a celebration when armed suspects broke into the celebration and started shooting.  The victims were identified as Efrain Parapac Salazar, 32, Leonardo Oviedo Muñoz, 25 and Fernando Rodriguez Garcia, 27.

Going by comments left at the website, the three victims had only recently been awarded their law licenses.

El Diario de Coahuila also reported that two more unidentified victims were found shot to death at a residence in  ejido Ana de Torreon.

According to the report the Coahuila state Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (PGJE), or attorney general reported finding one unidentified victim shot to death near the intersection of Calle Victoria and Arteria Gregorio Garcia.

Two more victims of violence were found Sunday in Torreon near the intersection of calles Juarez and Alhajas in Valparaiso colony.  The victims had been stabbed to death.

In Gomez Palacio, Durango, the four men found shot to death Friday night were identified as Manuel Rodriguez Salazar, 71, José Enrique Morales Martinez, 52, Juan José Montes Flores, 38 and Evangelina Miramontes Hernandez, 38 .  They were found aboard a Ford Explorer SUV on the road between  Santa Rita and La Union, shot once in the head.  All victims were residents of Torreon, Coahuila.

Separately, according to a news item on the website of El Siglo de Torreon eight suspects were detained for federal crimes in Torreon by a unit of the Torreon Direccion de Seguridad Publica Municipal police corporation.  Two firearms, a kilogram of drugs and a vehicle which had been allegedly carjacked were seized.

The detainees were identified as José Enrique Castillo Esparza, Martin de Jesus Mata Montejano, Andres Delgado Lujan, Fernando Osvaldo Gutierrez Enemegio, Mauricio Triana Ortiz, Cindy Salas Rubio, Yesica Garcia Ornelas and Karla Fabiola Sandate Garcia.

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

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New commander takes command of Mexican 10th Military Zone

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A press release by the new commander of the Mexican 10th Military zone, published in the online edition of yancuic.com, said that people near the La Laguna region can expect military checkpoints in the region.

General Lissum Foullon

Thursday, General de Brigada Georges Andre Van Lissum Foullon took command of the  10th Military Zone which headquarters are located in Durango city.  The new appointment replaces General de Brigada  Jose de Jesus Hernandez Rivera, who was appointed commander of Operativo Laguna, the new security operation began late last month.

In terms of the type of commander the newly inaugurated president Enrique Pena Nieto wants as he prepares to stand his military down from security duties in Mexico's drug war, General Lissum Foullon is as good as it gets.

According to Mexican news sources, General Lissum Foullon was born in Mexico City on May 15, 1956, and joined the Mexican Army September 1st, 1971.  He formerly held command of the Mexican 2nd Motorized Cavalry Regiment in Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas.  Among his other duties during that time he had conducted a weapons buyback program in the city that year.

General Lissum Foullon was promoted to General de Brigada in November 2010, and was appointed command of the Mexican 4th Military Zone based in Hermosillo, Sonora in 2011.

General Lisson Fullon was also military attache in Spain, a prerequisite for top military commands in the Mexican Army.

The general held command during the Tubutama, Sonora gunfight which killed 24 gang members in July of 2010.  Two months after the end of that bloody dual, he commented the local gang activity in his zone of operations was unlike other areas in Mexico. He commented that, "...security systems, the state and municipalities, have been working properly and that's one of the parameters that we can see."  The report began by saying southern Sonora state was one of the safest in Mexico.

During his tenure as commander of the 4th Military Zone he appeared to be the go-to guy for local news about the military, never at a loss to tout the activities and achievements of his command. 

Mindful of the civilian component of his duties the General was also quoted in a Sonora state newspaper as saying that education was the key to fighting drug trafficking, saying the rural areas are vulnerable, but adding that federal and state support for those area have improved.

But for the gun battles in Tubutama, the area of operation of the 4th Military Zone is basically a backwater.  His new command encompasses most of Durango state including the capital city of Durango as well as the Durango side of La Laguna, currently a hard case for security and one of the most violent regions in Mexico.

His holding command of the 4th Military Zone  two years, apparently his first Military Zone command since making General de Brigada, speaks well of his command since Mexican Army general staff do not appear to like trouble and prefers to keep good commanders in place to train troops.

General Lissum Foullon will have his work cut out for him as the Operativo Laguna security program gets into place.  At the moment, Mexican press is reporting that Mexican Army units will continue to cross attach with local and state police units to improve control and cross training in La Laguna.

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

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4 die as Mexican Army reinforces La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Four individuals, both armed suspects and civilians were killed Wednesday and Thursday in several incidents in the La Laguna region of Mexico as Mexican Army units filtered into the region Wednesday night, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news account posted on yacuinac.com Thursday one armed suspect was killed and another unidentified youth was detained Wednesday evening when a Mexican Army road patrol attempted a traffic stop of a driver and passenger aboard a Nissan Versa SUV.

The incident took place on Bulevar Ejercito Mexicano in Chapala colony in Gomez Palacio, Durango where the military patrol intercepted the vehicle. According to the translation, one of the two suspects opened fire on the unit prompting a pursuit, which ended on Calle Geminis in Morelos colony.

The driver was identified as Raul Jimenez De La Torre, 21, who died as the scene. The other detainee was said to be a youth, but his age was not disclosed in press reports.

In Torreon, according to a news account posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, the offices of El Siglo de Torreon newspaper has been attacked three times in the last three days, the last costing the life of one individual.

The first attack was a small arms attack that took place Monday near the intersection of Calle Rodriguez and Avenida Allende against a Policia Federal unit assigned to protect the newspaper offices, No one was reported hurt in the incident.

The second attack took place a day later and late at night near the intersection of Avenida Matamoros and Calle Acuña where armed suspects shot at the building and hit it 30 times. Apparently no security unit was present in Tuesday night's attack.

The third and most deadly attack took place Thursday afternoon against a Policia Federal unit tasked to guard the newspaper offices. That incident took place near the intersection of calles Rodriguez and Acuña. One man identified as Geraldo T. Carrera, 37 was was shot to death. A second victim, a pregnant female was evacuated from the area, but was not wounded in the incident.

In a separate incident this time in Torreon Coahuila, two unidentified construction workers were shot to death Thursday evening.

A Facebook posting by Codigo Rojo de Laguna said the incident took place near the intersection of calles Mexico and Emilio Carranza in Aviacion colony.

