Faced with Stricter Border Control, Ciudad Juárez Criminal Groups Target Locals for Kidnapping

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

With control of the US-Mexico border tightened, kidnappings are on the rise in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, as local criminal groups who previously focused on human smuggling have refocused on drug dealing and kidnapping to make up for lost revenue. 

Read More

Extradition Of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, 'Viceroy', Brother Of ' El Señor De Los Cielos Or Lord of the Skies' To The U.S. Granted By Judge

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This information was posted by RIODOCE 

Author | Editorial Staff

Date | November 21, 2024

Time | 5:53 pm

A judge has given the green light for Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, alias “El Viceroy”, the former leader of the Juarez cartel, to be extradited to the United States, according to La Jornada.

Julio Veredín Sena Velázquez, seventh district judge for criminal amparo proceedings, annulled the amparo lawsuit and denied him the protection of federal justice with which the drug lord had sought to stop his extradition to the neighboring country for an indefinite period of time.

On July 27, 2023, the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) granted the US government the extradition of 'El Viceroy', who is wanted by the Federal District Court of the Western District of Texas for money laundering and drug trafficking.

That same year, but in September, the same judge Sena Velazquez suspended the indefinite extradition of the brother of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, alias “El Señor de los Cielos.

In 2022, the Viceroy received an additional 20-year prison sentence, according to the Attorney General's Office (FGR), for organized crime to commit crimes against health.

In October 2014, Vicente Carrillo was arrested and placed at the disposal of a judge in order to be interned in the Federal Center for Social Readaptation 2 “Occidente”, located in Puente Grande, Jalisco.

SOURCE: RIODOCE 

Read More

No Information From Prosecutor's Office On Alleged Death Of Leader Of The La Linea Jesús Salas Aguayo "El Chuyin"

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This information was posted by LA OPCION DE CHIHUAHUA 

NOVEMBER 16, 2024

WRITTEN BY: EDITOR M

Ciudad Juarez - The District Attorney's Office of the Northern Zone, informed that it has no information on the alleged death of Jesus Salas Aguayo, El Chuyin, who was identified by the DEA as the head of La Linea in the state of Chihuahua. 

Gabriela Cita, spokesperson for the prosecutor's office in Ciudad Juarez, said this morning that we have no information on the facts.

This agency would be in charge of removing the bodies and investigating the alleged murders.

Since yesterday, two versions have emerged, one that El Chuyin was executed by his own criminal group and the other that his death occurred due to a heart attack while traveling in a vehicle on the highway that connects Villa Ahumada with the Benito Juarez ejido.

Neither was supported by the authorities.

SOURCE: LA OPCION DE CHIHUAHUA 

Read More

'La Gente Nueva del Tigre' Announces La Línea Members Will Be Killed Off. Narco Banners Are Left On Central Streets Of Guachochi; They Threaten To Take Over The Municipality: Chihuahua

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was translated and reposted from LaMasakr3 on X

July 3, 2024

" La Gente Nueva del Tigre announces La Línea will be targeted. 

Narco banners are left on the central streets of Guachochi; they threaten to take over the municipality.

Guachochi, Chihuahua - Several narco banners with a message were left in the central streets of Guachochi; it was reported that the message threatened to take over the municipality in the next few days and threatened a curfew.

On Tuesday morning it was reported that several tarpaulins were found with a message from a criminal group operating in the municipality of Guachochi.

This generated the mobilization of the authorities in the place, who found them hanging on road signs in the center of the town, being personnel of the National Guard who secured the banners for investigation.

Inside the tarps, you can read the following message: 

To all the people who are supporting the pigs, please get out of Guachochi or face the consequences "We already have a list of who they are" The pigs that you are supporting are going to be worth a damn and you fucking pig of palapas along with your fucking cock suckers are going to get fucked up, we are fed up with pigs in Guachochi. A new owner has arrived  Sincerely,  Gente Nueva

From 10 pm onwards I don't want people on the street because we are not going to respond.

