By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat
Two Houston men were convicted of kidnapping, beating, and threatening a man on orders from the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), according to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Showing posts with label kidnapping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidnapping. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Kidnapped Man Escapes Before Captors Could Kill Him and Leave Narco Message in Nicolás Romero, State of Mexico
By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat
Authors note: Graphic photo of a body a the end of this article.
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| Image thumbnail created by AI. |
A man managed to escape his captors after being kidnapped on July 28th in Nicolás Romero, State of Mexico. Inside his vehicle, which was abandoned by the gangsters, was a narco message to be left next to his corpse after they planned on killing him.
The same group, La Nueva Alianza, formed by an alliance between the Unión Tepito and the CJNG is responsible for many killings and kidnappings in the region.
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Banda de la Flor Kidnapper Pablo Solórzano Castro "El Gallo" Sentenced to 446 Years In Prison
By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat
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| The Banda de la Flor |
The Attorney Generals Office (FGR) announced today that Pablo Solórzano Castro "El Gallo" was sentenced to 446 years in prison for the crimes of kidnapping, involvement in organized crime, and being in the possession of cartridges for the exclusive use of the military. He and his criminal group were responsible for numerous kidnappings and murders in the late 2000s and early 2010s in Central Mexico, often working with the support of police.
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
CJNG Grupo Delta Kidnappers Arrested In Mexico State, Victim Freed And Weapons Seized
By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat
Six alleged members of CJNG Grupo Delta were arrested in a raid on a safe house in Tenancingo, State of Mexico this afternoon, according to a post on the Secretary of Mexico State Security Twitter account. One kidnapped woman was freed and various tactical equipment was seized.
The victim, age 24, was held and tortured for 14 days. The criminals cut off two of her fingers as they attempted to gain information about her father, who is an avocado farmer, according to Milenio. The men arrested are identified as Rubén "N", Ricardo "N", Edgar "N", Jesús "N", Susano "N" and Alexis "N", of 32, 23, 19, 41, 22 and 18 years old.
Authorities were investigating several tips they received accusing the gang of being involved in extortion, kidnapping, and cobro de piso.
Photos show authorities seized several AR and AK style rifles, pistols, cartridges, and six vests with bulletproof plates. Among the equipment photographed is a police-style battering ram, an appropriate tool for kidnappers.
Five of the vests have the words 'CJNG' and 'DELTA' on them, a reference to their particular criminal cell within CJNG.
The Delta cell is a faction within CJNG which surfaced in 2019. They have been behind many high profile attacks such as the killing of the ex governor of Jalisco, Aristoteles Sandoval in December 2020.
Sources: Milenio, Secretary of State Security Twitter, Infobae, Borderland Beat Narcomessages database of 2021
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Chilapa Residents Denounce Armed Group Kidnapped 30 People
Translated By Valor for Borderland Beat
Residents
of Chilapa, Guerrero denounced the disappearances of at least 30 people
during the arrival of the hundreds of armed civilians who called themselves “Community
Police”.
Chilapa
has been hit by several violent incidents attributed to organized crime in
recent months, among them includes the finding of 10 human heads and other
human remains in clandestine graves in January.
On May 1,
Ulises Fabián Quiroz, the PRI mayor candidate, was shot to death.
A few
days later, around 300 armed masked men entered the community, who identified
themselves as “Community Police” and remained there for nearly a week to combat
violence caused by the confrontation between organized crime groups. The current mayor, Javier García, opted to
leave Chilapa, but returned this weekend.
Today, in
a meeting with Fernando Esteban Ramírez, Inspector General of the State Commission
for Human Rights (CEDH) of Guerrero, the families claimed that the authorities
did nothing against the “kidnappings, threats, and intimidations” by the armed
civilians.
Relatives
of 16 of the missing persons in recent days denounced their case to the CEDH
and stated that the relatives of the other 14 missing have not wanted to
complain because of fear, according to local media.
Also,
last Friday, relatives of the missing youths also protested outside the Secretariat
of Public Security Municipal Office in order to ask for the localization of the
missing and to have the presence of the Secretary General of the State
Government, David Cienfuegos Salgado.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Mexican security forces rescue 61 in Reynosa
According to the news release posted on the state government website of Tamaulipas, a Mexican Army unit was dispatched to a residence in Las Fuentes colony based on an anonymous citizen complaint. There they found a number of men and women being held against their will inside.
Among the captives were 33 Guatemalans, 20 Salvadorans, four Hondurans, three Mexicans and one Nicaraguan. The news release said men and women were in that group, but failed to detail a count. Some of the captives had been physically abused.
Soldiers were told that some of the captives has been kidnapped various locations in Reynosa including bus stops and local markets.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com
Thursday, October 10, 2013
13 Federal Police Arrested in Kidnapping/Murder Operation: Kidnapping Skyrockets
Borderland Beat
These people, including a woman, are "linked to at least seven murders and four kidnappings," the official said, adding that those arrested are also allegedly responsible for drug trafficking and organized crime.
He noted that they are currently investigating the world of the gang members, headed by a civilian identified as Luis Miguel Gonzalez, to determine if there is more involved.
In the case of the federal police, Sanchez said he may face a penalty of up to 70 years imprisonment for each of the kidnapping, in addition to those received by other crimes, and said that "there will be no mercy" to them.
Speaking to Milenio Television, PF chief said the 13 policemen were already incarcerated in high security prisons in the north of the country and reiterated their commitment to "zero tolerance" to corruption.
"We will not give an inch" and "continue cleaning our house" until we're up to "100% respectability. " in the PF, who Mondragon admitted , "there is much to do yet," including a rethinking of exams, trust and control issues..."
The Federal Police, created during the administration of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), has been involved in several corruption scandals involving abuse of authority.