The Aviacion colony incident was possibly the result of an extortion and theft attempts by organized crime groups against construction companies in Durango, including in La Laguna.

According to a report posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango, Durango state Comunicaciones y Obras Publicas del Estado (SECOPE), Guillermo Rodriguez Salazar said the organized crime has been focused on stealing bagged concrete and fuel as well as other construction materiel.

The translation said that companies involved in public works construction projects have been targeted so far.

According to a separate news account posted on the website of yancuic.com, the Mexican Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) has moved 700 troops into the region with 350 to be deployed in Gomez Palacio and the rest, 350 in Torreon. The reinforcement was made pursuant to a request early in February in security meetings between Coahuila and Durango state officials and federal government officials, or around the time Operativo Laguna was formally begun.

The reinforcement is equivalent to an entire Mexican Military Zone or a rifle regiment. Since the security operation began earlier in February, Mexican Army as well as Mexican Naval Infantry units have been involved in security operations in La Laguna, but in unknown strength.

The previous SEDENA, General Guillermo Galvin Galvin preferred a system of constant troop rotation from every corner of Mexico as a security precaution, sometimes moving troops into troubled areas such as La Laguna from as far away as Chiapas, and rotating other units back out for reassignment or rest. It is unclear by either news account or by any official announcements if these new troops are an actual reinforcement or are part of a troop rotation.

Meanwhile presumed organized crime groups have been adding their own unique take on the security situation in La Laguna by putting up narcopintas or blankets painted with messages charging Durango Governor Jorge Herrera Caldera and Policia Federal troops for trying to deliver La Laguna to organized crime.

According to a news account posted on the website of Milenio news daily, narcopintas have appeared in Gomez Palacio where the violence and fighting has been the worst since the start of the year.

Narcopintas are a nearly constant feature in Mexico's drug war, and sometimes mean very little. Local drug gangs are known to put up narcopintas as a false flag operation, or claiming to be from one group when they have been put up by the other. In a few instances local police have been known to put up false narcopintas.

The narcopintas were quickly brought down by local officials.

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

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Family of 5 shot to death in La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Five individuals were found shot to death at a residence in Ciudad Lerdo in Durango Sunday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news account posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily, the incident took place at a residence in Laureles colony Sunday morning where the family, two adult males, a minor girl and their mother, were found by local police shot to death.

The dead were identified as Ana Patricia Gonzalez Gonzalez,  44, Jesus Antonio Olguin Gonzalez, 21, Octavio Olguin Gonzalez, 23 and Iliana Eunice Olguin Gonzalez, 9.  Also found dead inside the residence was Hugo Cesar Castro Vazquez, 43.  

Mexican press accounts say the shooting was unrelated to gang or drug crime.

Ciudad Lerdo is one of the main Durango municipalities in La Laguna region and has dodged much of the drug and gang related violence, unlike Gomez Palacio or Torreon in Coahuila state,  just across the state border.

Meanwhile in Gomez Palacio, four suspects were detained by a Policia Federal road patrol Monday. According to a news report posted on the website of El Sol de Mexico news daily, the patrol had observed the four suspects travelling aboard a vehicle at an excessive rate of speed.  Briefly the driver of the vehicle attempted to flee, but quickly stopped.

Police found  two handguns, three weapons magazines, 14 rounds of ammunition, a fragmentation grenade, 400 packages of marijuana and 200 packages of powder cocaine.

The detainees were identified as Victor Ernesto Orta Perez, 20, Felipe de Jesus Garcia Galaviz, 31, Juan Antonio Vazquez Navarro, 22 and Alejandro Ivan Rivas Fuentes, 28.

The news account hinted that the four could possibly be linked to the murder of the five traffic police agents last Thursday in La Laguna including four in Gomez Palacio, as well as the four arson fires set against businesses owned by the former major of Gomez Palacio Rocio Rebollo.

About the resignation last week of Rocio Rebollo Durango radio journalist Ruben Cardenas said on Twitter: "Gomez Palacio has no police, and now no mayor."

Drug and gang crime in Gomez Palacio has been so bad, that parents are removing children from school based on rumors that local schools could be attacked using small arms or arson fires.

According to a  separate news account posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango, the Primaria José Rebollo Acosta primary school in Felipe Angeles colony was emptied of students at around 1100 hrs when rumors came to light of narcopintas, or messages left by local drug gangs, threatening attacks on local schools.

The report also hinted other school in Gomez Palacio had reported absentees, even though teachers remained at the schools.

A late report posted Monday evening on El Siglo de Durango reported that a man was found shot to death in a gated community in Gomez Palacio.  Jose Alfredo Carrillo, 44 was found shot once in the temple in his residence in Las Noas colony.

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

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5 cops die in La Laguna

Photos of the aftermath of three of the incidents can be found here

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of five police agents in the La Laguna region of Mexico have been shot to death and another two were wounded Thursday afternoon, according to Mexican new accounts.

Also two other individuals were killed in Torreon, Coahuila and Gomez Palacio in ongoing drug and gang related violence

A news item posted on the website of Proceso news weekly said that four of the five dead police agents were killed on the Durango side of La Laguna in three separate incidents.

Two unidentified police agents with the Gomez Palacio, Durango transit police were shot to death near the intersection of calles Morelos and Urrea.  A second incident took place minutes later near the on Bulevar Miguel Aleman near the Museo Francisco Sarabia museum against a sole police agent.

The third incident took place near the intersection of Calzada Lazaro Cardenas near a technical school Centro de Estudios Tecnologicos, where a transit police agent was shot to death while directing traffic.

A fourth incident took place on Bulevar Guadalupe Victoria, which ended with an unidentified police agent wounded.

The fifth police agent was killed in Torreon in Coahuila, but no details have appeared in Mexican press regarding that incident.

The five dead police agents were identified in a news brief posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily as Gilberto Rodriguez Gonzalez, Jose Luis Gamboa Aleman, Victo Ivan Guereca Salinas, Florentino Martinez Flores and Jose Miguel Castro Roman.

Two other civilians were killed in La Laguna.