In view of this situation and due to the content of the tarpaulins, this morning a security meeting was held between the different levels of government.

This fact was brought before the different authorities, who agreed to send another group of Interinstitutional Operations Base (B.O.I.) to be implemented in the municipality of Guachochi.'

SOURCE: LaMasakr3

📍

Read More

Spike in Violence in Northern Chihuahua

By Buggs for Borderland Beat 

The mayor of Ciudad Juárez, Cruz Pérez Cuéllar, said that the rise in homicides in recent days is due to confrontations between gangs that are dedicated in trafficking people and drugs (as seen in the second video below). 

Mayor Cuéllar went on to say “There are indications that it has to do with human trafficking, there is a dispute between criminal groups that are dedicated to trafficking. Apparently, there was a dispute that elevated to violence of crime, but we are attempting to control it. It appears there was an internal rupture in the criminal groups in the city and this is what caused this spike in homicides. We are in full coordination with the prosecutor's office,” he said in a press conference. 

The spike in violence prompted Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) to deploy 400 military forces around the city of Ciudad Juárez. These soldiers belong to a special unit that is characterized by their fast mobility in their deployment capacity.

Read More

Armed Group in Control of Buenaventura

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Buenaventura, Chihuahua— A large presence of “authorities” was reported on by residents of the municipality of Buenaventura, with the control that an armed group carries out in the area, stealing livestock, crops, agricultural machinery, and hydrocarbons to support their drug smuggling activities.

Furthermore, residents of Flores Magón, Namiquipa and Ahumada, say they are threatened, as a criminal cell calling itself “Los Linces” (The Lynxes) maintain an active presence and the lack of vigilance keeps the villagers vulnerable.  “Los Linces”, is presumably the same group consisting of mostly members of the Mexican Army who have deserted, who on February 10, faced against a dozen members of the only preventative state police division.

The same agents had arrested one of the leaders of “Los Lines” in Flores Magón for the bearing of a high-powered rifle and his followers were able to rescue him after a shootout.  Following this incident, the attackers were attacked by state agents and a large operation was carried out to capture them; however, due to the visit of Pope Francis to Juárez, the search was suspended because agents were moved to the border as part of the operation of the papal visit.

Read More

Juárez Cartel Leader Captured

Photo by: Juan José García

By: Gregorio Prieto | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

After a huge operation in the municipality of Villa Ahumada in the state of Chihuahua, Jesús Salas Aguayo, "El Chuyín" was captured.  The operation consisted of 450 agents belonging to the federal police, the Attorney General's Office, and supported by the Mexican Army; as well as armored vehicles and six helicopters belonging to the Attorney General's Office. El Chuyin is identified as the successor of the former leader of the Juárez Cartel, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, alias El Viceroy.

DEA profile of Jesus Salas Aguayo

The operation started around 7:00a.m. on Friday with the goal of locating several criminals engaged in organized crime in the region who maintain control of the sale of drugs and who have eluded the presence of the police force.

Read More

Found dead the presumed leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in Chihuahua

Translated for Borderland Beat from a Proceso article by Otis B Fly-Wheel

The Location of the corpse of Froilan Mata Sarmiento "El Nan"

The presumed leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in the Center South Zone of Chihuahua, Froilan Mata Sarmiento "El Nan", was found dead near a highway breach, that goes to San de Diego de Alcala.

The discovery of the body was made on local media communication this past Saturday 7th of February, but the posting was removed due to threats made by strangers to the poster. At that time the body had not been identified.

According to the portal radiza.com, the body had been transferred to a regional hospital, to establish the cause of death through autopsy.

The central prosecutors office confirmed the discovery of the body but did not know the identity of the victim.

Froilan Mata, 35 years of age, had been reported missing since 4th of February. His body was found on the night of 6th, with puncture wounds the apparent cause of death.