Mexican authorities reported Tuesday that they had arrested 13 federal police officers who allegedly belonged to a murder and kidnapping gang in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.
The operation was one of the largest against corrupt police officers in Mexico in recent years. The federal security spokesman Eduardo Sánchez said, "The 13 officers and 5 civilians are linked to at least seven homicides and four kidnappings, in which two of the victims were killed in a cowardly way"
The Federal Police (PF) conducted a "thorough investigation" that led this week to the arrest of 18 criminals, including 13 active agents in the southern state of Guerrero, where Acapulco is located.
These people, including a woman, are "linked to at least seven murders and four kidnappings," the official said, adding that those arrested are also allegedly responsible for drug trafficking and organized crime.
He noted that they are currently investigating the world of the gang members, headed by a civilian identified as Luis Miguel Gonzalez, to determine if there is more involved.
In the case of the federal police, Sanchez said he may face a penalty of up to 70 years imprisonment for each of the kidnapping, in addition to those received by other crimes, and said that "there will be no mercy" to them.
These agents were sent to the southern Mexican state operating under the program Safe Guerrero, designed by the Federal Government in October 2011, to combat criminal groups and stop the wave of kidnappings, extortion, and drug related shootings in that region.
"Under no circumstances will we tolerate impunity and corruption by any public servant," said Eduardo Sánchez, Secretary of the Interior, who lamented that police officers who are entrusted will violate the law are committing "acts of treason."
So far the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto, who started last December 1, have been 94 federal police officers jailed , including the 13 officers arrested in Guerrero, but they've dismissed "many more," said National Security Commissioner Manuel Mondragón.
Speaking to Milenio Television, PF chief said the 13 policemen were already incarcerated in high security prisons in the north of the country and reiterated their commitment to "zero tolerance" to corruption.
The detained civilians: Luis Miguel González Petatán, 31, the presumed leader of the criminal group; Jonathan Piedra Soberanis, 24; Gerardo Ocampo Guzmán, 32; Roberto Bolaños Manríquez,35 años, and Paloma Rosa Iris Carrillo Abarca, 31.
The federal police officers are identified: police thirds Antonio Velázquez González 31; Máximo Olvera García, 29; Rubén Bonilla Alatriste, 27; Miguel Torres Efraín, 32; Jorge Cruz Rubio, 32; Édgar Acosta Apodaca,28; Omar Obispo Fernández, 22; Marco Antonio Quiroz Mejía, 28; David Rosas Martínez, 31; Alejandro Camacho Flores, 27; César Leandro Ruiz Rodríguez, 22; the police first (level), Rodrigo Miranda Villanueva, 29 años, and the official José Guadalupe Castillo Cool, 52.
"We will not give an inch" and "continue cleaning our house" until we're up to "100% respectability. " in the PF, who Mondragon admitted , "there is much to do yet," including a rethinking of exams, trust and control issues..."
The Federal Police, created during the administration of Felipe Calderón (2006-2012), has been involved in several corruption scandals involving abuse of authority.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
More details on the Choix attacks
Rantburg.com
A total of 20 armed suspects crossed by boat to Presa de Los Leones and shot at an unarmed civilian and torched one home Monday, according to various news accounts posted in thee website of El Debate news daily.
The civilian under fire fled the area and into the hill under constant small arms fire as he left.
At about 1000 hrs the suspects entered the village of Tacopaco and began to fire their weapons, mostly AK-47 rifles. There they kidnapped Saul Salmeron Rabago, 57, and torched three more homes. Residents of the village, totaling about 50, reported beatings by the suspects as they moved through the area.
Following the attack, the suspects withdrew towards Chihuahua state by boat.
Local police were not notified of the incident until 1300 hrs. Security forces consisting of municipal police, Sinaloa state ministerial agents and army troops moved to Tacopaco. There they found two vehicles, one Jeep Cherokee SUV and one Nissan pickup truck which had been destroyed by fire.
Police also found at least 19 spent cartridge casing for AK-47 rifles, but the El Debate report said many more than that number had been found.
The report also said ministerial agents requests a helicopter to the area, but it never arrived. Police also went to the Presa de Luis Donaldo Colosio dam towards ejido Techobampo and evacuated 14 individuals, mostly women and children. Many more had fled into the mountains seeking refuge from marauding drug gangs.
In a separate account, an unidentified dairy farmer from Choix said he came under small arms fire at around 0700 hrs, the presumed start time of the assault, and fled under constant rifle fire. He waited in the hills without food or water for several hours as he watched armed suspects move through the area.
Residents of Tacopaco who also fled their village, also waited for hours until in the afternoon, with only bottled water, and with no food, when state police arrived and began evacuating them to a shelter in Choix proper, along with other local refugees.
According to an El Debate article, the Mexican Army will reinforce patrols in the area.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. His latest work of non-fiction, The Wounded Eagle: Volume 2 went on sale September 1st at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
6 die in southern Chihuahua
Rantburg.com
A total of six individuals were murdered or were found dead in southern Chihuahua state municipalities since last last Thursday, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news report posted on the online edition of El Diario de Juarez news daily, two men were found dead in a remote location in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality. The cause of death is aid to be mechanical asphyxiation.
The victims were identified as Ivan Gerardo Moreno Gutierrez, 32, and Elizander Bejarano Martinez, 18. They were found aboard a Chevrolet sedan by Guadalupe y Calvo municipal police agents Monday near the village of Turuachi which is between Parral and Guadalupe y Calvo.
Meanwhile in Chinipas municipality in far southwestern Chihuahua state, two men were found shot to death, according to a separate news account in El Diario de Juarez.
The victims were identified as Jacobo Alanis Mancinasm, 36 and Mauricio Bustillos Hernandez, 31s. Both men were found aboard a pickup truck. One .45 caliber pistol with two magazines were also found with the victims.