•  A man was found stabbed to death in an incident characterized as an execution Thursday.  Francisco Javier Ramirez Aldaba, 23, was found at a residence in Ejido El Vergelito stabbed in the chest and abdomen.
• An unidentified man in his 40s was found tortured and strangled to death on Avenida Hidalgo in Oscar Flores Tapia colony in Torreon in Coahuila Wednesday night.

Meanwhile in other security news, the Durango state Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) or attorney general announced Thursday that a total of nine unidentified suspects were detained by security forces.  Security forces seized drugs, guns and vehicles.

A number of weapons were found when a Policia Federal (PF) road patrol stopped two men who were travelling aboard a Dodge Neon sedan.  Inside the vehicle, PF agents found one 0.30 caliber and one 0.22 caliber rifles, one 9mm pistol, one 9mm Lugar pistol, one Uzi type pistol and one 0.22 caliber pistol.  Four weapons magazines were also seized in the traffic stop.  The two detainees were identified as Javier Becerra Gallegos and Omar Becerra Gallegos, both 25 and from Ciudad Lerdo, Durango.

Separately, four suspects were detained in La Laguna for alleged car theft.  The detainees were identified as Gregorio Contreras Aguirre, Gustavo Carrillo Reyes, Aaron Vega Renteria, and Julio Cesar Vega Renteria.

Three more suspects were detained for alleged attempted robbery.  They were identified as José Martin Chavez Hernandez,  Juan de Dios Garcia Navarro and Maria Guadalupe Rubio Rodriguez.

All nine suspects were transferred to the Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) in Durango city.

The La Laguna region began formal security operations named Operativo Laguna only last week in which Mexican federal security forces including the military and Policia Federal units along with Coahuila and Durango state police units would maintain patrols in the region, especially in the absence of 158 police agents who had been dismissed or who had quit the police corporations in Gomez Palacio.

That reduction in force in La Laguna had left the region with very little local police presence until the Mexican XI Military Region agreed to coordinate police activities in the region.

A separate news story posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango Tuesday said that about 100 naval infantry effectives, the equivalent of a rifle company had been deployed at the Expo Feria, or fairgrounds in Gomez Palacio to assist in security operations.  It was reported earlier this month that Mexican marine units had arrived in the region to assist  with security, but this latest news is the first of an encampment.

At last report, the Mexican Army was answering 066 telephone calls, Mexico's emergency telephone number.  It was also reported by Mexican press in a security incident earlier in the month that army marine and state police units were being combined for the purposes of patrolling then region.

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

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Mexican Army finds explosives in La Laguna, rescues 3

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Separate operations in Gomez Palacio, Durango and in Torreon, Coahuila led to the arrest of four suspects, freeing three kidnapping victims and the seizure of several classes of munitions including explosives, according to Mexican news reports.

The news is the first news of successful countercrime operations since the start of the newly dubbed Operativo Laguna last week, a joint security operation now commanded and coordinated by the Mexican XI Military Region based in Torreon, Coahuila.  La Laguna  is similar to a twin cities area which incorporates several municipalities including Torreon and Matamoros in Coahuila state and Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio, in Durango state.

According to a news dispatch posted on the website of yancuic.com news daily, an operation by the Mexican Army and Durango state Direccion Estatal de Investigacion (DEI), Policia Federal and Policia Estatal Acreditable (PEA) in Gomez Palacio yielded guns, ammunition and explosives.

The raid took place on calle 16 de Septiembre in Bella Vista colony near Zona Centro where security elements were dispatched to investigate the presence of men acting suspiciously.

The suspects had fled the scene escaping detention.  Security forces seized two fragmentation grenades, 6 sausage shaped explosives (probably Tovex), 88 detonators, a roll of white wick,, 50 rounds of 7.62x63 (.30 06 caliber) ammunition, 18 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition, undisclosed amount and type of spent cartridge casings and two banners with undisclosed messages to the authorities.

It is worth noting that Tovex was the type of explosive used in the July 16th, 2010 Ciudad Juarez car bomb which killed three, and was probably been used in last summer's car bomb in Neuvo Laredo in Tamaulipas.  Tovex is a commercial grade explosive typically used in Mexico in mining.  The Mexican state petroleum enterprise PEMEX is known to use Tovex.

Meanwhile in Torreon Coahuila, a kidnapping operation was dismantled by Torreon municipal police agents yielding a number of seized munitions.

According to a separate report posted on the website of yancuic.com,  a municipal patrol element observed an armed suspect with a rifle in Sol de Oriente colony, who then fled inside a residence.  A brief pursuit led to the arrest of four individuals.

The detainees were identified as  Ismael Hernandez Ruiz, 37, AKA El Enano,  of Matamoros, Coahuila, Edgar Castro Rogelio Menchaca, 20, AKA The Pump, of Torreon, Coahuila, Monica Elizabeth Esparza Castro AKA La Negra, 25, of Torreon, Cahuila and   Alfredo Domínguez Alanis, 40, of Torreon, Coahuila, and identified as the alleged leader.

Inside the residence police found and released three unidentified kidnapping victims.

Police also seized two AK-47 rifles, one AK-74 rifle, one AR-15 automatic rifle, one AR-15 5.56mm rifle, one 12 gauge double barrel shotgun, 30 weapons magazines, 1,252 rounds of ammunition (.223 caliber, 7.62mm, .32 caliber, .38 Special, .22 caliber and 9mm), two bulletproof vests, 11 Kenwood brand portable radios, five pairs of tactical boots, one sniper scope and one pair of handcuffs.

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

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Newly named La Laguna security operation to begin

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Government officials from Durango and Coahuila states are expected to meet Wednesday to map out a new security operation in the La Laguna region of Mexico, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news account posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily, Durango state Fiscalia del Estado (FGE) or attorney general Sonia Yadira de la Garza was quoted as saying the new operation would encompass municipalities of both Coahuila and Durango.

Fiscalia Yadira de la Garza

La Laguna is the name of a region in north central Mexico which includes part of eastern Durango and western Coahuila states.

The name of the new security operation will be changed to Operativo Laguna.

According to the article, Fiscalia Yadira de la Garza said the Durango state Secretaria de Seguridad Publica del Estado (SSPE) or public safety ministry,  would have single control over the operation.  Currently with the absence of 158 municipal police agents, who were detained two weeks ago in an investigation of corruption, Mexican security forces are currently supplying much of the manpower for patrolling the Durango side of La Laguna.  At last report, the Mexican Army was answering 066 emergency telephone calls in the region and was coordinating security patrols.