Read More

Hours of Terror in Border Town of Chihuahua

Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

The attorney general of the state (FGE) of Chihuahua reported that the confrontation that lasted over an hour in the municipality of Praxedis G. Guerrero left two people dead and three wounded.

Neighboring residents of Valle de Juárez, located in this border town, reported that while the shootings were occurring, no authorities from any level ever showed up.

Once they arrived, they closed the main entrances and could only enter the town through gaps; elements of some corporations conducted patrols throughout the streets.

The sound of bullets forced residents to hide in their homes.  “There is no authority here”, outraged neighbors said.

The body of one of those killed was found lying in the street, while the other was left in a vehicle while family members were trying to take him to receive medical care.

Six Killed in Urique

Residents of the community of Lluvia de Oro, in the municipality of Urique, Chihuahua, reported that this past Thursday, an armed commando, with military clothes and aboard several vehicles, entered the town, burned some houses, and allegedly killed six people.

However, so far, neither the federal government nor the state authorities have provided any information.

Read More

5 die in southern Chihuahua

A total of seven individuals were shot to death or were found in since last Tuesday in southern Chihuahua state municipalities, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news report which appeared in the online edition of El Sol de Parral news daily, three men were found shot to death Friday evening.

The victims, two of whom were identified as  Edil Bitelio Jimenez Payan, 30, and  José Isaías Torres Meza, 33, were both both from Guadalue y Calvio municipality.  Local residents had filed a complaint about three dead bodies on the Guadlupe y Calvo to Parral road, dead from gunshot wounds near the village of Turuachi.  All three victims were shot in the head.

Meanwhile in Bachiniva municipality, a man was found shot to death in  April 1st near a location called San José y Anexas.  The news report said he was struck with rounds from a 9mm weapon, probably a pistol.

Lastly, in Cuauhtemoc municipality last Thursday one unidentified individual was wounded and another unofficially was killed in an encounter with a Mexican Army unit, according to a separate news report in El Diario de Chihuahua news daily. 

According to a news account gunfire was exchanged between the occupants of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and a Mexican Army road patrol.

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

Read More

7 die in southern Chihuahua

Seven individuals were killed or were found dead in ongoing drug and gang related violence in southern Chihuahua state, according to Mexican news accounts.

In Bocoyna municipality last Friday four unidentified men in their 30s and 40s were found shot to death.

According to a news report which appeared in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily, the victims were found near the break between the villages of Cienega de Huacayvo and Tayarachi, near the San Isidro River.

All four had been shot to death and all had been left in the location long enough to be partially consumed by vermin.

Three others were killed in southern Chihuahua state.

Two men were found shot to death in Parral Sunday night, according to a news account in El Diario de Chihuahua.

Sergio Ubaldo Rodriguez Herrera, 18, and Jesus Manuel Herrera Salcido, 24, were found inside a Ford Mustang sedan parked on Calle Martires 3 de Mayo in Emiliano  Zapata colony.

The victims were apparently sitting in the vehicle drinking when armed suspects shot and killed them.

Meanwhile, Wednesday, a man in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality was found shot to death.

Aurelio Corral Ponce, 56, was found near the Restaurante Doña Cuca in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality, bound hand and foot, and shot three times.  The news report which appeared in El Sol de Parral news daily, said an AK-47 rifle was used in the killing.

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

Read More

2 more die in southern Chihuahua

Two individuals were shot to death and another was wounded in three separate shooting incidents in southern Chihuahua state municipalities.

According to a news account which appeared in El Monitor de Parral news daily, Marco Antonio Sanchez Zavala was shot to death at the Cantina Foreing Bar on Avenida Ortiz Mena and at around 1740 hrs Wednesday evening in Parral.

According to the report, a number of armed suspects entered the bar after dismounting from at least one sedan and started firing.  Sanchez Zavala was originally from Ciudad Juarez where he had been  working in a factory only two weeks before.

Meanwhile in Carichi municipality, an American national was found shot to death in her vehicle parked near a medical clinic Tuesday afternoon.