In Jimenez municipality, after five days without a murder, one unidentified man was found shot to death near a gas station on Calle Guadalupe Victoria. The news report said he was shot by an armed suspect traveling aboard a vehicle.
The killing is said to be the first after a 12 hour run five days ago in which three individuals were murdered.
In Creel in Bocoyna municipality, Pedro Gonzalez Vecinito, 30 was found beaten to death Tuesday. Reports say he was attacked by several people.
In Parral, an auto body shop owner was kidnapped Tuesday, according to an online report posted in El Diario de Juarez. The report said several armed suspects dismounted three vehicles and ordered employees to lay down, then took the victim at his shop near the intersection of calles Persimonio and Arroyo Hondo in Juarez colony.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com. His latest work of non-fiction, The Wounded Eagle: Volume 2 went on sale September 1st at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
Monday, August 19, 2013
7 die in southern Chihuahua
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A total of seven individuals have been killed in ongoing drug and gang related violence in southern Chihuahua municipalities according to several Mexican news accounts.
Three unidentified individuals were found shot to death in Jimenez municipality Sunday, according to a news account posted on the website of El Sol de Parral news daily.
The victims were found stuffed inside an SUV following a reported shootout in an area of Jimenez city near the intersection of calles Allende and 10th. A fourth victim was also found who had been wounded.
The news account said that gunfire had been reported in several neighborhoods just prior to the discovery of the victims' bodies.
A fourth shooting victim was reported Sunday night in Jimenez, this time a local drug lord, identified as Uriel Canton AKA El Doctor, according to a news brief posted on the website of La Polaka news daily. Sr. Canton was found on Bulevar Oscar Floes shot to death.
Meanwhile in Parral, a father and his son were beaten to death Sunday night, according tom a news account in El Sol de Parral. The incident took place when suspects traveling aboard a truck stopped and attacked the men, beating them to death using stones.
The victims were identified as Jesus José Chaparro Cereceres, 38 and his son, José Rodolfo Chaparro Saenz.
In Batopilas municipality Friday a man was found shot to death, according to a separate news account in El Sol de Parral.
Miguel Renteria Mancinas, 28, reportedly left his residence in the village of Casa Viejas. He was found among rock on a road between Batopilas and Satevo. Several spent cartridge casings for AK-47 and 9mm weapons were found at the scene.
Also on Friday in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality five individuals including two children were shot and wounded in a shootout at a dance. The problem started in the village of Gallinas at around 0100 hrs when two men began to fight over a woman. At one point they both pulled pistols and fired.
The wounded were identified as Filiberto Flores Chaparro, 22, Ubaldo Flores Bojorquez, 23, Leonarda Ramos Ayala, 35, Miguel Ángel Cota Ramos, 13, and Elmer Cota Ramos, 11.
In Camargo municipality Friday three men were detained for a number of crimes, including drug sales and auto theft. The detaineess were identified in a news account in El Sol de Parral as Hector Garza Leyva, 33, Eduardo Solis, 28, and Francisco Garcia Coronado, 27.
The arrests took place when state police observed a double parked car in Villas del Sol colony in Camargo. Police also seized one stolen vehicle, one .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol and a quantity of crack cocaine that had been divided presumably for sale.
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| Carlos Manuel Salas |
Finally, Monday the Chihuahua state Fiscalia General del Estado (FGE) announced the investigation into the disappearance of 12 individuals in southern Chihuahua state, according to a news account on the website of El Diario de Juarez.
Carlos Manuel Salas announced that most of the disappearances have taken place in the western Chihuahua sierras where criminal gangs have been recruiting shooters. According to the news report Manuel Salas said that not all the disappearances were from illegal checkpoints and carjackings.
Travel in southern Chihuahua, especially around the sierras of western Chihuahua has been hazardous especially for males, so much so, some bus drivers refuse to taker on those passengers for fear of illegal checkpoints maintained by criminal gangs in the area looking for new recruits.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
4 die as Mexican security forces reinforce southern Chihuahua
Rantburg.com
An undisclosed number of Mexican security forces have been retasked into southern Chihuahua state in the wake of the kidnapping of a political candidate, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news report which appeared in the online edition of Yanciuc.com, Chihuahua governor Cesar Duarte Jaquez reportedly said that an undisclosed number of Mexican Army and Naval Infantry troops have been moved into southern Chihuahua and parts of Durango and Sinaloa states with the mission of "attacking criminal groups" which operate in the area.
According to the article, Durate referred specifically to the Golden Triangle, which is an area of the Mexican sierras where drugs and cultivated, and where security is at a premium.
According to a direct quote in the Yancuic article, federal security forces area tasked with eliminating drug cultivation, recovering stolen vehicles, especially offroad trucks used in rough terrain, and to combat criminal acts.
Governor Duarte mentioned that the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) has been providing intelligence in the new operation, probably referring to SEMAR's access to electronic intercepts.
In a separate news report which appeared on the website of El Sol de Parral news daily, a large convoy of security forces vehicle -- two Mexican Army, three Policia Estatal Unica ,two of the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) four Policia Ministerial and Policia Preventiva -- were spotted near Parral three days ago, near the villages of Villa Coronado, Villa Lopez, Pueblito de Allende and Valle de Allende. The news account said that those security forces had been conducting traffic stops searching for drug and guns. The group was also deployed to execute arrest warrants.
According to the report, the new deployments is an official response to the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Partido Revolucioanrio Institucional (PRI) candidate Jaime Orozco Madriga last week. Orozco Madriga was the PRI candidate for municipal president of Guadalupe y Calvo, which has been a focal point for drug and gang related violence in recent weeks.