Mexican Naval Infantry and Policia Federal Preventativa forces have been in the region for at least two weeks, since the mass detentions of Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio municipal police agents.  Durango state has assigned police cadet volunteers to help fill out the police rosters.  It is known from news accounts that security forces from all three levels of government patrol in mixed patrols on the Durango side of La Laguna.

The area itself has suffered a large increase of violence since the old Laguna Seguro was cancelled by then Secretaria de Gobernacion (SEGOB) or interior minister Alejandro Poire.  The following spike in violence,according to a claim last week by Durango governor Jorge Herrera Caldera, has been reduced to a lower level in the past two weeks.

But problems in the region persist.

According to a tweet posted by Durango journalist Ruben Cardenas Tuesday night, the residence of Gomez Palacio mayor Rocio Rebollo was attacked Tuesday night, presumably by small arms fire.   No one was reported hurt in that attack.

In another example, an official in Gomez Palacio was reportedly found dead last Saturday.  Víctor Habib Nieto, 58, was found dead on Bulevar Ejercito Mexicano in Chapala colony.

According to a news account from El Contexto de Durango news daily, Habib Nieto, and his wife, Rafaela Araluce, 58, and his 24 year old son were kidnapped last Friday night.  Habib Nieto was a department head of Gomez Palacio's traffic police corporation, Secretaria de Proteccion y Vialidad.

A separate news account posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango said that Habib Nieto has been dismembered.

Also, according to a separate news brief published on the website of El Siglo de Durango, an unidentified pregnant female in her 20s was found shot to death and dumped near ejido Huitron Jimenez in Gomez Palacio municipality.

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

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Gangs rob at least five buses in Durango

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

At least five buses have been robbed at gunpoint near a northeast Durango municipality near La Laguna since last Sunday, according to Mexican enws accounts.

A news report which appeared last Monday on the website of El Mexicano news daily said that a group of athletes from Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez (UACJ) were stopped by armed suspects in Cuencame de Ceniceros municipality, and stripped of cell phones and cash.

Cuencame de Ceniceros is on Mexico Federal Highway 40 40 kilometers south west of La Laguna.  In the Sunday attack, one of the bus drivers were reported hurt. Armed suspects riding aboard a truck forced the three buses carrying the students to stop.

A news report which appeared on Yancuic news website by Richard Ibarra, said that the attacks began last Tuesday which do not line up with the El Mexicano account, which said one attack took place on Sunday

In the Yancuic account, the office of the Durango Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) or state attorney general said one of the attacks took place near the village of Chocolate early Tuesday morning.

When Mexican federal security forces arrived at the Chocolate location, they found five vehicles, an abandoned truck, passengers and a driver.  The Yancuic account also said another two public buses were robbed as well. 

Additionally, a truck was attacked with small arms in Gomez Palacio Thursday, but no one was reported hurt in that attack.

Meanwhile in Torreon, Coahuila four more dead were found bringing the total murdered in Torreon to 42.

According to several news reports posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, three individuals were found shot to death near the intersection of Calle Joaquin Moreno and Avenida Juarez in Torreon.  The dead were identified as Jesus Humberto Martinez Escarcega, 25, Alexis, 17, and Claudia Berenice Guzman Reyes, 30.

In other news, in perhaps the most stark statement to date of the security situation, the Durango FGE was forced to admit that security operations ion the Durango side of La Laguna are no longer under the control of her office.

A press report brief which appeared on the website of El Siglo de Torreon news daily reported the remarks of Lt. Adelaido Flores Diaz, director of Torreon Direccion de Seguridad Publica Municipal, as saying Seguro Laguna was now in operation. 

Seguro Laguna was the name of the now cancelled security program which operated in the region between October 2011 and November 30th 2012.  The then Secretaria de Gobernacion (SEGOB) or interior minister Alejandro Poire cancelled the operation when violent crime fell in the area.

The decision to cancel Seguro Laguna left Durango governor Jorge Herrera Caldera practically screaming in the press for federal security assistance.  The only federal response since last December was to close Centro de Readaptcion Social Numero 2 in Gomez Palacio, before a decision was made to reintroduce federal security forces, such as army, naval infantry and Policia Federal units to the region.  The decision to close the CERESO, made by new SEGOB Miguel Osorio Chong, has complicated state security efforts, now that detainees must be taken to the Durango state capital 150 kilometers away.

In a brief statement to the press Durango FGE Sonia Yadira Garza Fragoso said that Seguro Laguna was no longer in operation and that the Mexican Army now solely controls security operations in the region.

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

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Durango governor claims La Laguna violent crime down 40 percent

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Less than 10 days after most of their police force were eliminated, the municipalities of the Durango side of La Laguna are beginning to restart their security programs, even as political concerns about security in Durango and Coahuila states are being aired, according to Mexican news accounts.

A news report posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily said that 40 police trainees from Durango state and four police agents from the Durango state Direccion Municipal de Seguridad Publica have volunteered to go to La Laguna to begin assisting in security operations.

The 40 volunteers represent more than half the class of 75 students from the Durango city based Academia de Policia, said Comision de Seguridad Publica, Lidia Hernandez.

Concerns about security in La Laguna from Durango state legislators have increased in recent days, enough so that a meeting has been scheduled with Durango state Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) or state attorney general Sonia Yadira De la Garza Rosso Antonio Fragoso and the state Chamber of Deputies Comision de Seguridad Publica del Congreso del Estado to address those concerns.

Gob. Herrera Caldera

For his part Durango governor Jorge Herrera Caldera was quoted in another El Siglo de Durango news report posted Wednesday that the levels of violence which increased by 40 percent in December, 2012, have fallen back to pre December levels, this even with a near total lack of police protection in Ciudad Lerdo.

Governor Herrera said that the reduction of crime rates have taken place in the last ten days with the assistance of federal and state security forces in the area.

Meanwhile in Torreon, Coahuila a business group, Consejo Lagunero de la Iniciativa Privada (CLIP), has criticized Governor Herrera that Mexican Army forces from the 10th Military Zone are covering only the five municipalities of La Laguna, requested that the governor accept patrols from the VI Military Region, which patrol responsibilities include the 12 other municipalities comprising the Coahuila side of La Laguna.