According to a news report which appeared in El Diario de Chihuahua news daily, Kathelyn Nicole Lambert Koegler, 20, had been shot in the chest and left to die in her Jeep Cherokee. Lambert Koegler had been resident of Carichi municipality since childhood.

On Wednesday night a man in his 20s was shot and wounded in Parral, according to a news report which appeared in the online edition of El Sol de Parral news daily.

Jesus Anselmo Bustillos Bustillos, 25, was wounded by a number of armed suspects who were aboard a black sedan at around 2040 hrs.  The incident took place at the victim's residence on Calle Maria Herrera Quiñones in PRI colony,  At least three shots were fired at the victim.

An anonymous writer for El Monitor de Parral wrote that a shouting match occurred between elements of the Chihuahua state police and elements of the Mexican Army who were on the scene.  The shouting was about ministerial agents at the scene contaminating the crime scene, an accusation advanced by the military site commander.

The shouting ended as prosecutors arrived on the scene to conduct their investigation.

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

Read More

3 more die in southern Chihuahua

A total of three individuals were killed on ongoing drug and gang related violence in southern Chihuahua state municipalities since last Sunday, according to Mexican news reports.

Sunday the deputy commander of the Chihuahua state police was found shot to dead on a road between Parral and Los Charco Sunday, according to a news report which appeared in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily.

Javier Enrique Nuñez, 42 has been shot multiple times with armed suspects who used 9mm and 12 gauge weapons.  He was described as a sub commander of the State ministerial police in Villa Colorado.

Also near Parral a man in his 20s was shot to death in an apparent hit in Matamoros municipality Tuesday.

According to a news account in El Diario de Chihuahua armed suspects aboard several truck were firing on the victim, identified as Juan Antonio Barragan Noriega, 22, before he was struck with gunfire and died.

Mexican press are calling the incident a shootout, which means the victim at least tried to shoot back at his attackers.  The shootout took place near the Chihuahua state and Durango state borders.

Meanwhile in Parral Tuesday a man in his 20s being treated in a hospital was shot to death by an armed suspect.

Alejandro Julian Almanza, 24, was shot by an unidentified man who demanded to see his victim, shot him and then took the victim's cell phone.  The shooter used a 9mm semiautomatic pistol in the attack.

According to the El Sol de Parral news daily account, several dozen witnessed the shooting.

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

Read More

Three more found dead in southern Chihuahua state

A total of three individuals were killed or were found dead in drug and gang related violence in three separate incidents in southern Chihuahua state municipalities, according to Mexican news accounts.

Saturday afternoon at around 1540 hours an  man was  shot to death in Hidalgo de Parral municipality, according to a news account published in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily.

Emmanuel Ochoa Holguin, 27, was in the main bus depot in Zona Centro of Parral city, and about to board a bus bound for Ciudad Juarez when a two armed suspects ran up to him and started firing before several onlookers.  As soon as the victim fell, the shooters went to a black sedan with a third suspects driving, then fled the scene.

According to a late news report, Ochoa Holguin had previously served time for drug related offenses in 2009 and 2011.

Also in Parral, two Chihuahua state ministerial agents interviewed a suspect who was drunk at the bar La Estrella in Morelos colony, who confessed to the murder of an unidentified individual a few days ago, according to a separate El Diario de Chihuahua news report.

After searching for two hours in San Jose colony in the village of Santa Rosa, the police found the victim who was in an advanced stage of decomposition.

A third unidentified individual was found shot to death in southern Mexico.

One unidentified man was found shot to dead in Bocoyna municipality Friday afternoon, according to a new report in El Diairo de Chihuahua.

The victim was found on a road between the village of Viveros and  Situriachi Dam shot once in the head.

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

Read More

4 die in southern Chihuahua

A total of four individuals were killed or were found dead in drug and gang related violence in southern Chihuahua state since last Tuesday, according to Mexican news reports.