A total of 14 political entities, including the states of Chihuahua, Durango and Zacatecas are in the midst of midterm elections for local deputies and municipal presidents and some town councils. At the moment news about official responses to criminal activities are at a premium as Article 41 of the Mexican Constitution forbids official government news to be disseminated while electioneering and voting is taking place.
The election is to take place July 7th, but the news blackout lifts after July 9th.
Every one of the states bordering the US are having their midterm elections except for Coahuila state, with Baja California going through an election for governor, as well as for local deputies and municipal presidents.
Three years ago PRI won 11 of 14 statehouses in a stunning win over its longtime rival Partido Accion Nacional (PAN), but a recent trend has emerged starting with the Michocacan election in November, 2011 in which PRI has failed to win majorities in local state legislatures, as well as in the national Chamber of Deputies.
PRI in that body is forced to rely on temporary alliances to advance its agenda.
According to a separate Yancuic article, seven candidates for political office in Chihuahua state have requested protection from the state electoral body, Instituto Estatal Electoral (IEE). The candidates have included PAN and PRI candidates as well as others, though none of the requests have come from candidates in southern Chihuahua state.
Meanwhile in Guadalupe y Calvo municipality three individuals, including one female were shot to death in a shootout Tuesday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news account which appeared in the online edition of El Puente Libre, Arcelia Cardenas Villanueva, 28 and José Asael Calderon Escarcega, 25 and another unidentified man were shot to death near the remote village of San Julian de Piedra Larga in a gunfight in which AK-47 rifles were used. Authorities recovered five vehicles in the area including three which had been immolated.
Four unidentified individuals traveling in the area towards Meza de San Rafael at the same time as the shooting were forced to abandon their vehicle when it was hit by gunfire, and to seek refuge in an arroyo.
A total of 14 spent cartridge casings from an AK-47 rifle and one each spent cartridge casing from a .45 caliber and a .380 caliber weapon were recovered at the scene.
Much of the information had been relayed through the Mexican federal Ministerio Publico which is not bound by Article 41 restrictions.
A separate news report in El Tiempo de Mexico said that two individuals were hurt in 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
Monday, April 29, 2013
Attacks against Monterrey cops continue: 3 die
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
A staged car wreck in Juarez municipality in Nuevo Leon may have led to the death of three traffic cops, according to Mexican news accounts.
Saturday evening one motorcycle police agent was reportedly shot to death at a location on the road which leads to Reynosa in Juarez municipality, specifically in Garza y Garza colony with another two unidentified taxi drivers wounded.
Now it is being reported in a Monday edition of Milenio news daily that a second and third traffic police agent died at the scene.
According to the report, the three police agents killed in Garza y Garza colony were investigating a traffic accident between the drivers of two taxi cabs, when armed suspects travelling aboard a Volkswagen Golf sedan drove up and started firing. As soon as the shooters fled the scene, the parties to the traffic accident also fled aboard a second vehicle.
The dead cops were identified as Omar Alejandro Mares Puente, Pablo Enrique Peña Blanco and José Alejandro Garcia Roch. They are three of a traffic police squad totalling 35 in Juarez municipality.
Meanwhile in Guadalupe municipality, three other traffic police agents have been kidnapped Monday.
According to a separate report which appeared Monday in the online version of Milenio, one traffic police agent was kidnapped while investigating a traffic accident at around 1100 hrs near the intersection of calles Ruiz Cortines and Naranjo Adolfo Prieto colony. He was identified as Emilio Gámez Martínez, de 53 años.
According to the report two more traffic police agents were kidnapped near the intersection of avenidas Eloy Cavazos and Roble. Guadalupe authorities are denying the second kidnapping.
According to several news reports Gamez Martinez was released in Doctor Gonzalez municipality unharmed later Monday afternoon.
Guadalupe municipality was the location late last Saturday night where four individuals were shot to death in a bar called Jhonny's Place. Two of the victims, according to a Monday afternoon report in Milenio, were identified as Ruben Salazar Rivera, 35, and Juan Carlos Vazquez Valles, 26.
Six of the wounded were identified as Raul Lopez Velasco, 24, Raul Lopez Sanchez, 43, Enrique Lopez Sanchez, 47, Ricardo Villegas Hernandez, 23, and Martin Espinoza Vazquez, 29.
According to the report, seven armed suspects after dismounting from a taxi, entered the bar and started shouting identifying themselves as members of a drug cartel before they started firing their weapons.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com
Rantburg.com
A staged car wreck in Juarez municipality in Nuevo Leon may have led to the death of three traffic cops, according to Mexican news accounts.
Saturday evening one motorcycle police agent was reportedly shot to death at a location on the road which leads to Reynosa in Juarez municipality, specifically in Garza y Garza colony with another two unidentified taxi drivers wounded.
Now it is being reported in a Monday edition of Milenio news daily that a second and third traffic police agent died at the scene.
According to the report, the three police agents killed in Garza y Garza colony were investigating a traffic accident between the drivers of two taxi cabs, when armed suspects travelling aboard a Volkswagen Golf sedan drove up and started firing. As soon as the shooters fled the scene, the parties to the traffic accident also fled aboard a second vehicle.
The dead cops were identified as Omar Alejandro Mares Puente, Pablo Enrique Peña Blanco and José Alejandro Garcia Roch. They are three of a traffic police squad totalling 35 in Juarez municipality.
Meanwhile in Guadalupe municipality, three other traffic police agents have been kidnapped Monday.
According to a separate report which appeared Monday in the online version of Milenio, one traffic police agent was kidnapped while investigating a traffic accident at around 1100 hrs near the intersection of calles Ruiz Cortines and Naranjo Adolfo Prieto colony. He was identified as Emilio Gámez Martínez, de 53 años.