According to a news report posted on the website of yancuic.com news website, the group's leader, Eduardo Castañeda, said the request would place all of La Laguna under a single military command.

In previous iterations of security programs in La Laguna the VI Military Region was assigned command of all security operations in the region before the security program, dubbed Seguro Laguna, was cancelled November 30th, 2012.

Castañeda charged that Governor Herrera has prevented army units from the 10 Military Zone from expanding its patrol area of responsibility to include municipalities on the Coahuila side of the area.

Castañeda also said it was impractical to deal with an army command hundred of miles away, in this case the III Military Region in the port city of Mazatlan in Sinaloa, when the VI Military Region, based in Torreon,  just across the border, could assume patrol duties in the region.

Coahuila PAN state senator Guillermo Anaya Llamas criticized Castañeda's concern about the desirability of a single security command in La Laguna, and he charged that Castañeda was not interested in the problem of insecurity in La Laguna.  He  also characterized the security problem in la Laguna as "complicated".

According to the translation, Anaya Llamas was quoted as saying, "We see that the president does not have the slightest interest to solve the problem of insecurity in La Laguna."

Meanwhile the Durango Vice Fiscalia based in Ciudad Lerdo reported that a firefight between a combined security patrol  and armed suspects  took place on a road between Ciudad Lerdo and Tlahualilo Saturday afternoon, killed one armed suspect and forced a second suspect to surrender.

According to a news item posted on the website of El Contexto de Durango news daily, the patrol comprising Mexican Army, Polica Estatal Acreditable (PEA) and Direccion Estatal de Investigacion (DEI) units was passing near ejido Santa Cruz de Luján when the patrol was fired on.  Security elements dismounted their vehicles in response and then returned fire killing one.

The dead suspect was identified as Manuel Arturo Meraz Gaytan, 23.  Lucio Gonzalez Villa, 36 was detained at the scene.  One .45 caliber pistol was seized and several packages of marijuana divided for retail sale were also secured.

The unit continued on its way to ejido Jauja where it came upon a vehicle with two unidentified dead men inside.  Both men had been shot to death.

The report notes that combined patrols such as the one which fought the two armed suspects are now standard in La Laguna.

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

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81 disgraced La Laguna cops resign

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 81 disgraced municipal police agents in La Laguna resigned their jobs Thursday despite being offered training and tests that could have reinstated them, according to Mexican news accounts.

Last Friday 158 municipal police agents and clerks from Gomez Palacio and Ciudad Lerdo in Durango were detained after disarmed by a Mexican Army unit, placed on six buses and then transported to Centro de Readaptacion Social Numero 1 in Durango city to face investigation and possibly charges.  Among those detained were the Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP)or police chiefs of Gomez Palacio, Victor Hugo Cordero and Ciudad Lerdo SSP Andres Balderas Perez.

According to a news report posted on Animal Politico website, however, 64 municipal police agents remain in detention with the two SSPs facing charges and with six other unidentified municipal police agents under arrest warrants.  A total of 91 police agents were released Wednesday.

The 91 police agents were offered as a condition or retaining their employment, military training by the army as well as confidence tests by the Mexican Army,but, apparently all refused. The Mexican Army is currently operating  La Laguna's 066 emergency system, and operates patrols in the area.

It has been reported in Mexican press that an undisclosed number of military and police operatives have been deployed to La Laguna to aid with a security situation which has been characterized as  deteriorating, including Mexican Army, Naval Infantry, and Policia Federal.

Diputado Rodriguez Ochoa

Thursday, according to a news item posted on El Siglo de Durango news daily, a Durango state deputy, José Antonio Rodriguez Ochoa, said that La Laguna has been forgotten and abandoned by state authorities.

According to the  news report José Antonio Rodriguez Ochoa said: "The state of Durango state is not acting with the strength that such a complicated situation requires."

The deputy als referred to a  recently passed Ley de Extincion, or Law of Forfeiture, the resources of which have not been diverted to use in confidence and control tests used to decide whether a police agent can retain his or her job.

According to a news item posted on the website of Yancuic news agency about ten clerks and police agents appeared at the Gomez Palacio Palacio Municipal or city hall Thursday to inquire about their employment status and any possible severance. According to the municipality human resources director, Jose Herrera, police agents asked about reassignment in other areas of the municipality while the security situation is normalized.

Herrera was quoted as saying a severance of MX $2,000.00 (USD $158.25) was offered for voluntary resignations, and that was all that could be discussed.  The subtext in the news report is that Gomez Palacio may not have sufficient funds to offer severances to all the resigned police agents.

Meanwhile in Durango city Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto visited  Durango state Thursday to promote his latest social initiative, the Cruzada Nacional contra el Hambre, or National Campaign against Hunger before he leaves for a tour in South America.

According to a news report posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango, President Pena Nieto said in a brief radio interview that he was "aware"of the situation in La Laguna, and that violence may not be quelled but in the medium term.  In the interview Pena Nieto failed to specify a time frame for ending violence in La Laguna.

According to a news item posted on El Universal news daily President Pena Nieto is planning to attend a meeting of the Communidad de Estados Lainamericanos y Caribenos (CELEC) or Community of Latin American and Carribiean States to held in Santigo in Chile.  President Pena ia also planning a brief visit to Uruguay.


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

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Durango side of La Laguna receives federal and state security reinforcements

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

The arrival of Mexican naval infantry units as well as Durango state police units in The Durango side of La Laguna region have taken place since Friday, according to Mexican news accounts.

Since last Thursday, when a large part of the municipal police forces of Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio were detained and sent to the Durango state capital to face investigation -- and in some cases charges -- rumors  have abounded on Twitter that Mexican naval infantry units had been dispatched to the region to beef up security.

Last Thursday Mexican Army units, probably from the 10th Military Zone, arrived on the Durango side of La Laguna to disarm local police.  Under normal circumstances such an action would be routine as the Mexican Army is charged with enforcement of the Mexican national Firearms and Explosives Act. It appears to be standard operating procedure for Mexican military zone commanders to disarm police units en mass for weapons checks. 

Instead, the local police had apparently been disarmed in anticipation of the mass detention of 158 police agents including two municipal police chiefs from Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio, Durango.

According to a report posted on the Animal Politico website the action left the Durango side of La Laguna with no active local police.  Since Friday's mass detentions only 30 police agents have been released.

