Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from an Entrelineasarticle
Subject Matter: Los Aztecas Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required
Through the implementation of tactical operations and intelligence work carried out by the Municipal Police to combat crime and criminal groups, the arrest of a cell of alleged hit men composed of eight gang members of "Los Aztecas" criminal group was carried out, they are identified as allegedly responsible for having participated in 16 homicides during the last three months in Ciudad Juárez.
The first arrest was made at the junction of Manuel J. Clouthier and Lechuguilla streets, of the Colonia Juárez Nuevo, when they were operating a GMC Envoy brand truck, red, model 2003, without license plates, in which five people were traveling, who, when seeing the police presence, fled, initiating a chase concluding with their arrest meters ahead of those who identified themselves as Angel NL alias "the Angel" of 27 years, Janeth EG of 24 years, José Refugio RB of 20 years, Alonso Antonio AA of 21 years and Ángel Misdiel CL of 19 years.
Inside the vehicle the authorities confiscated the following armament:
• An assault rifle type AR-15 caliber .223 with a magazine supplied with 30 cartridges. • A 9 mm caliber pistol • A 25 caliber pistol with magazine. • A .380 caliber pistol. • Two 7.62 x 39 caliber magazines • 53 plastic wrappings containing marijuana inside.
When checking his general information, as well as the identification numbers of the vehicle, it was learned that Ángel NL has an arrest warrant in force against him for the crime of homicide, which was revoked on November 27, 2017; likewise the truck was found to have a theft report of December 16 of this year.
El
Wicked confessed to participating in the "El Colorado Bar Massacre." Then he confessed to killing activist Marisela Escobedo! Her family
calls him a scapegoat! Is he portraying himself as a victim of a bad
childhood? Who's buying it?
Standing in front of the prosecutor, José Enrique Jiménez Zavala stares at his three three tattoos
that somehow define his personality. One has an inscription in
Vietnamese that, translated into Spanish, says: "Do not trust no bitch." The second contains an EPT acronym that refers to El Paso, Texas. The third is a silhouette of Subcomandante Marcos.
Then "El Wicked," born on December 29, 1982 in
Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, recounts his childhood with an air of pride. After leaving his father behind, moving from Juarez to an apartment in El Paso at age eight, "I lived on Alameda Street and Copia with my mother, and brothers,...my mom was devoted to the home and paid expenses by working in bars and taverns."
Jiménez Zavala admits that he wasn't a good student, that gang activities would pulled him from school, and that he "only got through high school. I did my studies at Basset High School and did two years of high school in Austin; likewise my brothers also studied in El Paso schools." He practiced football: "During sports season everything was fine, but vacation time was the beginning of getting in trouble."
He joined gangs, was expelled from school for gang fights, and the punishments soon began to match his escalating infractions. He was placed in a "Challenge Bootcamp." At 15, El Wicked was sentenced to one year at the Texas Commission for Children with a charge of theft.
Upon his release at age 16, he became a gang leader, stole narcomenudo drugs for resale and began experimenting with heroin and guns.
El Wicked graduated to County Jail in Abilene, Texas with a five-year stint for supermarket robbery. In county lockup he sealed his downward spiral by joining Los Aztecas. Upon his release, he took control of the capital of Chihuahua plaza, distributing heroin and committing murders. More recently, he participated in the murder of 16
people in the El Colorado bar in Chihuahua on April 20, 2012.
El Wicked's Presentation--detained in a parking lot carrying a ..38 on Oct. 4
Jiménez Zavala confessed that the order to kill Marisela Escobedo came from Jesus Antonio Rincón Chavero, a.k.a. "el Tarzan," a former ministerial officer, third in command of the organization La Linea, who has already been arrested and detained in a federal prison.
He also said that the order came from "above." At that time, the leaders of the criminal group were "El Diego" and "El Brad Pitt," both also arrested.
Marisela Escobedo
Everyone knows the the sad story of Marisela Escobedo, "Rubi's Mom."
Escobedo's abruptly became an activist when her daughter, Rubi
Frayre Escobedo, 16, disappeared in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, in 2008. Escobedo worked tirelessly to attract attention to "the
disappeared" Juarez women, while "uber-focusing" on bringing justice for
her missing Rubi, who had turned 17 by the time her burned and dismembered body was found in the trash in 2009.