According to the report two more traffic police agents were kidnapped near the intersection of avenidas Eloy Cavazos and Roble. Guadalupe authorities are denying the second kidnapping.
According to several news reports Gamez Martinez was released in Doctor Gonzalez municipality unharmed later Monday afternoon.
Guadalupe municipality was the location late last Saturday night where four individuals were shot to death in a bar called Jhonny's Place. Two of the victims, according to a Monday afternoon report in Milenio, were identified as Ruben Salazar Rivera, 35, and Juan Carlos Vazquez Valles, 26.
Six of the wounded were identified as Raul Lopez Velasco, 24, Raul Lopez Sanchez, 43, Enrique Lopez Sanchez, 47, Ricardo Villegas Hernandez, 23, and Martin Espinoza Vazquez, 29.
According to the report, seven armed suspects after dismounting from a taxi, entered the bar and started shouting identifying themselves as members of a drug cartel before they started firing their weapons.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com
Friday, April 19, 2013
4 security personnel die in kidnapping attempt in Zacatecas
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| Foto: de Facebook |
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
An attempted kidnapping of a municipal president by at least 20 armed suspects in a tiny central Zacatecas municipality has left two municipal police agents, one Policia Federal (PF) operator and one security agent for Ferremex railroad dead, according to Mexican news account and an anonymous correspondent for Borderlandbeat.com.
According to a news account published on the website of Zacatecas En Linea news daily, the incident took place in Canitas de Felipe Pescador Wednesday afternoon as armed suspects travelling aboard several trucks attacked the town.
"There was an attempt to kill or kidnap Oswaldo Sabag Hamadan...over 20 vehicles of sicarios (gunmen)," according to the correspondent.
The firefight last for hours, say some press accounts.
A PF detachment was apparently in the municipality when the assault began but it was reportedly too small to deal with such a massive attack, and had to call in and wait for reinforcements, according to press accounts. The PF detachment had been assigned to guard a freight train as it passed through Canitas de Felipe Pescador, which was the stated reason for their presence.
Several armed suspects were shot and were killed during the firefight, but their bodies were removed by their comrades in arms, a common tactic among drug gangs involved in shootouts. Going by descriptions in Mexican press, the armed group which attempted to kidnap Sabag Hamadan had apparently badly miscalculated the strength of local and federal security in the town.
Last August Sabag Hamadani was involved in another security incident which sparked fears of a kidnapping.
According to a news account published on the website of Pagina 24, Sabag Hamadani and his family had closed their residence -- which is less than five blocks from Zona Centro -- and had cut off utilities, all apparently without telling anyone.
At the time, Zacatecas Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (PGJE) or attorney general Arturo Nahle Garcia said Sabag Hamadani had not been kidnapped but did not elaborate.
It was not until a month later that Sabag Hamadani reemerged in an announcement by Zacatecas state top police official Secretaria de Seguridad Publica (SSP), Jesus Pinto Ortiz, according to a separate news account featured in Zacatecas en Linea, played down the disappearance saying Sabag Hamadani "comes and goes as he likes."
The news account quoted Senor Pinto Ortiz as saying Canita de Felipe Pescador is a "hot spot" for criminal groups.
Wednesday's incident seems to indicate that Sabag Hamadani is a target of one group or another, either Los Zetas or the Sinaloa cartel and their allies. The Gulf Cartel is also known to operate in the area and the massive influx of vehicles with armed suspects travelling in the open en convoy in large groups is a Sinaloa cartel tactic in this area of Mexico.
According to the anonymous correspondent talking about about last August's disappearance: "...supposedly he went into hiding due to threats from organized crime, he had a reputation of working for the zetas and this was roughly a month before El Taliban´s arrest so I figure El Taliban had already switched sides at that point and that´s where the threats and hiding came from."
Another kidnapping incident was resolved last week this time involving a candidate of the Partido Verde Ecologista de Mexico (PVEM) for Canitas de Felipe Pescador municipal president Jaimie Rincon, according to press accounts.
Two weeks ago Rincon was kidnapped by armed suspects travelling aboard five vehicles at around 0400 hrs April 2nd at his home in La Seccion del Ferrocarril, according to a news account posted on the website of ZTR Zacatecas. Reportedly no ransom had been made nor had any denunciation of the crime took place at the Zacatecas PGJE or with the national Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR).
A week ago, April 13 Rincon was released beaten and dumped alive near a cemetery in Villa de Cos municipality.
Since his release nothing has been said about the incident.
Zacatecas is one of several states undergoing primary midterm elections for local deputies and municipal presidents, due to take place next July.
Rincon has been kidnapped three times before. He had also previously run for election for president of a local ejido, and a local livestock trade group.
In national politics, the PVEM is often closely allied with the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), now holding the national presidency in the person of Enrique Pena Nieto.
Said the correspondent: "I have no clue if Jaime Rincon, the precandidate from PVEM, had any link with any of the cartels or if Oswaldo was behind Jaime´s kidnapping, it just called my attention 2 kidnappings of politicians, or one plus a failed attempt, in a town so small, I don´t believe in coincidences of this magnitude."
BorderlandBeat.com reporter Chivis Martinez contributed to this story.