According to a news report posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, fresh reinforcements have arrived since Friday including Durango state ministerial police and Direccion Estatal de Investigacion (DEI) police agents to help with security in the La Laguna region.

The news report said that checkpoints have been erected in the Durango side of La Laguna and that both levels of security Durango state and federal units which include Mexican Army, naval infantry and Policia Federal are all involved in security operations in La Laguna.

All the renewed security activity being coordinated by the Vice Fiscalia the Mexican equivalent of a district attorney, although the Animal Politico report said the Emergency Telephone number 066 in La Laguna is being answered by the army.  The report also characterized the Vice Fiscalia as being paralyzed by the severe increase of crime especially in armed robberies.  The report also claimed the Vice Fiscalia offices are without support staff to carry on their work.

The closing of Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) Number 2 in Gomez Palacio by the Mexican interior ministry last month has presented new challenges now that detainees must be transported to the state capital to face trial and charges.

In the previous iteration of the Seguro Laguna security operation, a Mexican Army commander had the task of coordinating security operations among the three levels of government, but news reports seem to point to a paralyzed legal staff forced to coordinated security in the Durango side of the region.

Last Saturday night, Durango journalist Ruben Cardenas tweeted that the Torreon and Coahuila side of La Laguna had been shut down and that night life on the Coahuila side had all but ended because of security concerns.

A day later several reports of gunfights, presumably between criminal gangs that operate in the area have been reported.

According to a news article posted on the website of El Siglo de Torreon news daily, gunfire was reported in several colonies in Torreon municipality including ejido Ana and Torreon Jardin and Jacarandas colonies.  A Sunday tweet by Ruben Cardenas also reported gunfire in "various zones", as he put it, in Ciudad Lerdo in Durango including on Bulevar Miguel Aleman.

Cardenas also reported on Twitter Saturday that several dead were reported in Anna colony as well as the village of Oribe Peralta in Torreon municipality.

In most of the news report, the idea being put forth is that the Durango side has been enjoying reinforced security, albeit with a civilian staff barely able to handle their new task, but the Coahuila side has been all but abandoned.  Little activity by the Coahuila state government has emerged even as gunfights and deaths have been reported on the Coahuila side of La Laguna.

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

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158 cops detained in La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 158 police agents from two eastern Durango cities have been detained by Durango state authorities for their alleged connection with organized crime, according to Mexican news accounts.

Fiscalia Garza Fragosa

In an news article posted on the website of Animal Politico, Durango Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE), Sonia de la Garza Fragoso was quoted in an interview featured on Radio Formula Friday that 110 police agents from Gomez Palacio and 48 from Ciudad Lerdo were placed on at least six buses and taken to the state capital to face confidence tests and possible criminal charges.

According to a news report on La Silla Rota news daily Friday, a total of six arrest warrants were issued including two for two police chiefs.  The two police chiefs with arrest warrants were identified as Gomez Palacio Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP) or police chief Victor Hugo Cordero and Ciudad Lerdo SSP Andres Balderas Perez.
In the account of the radio interview Fiscalia Garza Fragoso said that the detainees were suspected of having ties of Los Zetas and Pacifico cartel.  Some of the police agents were also suspected of kidnapping and of being lookouts for organized crime.

Garza Fragoso was also quoted as saying while some of the detainees were facing warrants from a Durango state judge, some would likely be released, if no connection with organized crime could be found.

Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio form the Durango part of La Laguna, which includes Torreon in western Coahuila and several municipalities from both states total.

Late Friday El Siglo de Torreon news daily reported a gunfight between a Policia Federal road patrol and armed suspects in Moderna colony in Torreon in Coahuila near the intersection of bulevars Ramos Arizpe and Constitucion, which left one Policia Federal agent wounded.  The operation to counter armed suspects in the area included the use of a helicopter.  The report also said that Mexican Army and other federal security forces were present in the Durango side, presumably meaning naval infantry units, or possibly Policia Federal units.

La Laguna had had a security operation in place dubbed Seguro Laguna which began in October of 2011.  The operation was ended by then interior minister Alejando Poire last November 30th, who declared the operation a success.  Violence had been in decline just prior to the operation's cessation.

However, renewed concerns over the lack of federal security in the area sent Durango state officials including Durango governor Jorge Herrera Caldera scrambling seeking more security fro the federal government.

Governor Herrera Caldera

At the time Federal security forces had been shifted from the south such as in La Laguna to the north to deal with the fallout from a mass prison escape in Piedras Negras, leaving other parts of Coahuila with a reduced level of security.  Since December 1st, violence had slowly been on the upswing in the area.

SEGOB Osorio Chong

Last week Twitter reports said that Mexican naval infantry units were in the area patrolling in the Durango side of La Laguna, while Policia Federal units were observed in the Coahuila side.  All of this renewed federal activity has come without any formal declaration by Mexico's new interior minister Miguel Osorio Chong, who is now under a newly implemented requirement to release information on new and ongoing security operations.

According to a new items posted on the website of La Silla Rota news daily Friday evening, Mexican Army units had moved into the Durango side in order to disarm police.  The Mexican army is normally charged with enforcement of Mexico's gun and munitions control law, the Firearms and Explosives Act which allows military Zone commanders to routinely disarm police to check weapons for illegal use or possession.  Last week traffic police were disarmed among other police elements, so presumably, the disarmament was in anticipation of Friday's detentions.

Fiscalia de la Garza Fragoso was quoted in the La Silla Rota article as saying Mexican Army units have already started routine patrol duties in the area.

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

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24 die in Durango in failed prison escape

SECOND UPDATE: The Durango State Secretaria de Seguridad Publica del Estado (SSPE) reports 24 total died in the prison escape attempt.  El Siglo de Durango news daily has a video.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 15 inmates and nine trustees were shot to death in a failed escape attempt in a prison in far eastern Durango state Tuesday, according to Mexican news and Twitter reports.

According to a news item posted on the website of Milenio news daily, the shooting and escape attempt took palce at the Centro de Readaptacion Social Number Two (CERESO) in Gomez Palacio, Durango at around 1700 hrs.

According to the news item, an alert was issued about a prison riot.  Gunfire was exchanged between criminal group and prison guards as inmates attempted to jump a back fence. Guards were fired on prompting return fire which killed nine prison trustees and 15 inmates.