Once wrapped only in a banner with her daughter's photograph, Escobedo demanded justice.She contacted federal research groups, initiating in-depth investigations into officials in various
levels of government as a means to expedite the arrest of Raphael Barraza
Bocanegra, a Zeta who the Escobedo family firmly believed responsible for Rubi's death. Although Bocandegra was finally arrested, he was quickly acquitted and released. It was a devastating
blow to the Escobedos. (The acquittal was eventually reversed by a panel of judges.)
El Wicked said
the day he killed Escobedo, she was was opposite the Palace of
Government. After shooting her first in the head, the gun "jammed," and
the victim's brother threw a chair that hit El Wicked in the arm. Escobedo tried to flee her assassin by running across the street, but the
gunman chased her down. She died shortly after
at a hospital.
According
to state authorities, El Wicked said the killing of Escobedo was an
agreement between the Juárez and the los Zetas cartels because her protests
were attracting too much media attention. Jiménez Zavala explained that Sergio Barraza, the man who slayed Rubi, was in Zacatecas with the Zetas.
Son Of Activist Marisela Escobedo says "El Wicked" is a Scapegoat
Juan Manuel Frayre Escobedo, son of Marisela Escobedo, said his uncle, Ricardo Escobedo, who witnessed the murder, does not recognize El Wicked as the author of the crime. Frayre said his uncle, who like him and another brother asked for political asylum in the United States after they buried his mother in Ciudad Juarez, said the man presented by Chihuahua authorities as the alleged killer of Marisela Escobedo is a "scapegoat."
Frayre Escobedo, who has taken refuge in the U.S. from alleged death threats, said in a press conference that they have identified the "real murderer," a U.S. citizen. "My mom's brother witnessed the murder and reported it to the Attorney General's Office (PGR). They know it's a Gringo," he clarified. He would not reveal the identity of the alleged murderer, but he did say that he could only be residing in Ciudad Juarez or El Paso. Although Chihuahua authorities presented this weekend El Wicked as the murderer, Frayre insists that he may have been pressured to plead guilty and settle the case.
Marisela Escobedo Ortiz paid the ultimate price for standing up for her beliefs
The real killers--whoever they may be--should pay the price for the assassination of Marisela Escobedo. She deserves that much and more.
Authorities say Eduardo Ravelo has helped turn the border city into Mexico's homicide capital. Now investigators think he played a role in the U.S. Consulate slayings.
Los Angeles Times
El Paso, Texas - Authorities think he had his fingertips altered to disguise his prints and plastic surgery to mask his face. Except for his dark eyes, federal officials doubt he looks anything like his 12-year-old FBI most wanted photo -- round face, trim mustache and a scar along his cheek.
Eduardo Ravelo, known on the street as "Tablas," or "lumber," for his ability to crush, allegedly rules thousands of acolytes in an operation that authorities say specializes in killing, conspiracy, extortion, drug trafficking and money laundering.
Though he is thought to live across the border in Ciudad Juarez and regularly cross into Texas, he has eluded arrest.
"He's a butterfly, a moth," said Samantha Mikeska, an FBI special agent leading the hunt for Ravelo. "He takes care of his people and that keeps him under the radar."
Ravelo, 42, is said by law enforcement to have been a major factor in turning Ciudad Juarez into the homicide capital of Mexico, with nearly 5,000 people slain there since 2008 and more than 600 this year. He is thought to be responsible for dozens of the slayings.
Now he has risen to new prominence as authorities in the U.S. and Mexico investigate whether he was behind the recent drive-by killings of three people associated with the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez.
Arthur H. Redelfs, a detention officer at the El Paso County Jail, and his wife, Lesley A. Enriquez, a consulate employee, were ambushed and killed March 13 as they drove home from a birthday party. A third person, who was married to a consulate employee, was apparently killed by mistake as he drove from the same party in a vehicle similar to the Redelfs'.
El Paso, Texas -- The Barrio Azteca gang could be plotting to kill El Paso law enforcement officers in retaliation for a recent crackdown on gang members, an alert issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned.