Thursday afternoon, two brothers were found shot to death in Urique municipality, according to a news report which appeared in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily.  The victims were identified as Arnoldo Gutierrez Rios 24 years old and Alonso Gutierrez Rios, 23.

The two men left their residence and were headed for the village of San Rafael, but were shot some time after they left.  At the scene of the shooting, police found two weapons magazines for the AK-47 rifle, one 30 round capacity with 24 rounds and one full 40 round capacity magazine.

Arnoldo had an arrest warrant out issued from Mina judicial district for intentional homicide.  The warrant was from a May, 2012 incident.

Meanwhile in Bocoyna municipality, an unidentified man was found shot to death on the Creel to Guachochi road near ejido San Ignacio Ararekoa near a location dubbed Piedra de Elefante Wednesday.

Finally, a man was found shot to death in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality Tuesday.

According to a news report which appeared in El Sol de Parral news daily, Emilio Julian Chaparro, 43, was found in a gap between Guadalupe y Calvo and Baborigame municipalities, three kilometers from the main road.

The victim was shot at least once in the head.

Also in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality, specifically in Parral, Chihuahua state police continue their search for stolen cars in the city by operating a checkpoint in Parral.  The checkpoint is part of a police operation called Operativo Parral.

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

Read More

4 die in southern Chihuahua

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of four youths were found shot to death Thursday in the southern Chihuahua state municipality of Bocoyna, according to Mexican news accounts.

A news item which appeared on the website of El Punte Libre news daily said that a Mexican Army unit was dispatched to a stretch of road near the village of San Juanito, where soldiers found the victims naked to the waist, shot once in the head and stuffed inside a pickup truck.

The victims were identified as Daniel Abraham Dominguez Rodriguez, 20, Irving Noe Aleman Rodriguez, 19, Oscar Francisco Molina Mafiodo, 19, and Saul Adriel Paredes Martinez, 20.

The victims were reported kidnapped before they were found dead.

This latest find comes on the heels of a major confrontation between local criminal elements and Chihuahua state police, which came to a head last week as two state police agents were killed and another four were wounded in an ambush near San Juanito.  The ambush was a response by  the criminal group to a raid the day before which killed three criminal suspects, and resulted in three arrests.

That gunfight took place because, according to  recently installed Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) or state attorney general, Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas, state police were ordered into area to conduct counternarcotics operations more "aggressively",  which were previously left alone by his predecessor, Carlos Manuel Salas,and were reversing Salas' previous policies.  That policy suggested a connection between Salas and organized crime in the state.


Salas left his post last October after being appointed three years before in the wake of the 2010 election.

That supposed nexus was charged by local criminal groups in 2011, which went on a state murder spree of state police commanders in Chihuahua city claiming Salas maintained a connection with the Juarez dug cartel.  Similarly, his predecessor, Patricia Gonzalez, spent the last two years of her term as FGE under the same charges by criminal elements.

Gonzalez lost her brother to a brutal organized crime hit in 2010, and despite an investigation by the national attorney general, Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) , none of those charges were ever proved.

In a related development last week, Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas said his office was beginning an investigation into links between Salas and organized crime.

Saturday, however, FGE western district spokesman, Alexa Lara, said that state police presence in Bocoyna would be "withdrawn", but that the police were not going to completely retire from the area, essentially, doing what the FGE office said Salas had done, which had indicated a possible nexus with organized crime.

In a news account published in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily , the Lara characterized the situation as "calm" but "tenuous", and Mexican Army patrols have been intensified in the region.

The news story goes on to note that police would be rotated in and out of the area and the number of police elements would be "random",  presumably as a security measure

Meanwhile the municipal government of Ciudad Madera in far western Chihuahua state, announced Thursday that a long abandoned project to build an army base was to be resumed.

Madera, like most of the territory from Chihuahua city south is within the area of operation of the Mexican 42nd Military Zone.  Typical  Mexican Army bases house company sized elements, or about 100 effectives.