Special thanks to the BorderlandBeat anonymous correspondent for the data and insights into the incidents.
http://ntrzacatecas.com/2013/04/05/confirman-el-secuestro-de-precandidato-del-pvem-en-zacatecas/
http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/fa6a3035b9cb09899475cc2077646f6f
http://zacatecasonline.com.mx/noticias/policia/29873-frustran-secuestro-alcalde.html
http://www.lasnoticiasya.com/2013/04/17/intentan-privar-de-la-libertad-a-alcalde-de-canitas-al-menos-un-federal-ha-muerto/
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com
Friday, February 22, 2013
US Consulate in Matamoros extends travel warning as kidnappings soar in Tamaulipas -- UPDATED
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| Found: Wendy Soto Misell |
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
The US Consulate in Matamoros in Tamaulipas state has extended a warning to its citizens and employees about travelling highway in Tamaulipas, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a news report posted on the website of Milenio, the US Consulate based ion Matamoros in Tamaulipas has extended an advisory it originally issued last November against travel in northern areas of Tamaulipas state. According to the report, specific concerns listed were of armed robbery and kidnappings, especially on the roads linking Matamoros and Reynosa.
This writer was unable to locate the specific warning extension. The November 20th, 2012 travel warning was issued by the US State Department for the entire nation of Mexico. A US Consulate in Hermosillo, Sonora state had issued travel restrictions on US government employees travelling in Mexico, especially between Nogales and Hermosillo in Sonora. Those warnings were issued just days after the massive intergang shootout in Tubutama in Sonora early July 2010.
A separate warning was released December 14th, 2012 by the US Consulate in Matamroros due to the threat of kidnappings and carjackings which occurred outside of Matamoros and Renosa.
Nuevo Laredo, west of Reynosa, has experienced a severe spike kidnapping, particularly of teens in the passed week. A news report posted on El Manana news daily said that four cases of kidnapped youths from age 13 to 20 have been reported in Nuevo laredo. The article claims that Tamaulipas government authorities are helpless or are unable to investigate the abductions.
The report also said that parents have been forced to investigate the disappearances of children.
A separate article which also appeared on the website of El Manana reported that a nine year old girl, identified as Wendy Soto Misell, disappeared and was presumed kidnapped last Wednesday at around 1200 hrs. The report said that Wendy attended La Primaria Luis Donaldo Colosio school in Nuevo Laredo.
However a later news brief in El Manana said that Wendy had been with her biological mother right along.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Friday, December 28, 2012
Northern Zacatecas scenes of thefts shootings and kidnappings
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Despite public promises by authorities to reinforce security in northern municipalities of Zacatecas state, several security incidents have taken place, including the kidnapping of a relative of a Chihuahua state politician Christmas eve, according to Mexican news accounts.
A news story published on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily Friday reported that three members of the family of Camargo, Chihuahua mayor Arthus Zubia Ordaz died in a carjacking incident near Fresnillo, Zacatecas.
According to the report at around 1200 hrs, the family was bound for Chihuahua state when the victims was intercepted by armed suspects, and then driven some distance only crash at a location about 24 kilometers outside of Fresnillo.
Killed in the crash was Yolanda Zubia Fernandez, a former government official from Guanajuato state and Zubia Ordaz's sister, and Brenda Ordaz Zubia, 34 and her son Luis Alfredo Ordaz Zubia, 14.
Three months ago Chihuahua state politician Alex LaBaron claimed that in September in Fresnillo Max LeBaron, his brother, and two women were taken hostage and driven to a warehouse in Cuencame municipality in Durango. There Max Lebaron was beaten. Three hours later the trio were released near Fresnillo.
The last incident probably explains why the Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) the controlling agency for the Mexican Army had announced plans in November to reinforce the northern border areas in Zacatecas, especially near the borders of Durango and Coahuila states.
Since that announcement, more than 50 individuals have been killed mostly in intergang fighting and executions.
Incidents have taken place on or near Mexico Federal Highway 54, and have included 13 killed in or around Fresnillo between November 12th and December 16th. Included in that time frame was a counter kidnapping operation by units with the Mexican 11th Military Zine which led to the capture of four kidnapping suspects. Other killings have occurred in that time frame in Jerez and Calera municipalities as well as in Guadalupe and Tabasco municipalities.
According to a news item posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas news daily intense fighting between armed gang members have been taking place since Christmas. Locations in Fresnillo include firefights on Calle Miguel Hidalgo, near Zona Centro and near the Palacio Municipio or city hall. Fighting continued in Zapata colony, on Avenida Huicotand and near Chedraui store.
Reports were also received from the sectors Lomas de Plateros and Fovissste, which are near roads leading to Valparaiso municipality.
According to the report fighting continued Thursday in Esparza colony, near the school Secundaria Técnica 2 and in Paseo del Mineral colony near roads that lead to Valparaiso.
No one was reported killed or wounded in these multiple gunfights.
It is worth noting that a comment appearing on the El Siglo de Durango article charged that federal and state police forces in the area were charging tolls at checkpoints in northern Zacatecas. That comment was removed a few minutes later. The original remark in Spanish can be seen here.
Criminal gangs also ahve been known to don military uniforms to appear as legitimate security elements to disguise their presence in public.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com.
Rantburg.com
Despite public promises by authorities to reinforce security in northern municipalities of Zacatecas state, several security incidents have taken place, including the kidnapping of a relative of a Chihuahua state politician Christmas eve, according to Mexican news accounts.
A news story published on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily Friday reported that three members of the family of Camargo, Chihuahua mayor Arthus Zubia Ordaz died in a carjacking incident near Fresnillo, Zacatecas.
According to the report at around 1200 hrs, the family was bound for Chihuahua state when the victims was intercepted by armed suspects, and then driven some distance only crash at a location about 24 kilometers outside of Fresnillo.
Killed in the crash was Yolanda Zubia Fernandez, a former government official from Guanajuato state and Zubia Ordaz's sister, and Brenda Ordaz Zubia, 34 and her son Luis Alfredo Ordaz Zubia, 14.
Three months ago Chihuahua state politician Alex LaBaron claimed that in September in Fresnillo Max LeBaron, his brother, and two women were taken hostage and driven to a warehouse in Cuencame municipality in Durango. There Max Lebaron was beaten. Three hours later the trio were released near Fresnillo.