A Mexican Army element was nearby which assisted in retaking control of the prison.

A dispatch which appeared on the website of Animal Politico Tuesday evening noted that the prison itself had been inspected by an unit of the Policia Federal as part of Laguna Seguro security operation, starting Sunday night and ending Monday morning. The raid found several contraband items including shanks cell phones and other items. The search was initiated at the request of Mexico's Comision Nacional Derechos Humanos (CNDH), or human rights commission.

Durango's CERESO Number Two was the prison where in 2010 prison officials colluded with inmates to stage armed attacks outside the prison on facilities operated by Los Zetas drug cartel.  Included in those attacks was the infamous attack on a party at Quinta Italia in Torreon in Coahuila just across the border with Durango, which killed 17 party goers.

The group  was also responsible for at least two other attacks in the La Laguna area which killed at last 16 individuals .

La Laguna encompasses Torreon, Coahuila, Gomez Palacio and Ciudad Lerdo in Durango. Laguna Seguro ended less than three weeks ago in the area, but Durango state has begun operating a separate security operation in Gomez Palacio, in cooperation with the Mexican Army, and now, apparently the Policia Federal, now a sub agency of the Mexican national Secretaria de Gobierno, or interior ministry.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com

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One week after end of Laguna Segura, SEDENA reinforces La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

One week following the end of the security operation known as Laguna Segura and in the wake of several criminal incidents, elements of the Mexican Army and Durango state police are scheduled to arrive in La Laguna, perhaps within hours to reinforce security operations in the area, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news item posted on the website of El Sol de Durango news daily, three unidentified youths were found shot once in the head on the road between Nuevo Gomez Palacio and the village of La Borrega in Durango state late Tuesday afternoon.  All three of the victims were under 16 years old.

In a separate incident, three men was killed when armed suspects attacked a business in Gomez Palacio Thursday, according to a news item posted on the website of EL Diario de Coahuila news daily.

The assault took place at Gruas ABSA on Bulevar Ejercito Mexicano, where armed suspects also set four cranes afire wounding two others.  The dead were identified as Oscar Sanchez Martinez, 23 , who died at the scene and, Pablo Sanchez Ruvalcaba, 56, and Nestor Joaquin Landeros, who died while receiving medical attention.  Wounded in the fire were Samuel Mendoza Hernandez, 39, Torreon, Coahuila, and Homero Garcia Meza, 21, Gomez Palacio.

Only two months ago then Mexican interior minister Alejandro Poire Romero arrived in Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila state, to make a review of security conditions in La Laguna, later making the determination that since violence had been reduced, the Laguna Segura operation could come to an end.

La Laguna is an area in eastern Coahuila and western Durango states which includes 10 municipalities of both states as well as the cities of Torreon, Coahuila and Gomez Palacio, Durango.  Its location is on the northern most contiguous east west highway that connects the east and west coasts of Mexico, Mexico Federal Highway 40.

Alejando Poire Romero

For his part, Coahuila governor Ruben Moreira Valdes, his hands have been full in dealing with the breakdown in security in the Piedra Negras region of northern Coahuila state, where 131 inmates at a Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) escaped, creating a massive security headache, with a severe uptick in violent incidents in the wake of the mass prison escape.

Governor Moreira Valdes also suffered the loss of his nephew, Eduardo Moreira who was working for Coahuila state in Ciudad Acuna, and who was killed allegedly on orders of Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, leader of Los Zetas, who himself was killed in an exchange of gunfire with a naval infantry unit in northern Coahuila state.

Jorge Herrera Caldera

Durango Governor Jorge Herrera Caldera has been publicly less than enthusiastic at the news, protesting the security operation should continue.

Laguna Segura was initiated  November, 2011, as a comprehensive joint program controlled by the Mexican Army, including the 10th Military Zone and later the IX Military Region, which intended to address jurisdictional problems  especially in pursuits against organized crime groups which pass through the area.  The program was also intended to clean state police and assist 10 municipalities in and around La Laguna in cleaning their police corporations, as well as provide a choke point for drug cartels' movement of product and shooters north.

At one point Laguna Segura claimed as many as 4,000 federal operatives in the area.

According to a news item posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily, Durango state Secretaria de Seguridad Publica del Estado (SSPE), Antonio Rosso Holguin, announced that Durango Policia Acrediable units and units of the Mexican Army would move into the area and would be coordinated this time by Durango state.

Antonio Rosso Holguin

SSPE Rosso Holguin also said that Policia Federal (PF) units could return to the area, but not yet, as hotels housing PF units were already full. Some PF quarters were attacked by armed suspects last month.  He also indicated that Torreon may not be protected by units with the 10th Military Zone, which is based in Durango.

So far, no announcement has been released by the Mexican  Secretaria de Defensa Nacional  (SEDENA) the  controlling agency for the Mexican Army relating to the new security arrangements. 

Mexican news accounts indicate that the state security structure in Coahuila is currently focussed on the Piedras Negras area, where shootings and shootouts have become commonplace.

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

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Death in Durango: 11 die

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 11 individuals were killed or were found dead in ongoing drug and gang related violence in Durango and Coahuila states including three Policia Federal (PF) agents, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news account on the website of Animal Politico, the three PF agents had been ambushed in Gomez Palacio by armed suspects who were travelling aboard several vehicles.  The ambush took place near the intersection of calles Victoria and Zaragoza in Zona Centro at around 1100 hrs Thursday.

The three PF agents who died in the encounter were identified as Pedro Cano Rodriguez, 34, Refugio Hernandez Ramirez, 41 and Antonio Lopez Mendez 33.

Meanwhile, eight individuals have died in drug or gang violence elsewhere in Durango state, according to a news report posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily.