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

Read More

Chihuahua state opens investigation of former attorney general

Carlos Manuel Salas

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Chihuahua state Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) or attorney general confirmed Wednesday that his office has opened a criminal investigation of former Chihuahua state FGE, Carlos Manuel Salas, according to Mexican news reports.

A news report which appeared in the online edition of El Diario de Chihuahua news daily said that Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas has begun an investigation into events surrounding the murder of Marisela Escobedo Ortiz in 2010 in which Carlos Manuel Salas may have had a connection.

Manuel Salas became Chihuahua FGE in 2010 with the change in governments.

Marisela Escobedo Ortiz was a Chihuahua personal justice activist who sought justice for her daughter, Rubi Marisol Freyre Escobedo, for two years between 2008 and 2010 only to end on the steps of Chihuahua state government offices, gunned down by an unknown assailant.

Rubi's killer, Rafael Barraza Sergio Bocanegra, had been brought before the court just before Marisela's death, but was released by a three judge panel in 2010.  The fiscalia arguing the case in 2010 was Patricia Gonzalez, who had argued the case so poorly, the judges were left with little choice than to release Sergio Bocanegra.

Sergio Bocanegra was gunned down in 2012 in Zacatecas state in a firefight with an army unit, as he and his crew attempted an ambush of an element of the Mexican 53rd Rifle Battalion on a road between General Joaquin Amaro and Tabasco municipalities, on Mexico Federal Highway 54.  Four men died in that encounter.  Sergio Bocanegra was a known Los Zetas commander whose crew operated in Zacatecas.

Senora Gonzalez herself had spent years under suspicion of a nexus with the Juarez drug cartel, and had even lost her brother, Mario, because a local Sinaloa affiliated kidnapping crew wanted to air a "confession" extracted by a severe beating.  Mario was found shot to death in the fall of 2010 after being kidnapped out of his law office in Chihuahua city.  Gonzalez has not been charged with any crime since leaving office in the fall of 2010 despite undergoing an investigation with the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) or national attorney general,  following her departure.

Current Chihuahua state governor, Cesar Duarte at the time was forced to remove the three judges following the outrage and reaction to the decision to release Sergio Bocanegra.

According to the news account, Gonzalez Nicolas said the investigation will include other Chihuahua state government officials who may have had an involvement into the murder. 

Marisela Escobedo Ortiz's death was a tragic coda in which several individuals in her family were killed within a short time of each other.  The Friday before her death armed suspects attacked a lumber yard owned by Marsela's husband, Jose Monje Marroquin, burned it to the ground using gasoline and then kidnapped her brother in law, Arturo Monje Marroquin, 37.  He was found dead the following day.  At the time Chihuahua state government officials denied any connection between the arson and murder and the murder of Marisela.

The following Wednesday Doctor  Alfonso Perez Dominguez, 46, was shot to death in San Angel colony in Ciudad Juarez.  He was planning to attend the vigil of Marisela.  The doctor had no known nexus to any of the crimes related to the murders.

Indications in Mexican press are that the newly opened investigation comes on the heels of an internal investigation of Manuel Salas and his activities relating to his role in fighting organized crime.

A news report which appeared in La Polaka news daily quoted a  La Mesa de Seguridad operative, Jorge Contreras Fornelli, who said that dropping crime statistics in Chihuahua state show that it is the new fiscalia, not Manual Salas who should take credit for improvement in the security situation.

Contreras Fornelli is also quoted saying that during Manuel Salas' tenure as FGE, Chihuahua state police were ordered not to act against organized crime, and now that Gonzalez Nicolas is ordering his police to do so, "the results speak for themselves."

Manuel Salas left office in October, 2013.

According to Mexican news account high impact crime in the state has dropped dramatically.  A news account appearing in the online edition of El Heraldo de Chihuahua news daily said that double digit year over year drops in murders and kidnappings, and a drop is extortion has been experienced as well.

According to data supplied in the news article murders have dropped by 29 percent, and kidnapping by 31 percent year over year.  Extortion has dropped by nine percent over the same period.