The last incident probably explains why the Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) the controlling agency for the Mexican Army had announced plans in November to reinforce the northern border areas in Zacatecas, especially near the borders of Durango and Coahuila states.
Since that announcement, more than 50 individuals have been killed mostly in intergang fighting and executions.
Incidents have taken place on or near Mexico Federal Highway 54, and have included 13 killed in or around Fresnillo between November 12th and December 16th. Included in that time frame was a counter kidnapping operation by units with the Mexican 11th Military Zine which led to the capture of four kidnapping suspects. Other killings have occurred in that time frame in Jerez and Calera municipalities as well as in Guadalupe and Tabasco municipalities.
According to a news item posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas news daily intense fighting between armed gang members have been taking place since Christmas. Locations in Fresnillo include firefights on Calle Miguel Hidalgo, near Zona Centro and near the Palacio Municipio or city hall. Fighting continued in Zapata colony, on Avenida Huicotand and near Chedraui store.
Reports were also received from the sectors Lomas de Plateros and Fovissste, which are near roads leading to Valparaiso municipality.
According to the report fighting continued Thursday in Esparza colony, near the school Secundaria Técnica 2 and in Paseo del Mineral colony near roads that lead to Valparaiso.
No one was reported killed or wounded in these multiple gunfights.
It is worth noting that a comment appearing on the El Siglo de Durango article charged that federal and state police forces in the area were charging tolls at checkpoints in northern Zacatecas. That comment was removed a few minutes later. The original remark in Spanish can be seen here.
Criminal gangs also ahve been known to don military uniforms to appear as legitimate security elements to disguise their presence in public.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Member of Tucanes de Tijuana's Son Arrested for Kidnapping
Borderland Beat
After the criminals got the money and the automobile, they fled in two cars but were stopped by police and arrested in the vicinity of the dam.
Besides David Servín, the other detainees are Jose Alfredo Alvarado Orozco aka "El Clipper", who is identified as gang leader, Marco Iran Ortiz Martinez, Victor Ivan Rodriguez Villaand Jesus Heriberto Arballo Burgara, 31.
Excelsior, El Mex
TIJUANA, October 25. - Earlier this week Municipal police dismantled a kidnapping ring. Among those arrested was a son of the drummer of the famous norteno band, los Tucanes de Tijuana
Municipal Public Security Secretariat reported at the time of his arrest , David Servin, 31, the son of the drummer of Tucanes de Tijuana, was carrying a submachine gun loaded with ammo.
Municipal Public Security Secretariat reported at the time of his arrest , David Servin, 31, the son of the drummer of Tucanes de Tijuana, was carrying a submachine gun loaded with ammo.
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| David Servín Rodríguez |
David Servín Rodriguez was arrested with four other alleged members of the criminal kidnapping gang, after they extorted a person who they had already kidnapped on a previous occasion to demand more money. The victim told authorities that on October 5 he was deprived of his freedom and paid $ 25,000 to be released, but then they called him back with death threats demanding more and than eight thousand U.S. dollars a vehicle.
After the criminals got the money and the automobile, they fled in two cars but were stopped by police and arrested in the vicinity of the dam.
Besides David Servín, the other detainees are Jose Alfredo Alvarado Orozco aka "El Clipper", who is identified as gang leader, Marco Iran Ortiz Martinez, Victor Ivan Rodriguez Villaand Jesus Heriberto Arballo Burgara, 31.
los tucanes de tijuana
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The municipal Public Security Secretariat (SSP) said at the time of the arrest of the five people, they also seized firearms, including the machine gun carried at the time by David Servín Rodriguez.
Los Tucanes de Tijuana haven't been present in Tijuana after Lieutenant Colonel Julián Leyzaola accused them of having ties to organized crime.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Conflict in Cheran heats up with two kidnapped
You can read more on the conflict in Cheran, Michoacan by clicking here and following the links
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Two villagers from Cheran municipality were kidnapped Sunday as an ongoing conflict in a remote mountain municipality in Michoacan state has heated up again, according to Mexican news accounts.
A news report posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas news daily said that Urbano Macias Rafael, 48, and Guadalupe Geronimo Velazquez, 28, had gone to a location north of the plains of Carichero to retrieve cattle when masked armed suspects abducted them.
A telephone call was received by family members that day from individuals claiming to be from El Cerecito claiming responsibility for the abduction.
According to the article, a member of the Cheran municipal council said the reaction of villagers in Cheran was immediate. Trinidad Ninís Pahuamba claimed she and other Cheran municipal officials have been holed up in the town hall, the building cordoned off by local villagers and family members of the kidnap victims ,who are refusing to allow them to leave. Michoacan state governor's office and the Michoacan state Secretaria de Gobierno (SEGOB) had been contacted, but no response has yet been received.
Villages in Cheran have fought a variously hot-cold conflict, the issues of which surrounds charges of illegal logging by the villagers of El Cerecito and a nexus with organized crime, and accusations of criminal conduct by Cheran villagers including illegal road tolls, car theft, carjacking, kidnapping and petty theft.
Last April the conflict went hot as a total of eight individuals were killed, six from El Cerecito and two from Cheran. The state government of Michoacan has intervened several times in the last six months to bring resolution to some of the conflict.
Both communities are remote mountain indigenous Indian communities. A federal presence exists in the area in the form of Policia Federal road patrols.
Michoacan state is one of the most heavily fortified states in Mexico with a total of 8,000 Mexican Army troops deployed in the state since March, 2012.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Two villagers from Cheran municipality were kidnapped Sunday as an ongoing conflict in a remote mountain municipality in Michoacan state has heated up again, according to Mexican news accounts.