• A decapitated body was found in Tlahualilo municipality Tuesday morning near Ejido Banco Nacional. The victim was an unidentified male in his 20s with tattoos, whose hand were bound.  His head was found near by.
• Two women were found shot to death inside a minivan in Gomez Palacio municipality late Tuesday night.  The victims were identified as Ema Martínez Sainz, 55 and Dora Alicia Regalado Ramirez, 40.  They were found aboard a Toyota Quest minivan near the intersection of Avenida Madero and Calle Zaragoza.
• An unidentified man in his 20s was found shot to death along the Durango city to Gomez Palacio highway at Kilometer 41.
• Another unidentified man in his 20s was found shot to death in Gomez Palacio municipality Wednesday night.  The victim was found in  San Alberto colony in Ejido Filadelfia.  He had been shot once in the head.
• According to a news item posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, three armed suspects were killed by Mexican security forces in Piedra Negras municipality in Coahuila state Wednesday evening.  According to the report, the gunfight took place near the intersection of calles Lopez Mateos and Alejo Gonzalez in Buenavista colony.  A unit of the Coahuila state Grupo de Armas y Tacticas Especiales  (GATE) located the armed suspects who were travelling aboard a van, and who had fired their weapons at state security forces.  Piedra Negras is under heightened alert due to a mass prison break last Monday,which sprung 132 criminals.

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

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Security officials consider more reinforcements as 13 die in La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 13 murders in La Laguna region of Mexico in the last five days has Coahuila state security officials pondering a call for more federal reinforcements, according to Mexican news accounts.

A story posted on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily quoted Coahuila state security spokesman Sergio Sisbeles, saying Coahuila state officials are considering asking the head of the federal Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP) Genero Garcia Luna for additional reinforcements to the area.

A total of four individuals were found butchered and placed in garbage bags in Torreon in a Toyota pickup truck near the intersection of Calle Piedras Negras and Avenida Arista in Valle Verde colony five days ago.  Another six individuals were shot to death in the garage of a residence in Valle Dorado colony later that evening.  Two more unidentified individuals were shot to death near the intersection of Paseo de los Azulejos and Diagonal de las Fuentes in Ampliacion La Rosita colony.   

Additionally, a couple was shot in Gomez Palacio, Durango Tuesday night.

According to an account published on the website of El Sol de Mexico news daily,  Cesar Ruiz Silva, 36 was shot to death while his wife, Irma Carrillo Ivon 35 was critically wounded as the couple travelled board their Ford Lobo (F-150) pickup truck to go grocery shopping at an EXTRA convenience store in Miravelle colony Tueuday night, when they were attacked by armed suspects who were travelling aboard a Dodge Atos SUV.

Another incident which has officials worried is the detention of five alleged gang members affiliated with the Pacifico Cartel.

A separate story posted on the website of El Sol de Mexico reported that Juan David Alejandro Mendez Arizpe AKA El Chaparro and Sergio Gael Rosales Palacios, 18, Juan Manuel Hernandez Reyes, AKA El Talachas, 29, Miguel Ángel Contreras Carrillo, 21, and Paulino Najera Valadez, 49 were detained three days ago for their role in an attack on two Policia Federal agents on the Matamoros-Mazatlan highway at Kilometer 236.  Both federal agents were reported safe following the incident.

Mendez Arizpe and Rosales Palacios are being held for murder, while Hernandez Reyes and  Contreras Carrillo were detained for kidnapping.  Najera Valadez was also detained for his role in keeping safe houses and acting as a lookout for the group.

Police also seized three assault rifles, 11 weapons magazines, 197 rounds of ammunition and a ballistic vest. Vehicles seized included one stolen Volvo S40 sedan, one Mazda B2500 pickup truck, one Volkswagen Jetta, and one Volkswagen Golf.

The La Laguna region, which encompasses Torreon, Coahuila, and Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio in Durango, has been the focus of a security operation which began last October dubbed Seguro Laguna.  That operation is mirrored in a number of other similar operations including Operacion Noreste in Tamaulipas state, Seguro Veracruz in Veracruz state and Seguro Guerrero in Guerrero state.  These security operations have been in place since last fall and reflect a change in strategy by the Mexican federal government which focusses on concentrating police and military power in transit choke points used by organized crime to move drugs, guns and immigrants north to the US border.

As of last February, a total of 4,000 federal and state security effectives  had been deployed to the La Laguna region.

Last February, a news reports said that Policia Federal units had moved out of Torreon and were redeployed south, specifically to Zacatecas state.  The subtext of the rotation was that Policia Federal road patrols in the region had somehow added to the violence in the region and that rotating them out would reduce violence.  It is unclear in news reports at the time which entity ordered the units out, the Sixth Military Region or from the federal SSP.

The El Diario de Coahuila article also hinted that requests for federal reinforcements could include Mexican naval infantry units, including special units which have proved effective in eliminating violence in a region.  Coahuila state already has a marine company encamped in Ciudad Acuna in far northern Coahuila since last February.

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

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4 more dead found in Durango state

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of four bodies were exhumed from two mass graves in far eastern Durango state Thursday, according to Mexican news reports.

The find was made in Lerdo municipality which is in the western part of the region colloquially known as La Laguna, which includes Ciudad Lerdo and Gomez Palacio, Durango and Torreon  Coahuila.  A Mexican Army unit had been dispatched to the area based on an anonymous tip, which found the graves.

According to a report in El Siglo de Durango news daily, two graves were found three kilometers away from each other, the first was a  grave in Las Noas canyon area which contained the remains of two women in advanced state of decomposition.

The second pit was located in an area dubbed Los Compadres, which contained the remains of two men, also in a state of decomposition.

The report said the new find raises the death toll in Durango to 335, but plenty of doubt exists to that claim.

More than two weeks ago a Mexican Army unit began to excavate a site in Cristobal Colon colony in Durango city, where the last 50 dead were found last January. That report said the remains of at least one individual had been uncovered, and more were expected.

To date no further news has been released as to the new death toll by the Durango state Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) or attorney general from the latest excavation in Durnago city.  The Durango FGE has been maintaining the count to date..

Last January when the last of the Cristobal Colon bodies were exhumed, confusion reigned as to the final death toll.  Local press had the total at 300, while Proceso news weekly counted 321.  This writer had the death toll at 330.

The great bulk of the dead found in Durango were killed in Durango city itself, more than 90 percent, while ten total were found in Lerdo municipality.  It had been determined by Durango state legal officials that nearly all the dead were killed between 2007 and 2011, and in the course of normal organized crime business.

While cumulatively the Durango mass graves are the worst in modern Mexican history, the honor of the worst mass murder goes to the San Fernando, Tamaulipas mass graves were 193 individuals were killed and buried between August 2010 and March 2011.  Those murders were all apparently done by the same criminal group.

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

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