Home invasions and business robberies were down modestly, four percent and six percent respectively, while auto thefts were down considerably, 31 percent.  Carjackings were also down with that classification taking 15 percent of the total compared to 26 percent over the previous year.

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

Read More

Chihuahua ambush was reaction to police strategy

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Last week's ambush and deaths of three Chihuahua state police agents were a reaction by criminal groups by new measures taken by Chihuahua state's Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE), or attorney general, according to Mexican news reports.

A published report which appeared in the online edition of La Polaka news daily, quoted an anonymous source source within the FGE office, saying that Chihuahua state FGE, Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas had been tasked with "dismantling the connections" between local criminal groups on the western sierras of Chihuahua state and the ministerial police agents who had been posted there by the previous Fiscalia, Carlos Manuel Salas.

According to the report, as a solution Gonzalez Nicolas began to rotate state security officials among several offices in Chihuahua state municipalities including the southern municipalities of Cuauhtemoc and Creel.

The report goes on to note that the latest state police counternarcotics operation which took the lives of six people in Bocoyna municipality was part of a change in tactics in which police agents aggressively entered into areas known to be ruled by local criminal gangs, which is what happened in Bocoyna.

A previous report posted on the online edition of La Parada Digital news daily said FGE Gonzalez Nicolas told a Chihuahua state Chamber of Deputies budgeting committee last December, the Junta de Coordinacion Parlamentaria, that among his plans for the year 2014 included building a new regional police headquarters, presumably in southern Chihuahua, as well an intensifying police operations in the Mexican sierras with newly expanded Policia Preventativa elements.

Gonzalez Nicolas was a regional attorney general for the northern district of Chihuahua state before he was appointed to his new post last October.

In 2011, Gonzalez Nicolas had undergone withering criticisms of grieving relatives of the Reyes Salazar family which lost several of its members to separate violent incidents including a triple murder in February of 2011.  The claims at the time were that the three family members killed in 2011, Elias Reyes Salazar, Malena Reyes Salazar and Luis Ornelas Soto, were kidnapped by a "paramilitary group", which is a buzzword for unofficial state sanctioned killing.  Since that time little evidence has surfaced that the 2011 deaths had a nexus with Gonzalez Nicolas or the Chihuahua state attorney general's office.

Meanwhile in southern Chihuahua state, three individuals were killed or were found dead in ongoing drug and gang related violence.

• Sunday two brothers were shot to death in Parral.  The victims were identified as Jesus Carrete Pereira, de 28 and Eduardo Yañez Varela.  The were found inside their Datsun pickup truck on Calle 10th de Mayao in Morelos colony at around 1530 hrs when nearby residents heard shots fired.
• Saturday night, also in Parral, a man in his 30s was shot to death.  Felix Barraza Barraza, 31, was shot by armed suspects who were traveling aboard a Volkswagen Jetta sedan and a Jeep Cherokee SUV near the intersection of calles Raúl Soto Reyes y Francisco Morales in PRI colony.  The victim was known by the alias El Foco.

Police have been conducting counternarcotics operations in municipalities of southern Chihuahua.

• In Parral last Wednesday night a joint local, state and federal counternarcotics operation seized a number of weapons and stolen cars. The raid took place on Calle Galeana in Centro colony.  The raid netted eight vehicles including five luxury sedans and three pickup trucks including one Ford F-150.  Among weapons and armaments seized were one AK-47 rifle, five weapons magazines, a small quantity of ammunition and one fragmentary hand grenade.
• Last February 11th, Chihuahua state police agents seized 200 kilograms of marijuana in Moreolos municipality.  Police agents happened upon a Dodge Ram pickup truck at a location called Cienega Prieta where the drugs were found wrapped in 17 nylon bags.  The news report says the suspects traveling aboard the truck abandoned it when they observed the state police units nearby.

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

Read More

7 die in southern Chihuahua

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Seven individuals were killed in ongoing drug and gang related violence in southern Chihuahua state, including two Chihuahua state police agents according to Mexican news accounts.