A news report posted on the website of El Sol de Zacatecas news daily said that Urbano Macias Rafael, 48, and Guadalupe Geronimo Velazquez, 28, had gone to a location north of the plains of Carichero to retrieve cattle when masked armed suspects abducted them.
A telephone call was received by family members that day from individuals claiming to be from El Cerecito claiming responsibility for the abduction.
According to the article, a member of the Cheran municipal council said the reaction of villagers in Cheran was immediate. Trinidad Ninís Pahuamba claimed she and other Cheran municipal officials have been holed up in the town hall, the building cordoned off by local villagers and family members of the kidnap victims ,who are refusing to allow them to leave. Michoacan state governor's office and the Michoacan state Secretaria de Gobierno (SEGOB) had been contacted, but no response has yet been received.
Villages in Cheran have fought a variously hot-cold conflict, the issues of which surrounds charges of illegal logging by the villagers of El Cerecito and a nexus with organized crime, and accusations of criminal conduct by Cheran villagers including illegal road tolls, car theft, carjacking, kidnapping and petty theft.
Last April the conflict went hot as a total of eight individuals were killed, six from El Cerecito and two from Cheran. The state government of Michoacan has intervened several times in the last six months to bring resolution to some of the conflict.
Both communities are remote mountain indigenous Indian communities. A federal presence exists in the area in the form of Policia Federal road patrols.
Michoacan state is one of the most heavily fortified states in Mexico with a total of 8,000 Mexican Army troops deployed in the state since March, 2012.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Is the Fuse Lit? Uprising/Lynching in Ascención
ASCENSIÓN, Chihuahua – An attempted kidnapping September 21 in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua touched off a burst of mass outrage that left two suspected young kidnappers dead and a small town in open rebellion.
While the details are still sketchy, the events began with the abduction of a 17-year-old female worker of a seafood restaurant in the town of Ascension by a group of young men.
Located south of the New Mexico border, Ascención is in an agricultural region known for its production of chili peppers for the US export market and other crops. The rural area has suffered numerous kidnappings and killings during the last two years.
Alerted to the kidnapping, townspeople and soldiers mobilized, freed the victim and detained five alleged kidnappers; one suspect reportedly escaped. Hundreds of angry residents beat two of the detainees, teenagers, and blocked police from rescuing the suspects, who were later pronounced dead. Reportedly, the mother of one of the suspects witnessed her son’s demise.
In a stand-off that lasted throughout the day, residents prevented two federal police helicopters from landing and blockaded roads to prevent military reinforcements from arriving. Armed with picks, shovels and machetes, enraged residents shouted at “corrupt” soldiers and police to leave. Some locals accused government security forces of colluding with delinquent bands.
One version held that the rescued kidnap victim was the niece of a member of the local town council.
“La Chona Lights the Fuse,” headlined Ciudad Juarez’s Lapolaka newsite, whose director was just granted political asylum in the United States. The news organization couched the report in historical and contemporary terms: “The new Mexican Revolution could have begun this Tuesday in Ascención…”
While mass lynchings are not uncommon in certain parts of Mexico, such acts have been rare in Chihuahua. The Ascension incident came at an extremely delicate political moment in Chihuahua and Mexico. Submerged in violence, the border state is two weeks away from a political transition that will usher into power a new governor, new state legislature and local governments.
Since the July elections, the murders of several relatives of Governor-elect Cesar Duarte and other politicians, frequent public displays of narco-banners warning of new attacks and round-the-clock executions have added constant doses of mass anxiety to an already tense political and social environment characterized by the ongoing confrontation between heavily armed organized crime groups.
“We consider that an armed conflict which has not been duly recognized by international institutions exists in the state of Chihuahua and Ciudad Juarez in particular,” read a statement from three prominent, non-governmental human rights organizations this week.
“The cost has been devastating: Thousands of executions, murders of women, robberies, extortions, taxes on businesses for turf rights, deaths of human rights defenders and journalists, hundreds of thousands of displaced people, complaints of human rights violations that are not investigated or sanctioned, and tears and blood that run through the desert in total impunity.”
The statement was signed by representatives of the Chihuahua Commission in Solidarity and Defense of Human Rights, Paso del Norte Human Rights Center and Women’s Human Rights Center of Chihuahua City.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Only 40% of Fed Police can Fight Kidnappings
The head of the Attorney General's Office (PGR), Arturo Chavez Chavez, said that only 40 percent of 1,065 agents of the local prosecutor’s office are qualified to join in the fight against kidnappings.
During the session of National Security Council, Chavez Chavez reported that to date they have formed 29 of the 32 anti-kidnapping prevention units, one for each entity in the country, but he emphasized the need to equip these centers with the support of the federal government.
The PGR has evaluated 1,065 public servants of local prosecutor's office, of which about 40 percent have been found suitable to join the anti-kidnapping units.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sicarios Captured Today
Agents of the secretary of national defense have arrested a man who is allegedly responsible for at least six executions in this border town of Juarez. The man was identified as Juan Isidro Barrios alias "El Jarocho" 33-year-old native of the state of Veracruz. He was found in possession of a 44mm handgun and told authorities he belonged to a cellular of sicarios operating in the area.
Presented to the press during a press conference were three men who were engaged in kidnapping of local physicians.
The men were identified as Luis Armando Montes Rivera, 48 years old, Diego Alberto Luna Martinez, 32, and Arnulfo Morales Montanes of 42 years of age. The men were arrested after they had kidnapped a surgeon who they had been kidnapped for three days, until yesterday when he was rescued. During the operation for their release, the military managed to capture these three dangerous kidnappers. The three man were in possession of various firearm during their capture.
The three kidnappers were demanding from the relatives of the victims half a million of pesos dollars for his liberty.
Attentive: Operativo Conjunto Chihuahua.