A Chihuahua state police raid in Bocoyna municipality took the lives of three people, including two men and one woman.

According to a news report posted on the online edition of El Diario de Juarez news daily, a Policia Estatal Unica unit was dispatched to a farmhouse near the village of San Juanito on reports of armed suspects in the area Wednesday.  At the location, the police agents were fired on.  Police return fire hit and killed three.

One police agent were reported wounded in the encounter, but his wounds were not life threatening.  A later news account said that three unidentified individuals were detained at the scene.

Police seized six rifles, one 9mm pistol,ammunition, tactical gear and several dozen vehicles.

Following the confrontation Chihuahua state Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas announced he would send additional police reinforcements to the area.

Later that same day armed suspects ambushed a police unit in Bocoyna municipality. According to a news account on the website of El Diario de Juarez, apparently in response to the police raid.

According to a report by the FGE, the attack took place on the road linking San Pedro to San Juanito at about the 24 kilometer marker. A total of four police agents were wounded, and two were killed on the gunfight.  El Diario de Juarez said that the wounded total for the police was seven.

The area is said to be reinforced with state and federal forces, and one Mexican Army unit on patrol as a result of the new encounter.

Meanwhile in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality, two brothers were killed in an apparent home invasion Monday, according to a separate news report which appeared in on the website of El Diario de Juarez.

The victims were identified in the news account as Eufronio Ramos, 33, and Martin Olivas, 28.

The attack took place in the village of La Soledad de Abajo where several armed suspects entered the residence of an unidentified acquaintance of the two victims demanding firearms.  The armed suspects searched the residence then took the three victims with them after failing to find weapons.  The shooters then shot the victims a short distance away.  The third victim was apparently wounded at the scene.

The bodies of the victims were found about 200 yards away.  Police found spent cartridge casings for AK-47, AR-15 and .40 caliber.

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

Read More

300 Mexican Army effectives deploy to southern Chihuahua

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 300 soldiers were deployed to southern Chihuahua to reinforce the Mexican 42nd Military Zone, according to Mexican news accounts.

A news report last week posted on the online edition of El Diario de Juarez news daily said that the unit, coming via road march from Cuernavaca in Morelos state, arrived Thursday in Hidaldo de Parral municipality. The unit is an element of the Mexican 9th Artillery Regiment.

The units is expected to reinforce road patrols throughout the region, a total of 41 municipalities covered by the 42nd Military Zone.  A week ago an additional 100 soldiers were moved to southern Chihuahua.

Southern Chihuahua has experienced a severe increase in drug related violence in the last three weeks.  More recently, at least four individuals have been killed in drug related violence.

• The owner of a seafood kiosk in Parral was shot to death Thursday, according to a separate news report in El Diario de Juarez .   Alfredo Valenzuela, 33, was shot near Avenida Independencia when an unidentified armed suspect shot him three times.  The shooting took place near a location where a seller of sushi was killed a few days before
• An undisclosed number of armed suspects were killed in an apparent intergang firefight near the village of Villa Matamoros in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality Wednesday afternoon.  The shooting started as part of a kidnapping at around 1400 hrs.  Police arrived to find a Chevrolet Suburban SUV afire from rifle fire.  Dead were reported at the scene, but the death toll was not disclosed by police.
• An unidentified man was found dead Monday near the road connecting Parral and Jimenez municipalities.  The victim had been tortured and was found with his hear wrapped in tape.  The news account failed to indicate how the victim was killed.
• An unidentified cattleman was shot and wounded in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality Sunday.  It is unclear why the 43 year old victim was shot, but it is apparent he is expected to survive his wounds.
• A traffic police officer was shot to death in Jimenez municipality Sunday.  Victor Manuel Ramirez Salas 34  was shot by armed suspects as he was driving his personal vehicle on Calle 9th.  He is the second transit police officer killed in Jimenez in January.

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

Read More