"The Barrio Azteca gang may issue a 'green light' authorizing the attempted murder of LEOs (law enforcement officers) in the El Paso area," stated a copy of the alert obtained by the El Paso Times.
A "green light" is a murder sanctioned by the military-style leadership of the gang. The gang works with the Juárez drug cartel and is under scrutiny for its possible involvement in the unsolved murders in Juárez of three people tied to the U.S. Consulate.
The warning, or Officer Safety Alert, stated that the potential threat was "uncorroborated" but that officers and their families should take extra precautions.
"We understand it's uncorroborated information so we don't know how serious a threat it is," said Special Agent Andrea Simmons, spokeswoman for the FBI in El Paso.
The alert, issued Monday, tells officers to wear body armor while on duty, to vary routes to and from work and to tell their families to watch for any unusual activity. It also stated that suspicious people and vehicles near government buildings should be reported.
A U.S. diplomat, her husband and another man married to a Mexican consular official were killed in Ciudad Juarez.
The government of Chihuahua has suggested that the sicarios responsible for the executions belong to the gang of "Los Aztecas."
Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua -The Aztecas gang and La Linea may be involved in the murders Saturday of three people with ties to the U.S. consulate in Juarez, the Chihuahua state attorney general's said.
The lead is based on information exchanged between U.S. and Mexican authorities, according to a statement by the attorney general's office.
The victims were identified as Lesley A. Enriquez, an official of the consulate, her husband Arthur Haycock Redelfs (both pictured), both Americans, and Mexican Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros, married to another consular employer.
'Lynxes,' Azteca formed hit squad: Birthday party attack directed by cartel, gang.
El Paso Times
Karla Cuburu, 22, of El Paso was one of 53 students from El Grupo Nazaret and Life Teen representing a living rosary Wednesday night in memory of all those who have been killed in Juarez, including the 16 slain in the recent birthday-party massacre.
Ciudad Juarez, Chih - A hit team described as the shock troops of the Juárez drug cartel and Azteca gangsters are suspected of being involved in the recent massacre of students in Juárez, according to information from the Chihuahua state attorney general.
The attorney general's office said the involvement of Los Linces and an Azteca leader were revealed in interrogations of two men arrested in connection with the Jan. 30 attack at a birthday party that killed 16 people, including 11 teens.
Los Linces (the lynxes) is a secretive assassination group reportedly made up of former Mexico special forces soldiers. The group works for the Juárez drug cartel, reputedly led by Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.
An unidentified leader of Los Linces, depicted wearing sunglasses in an artist rendering, had a support role in the mass shooting, according to the attorney general's office. The role was not specified.
The State Agency for Investigations in Nuevo Leon, managed to arrest one of the killers responsible for the death of the Secretary of public security of the city of Garcia, the retired brigadier general Juan Arturo Esparza, and his four bodyguards.
The head of the investigative agency, Miguel Angel Rivera said the alleged killer is named Ramiro Fernández de Luna, alias "The Chivis" who works as a private taxi driver in the city and is suspected to be a "halcón" (hawk) and "sicario" (hitman) for Los Zetas, the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel.
The brigadier general served as public safety secretary and had only been serving for 4 days when he responded to a cal for help from the mayor Jaime Rodriguez Calderon. Esparza was ambushed and killed while on his way to help the mayor by a group of about 30 Zetas.
Also killed on that day were three soldiers, two of which were the general's bodyguards and two policemen Juan Ramón Lugo Esparza and Oscar Galván Castillo, who were also responsible to act as personal bodyguard to the secretary.
Beltrán-Leyva Cartel Founders: Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva • Alfredo Beltrán Leyva • Mario Alberto Beltrán Leyva • Carlos Beltrán Leyva • Héctor Beltrán Leyva •
La Familia Cartel Founders: Nazario Moreno González • Carlos Rosales Mendoza • José de Jesús Méndez Vargas • Julio César Godoy Toscano • Enrique Plancarte • Arnoldo Rueda Medina • Servando Gómez Martínez • Dionicio Loya Plancarte • Rafael Cedeño Hernández •
Gulf Cartel Founders: Juan Nepomuceno Guerra • Juan García Abrego • Current leaders: Osiel Cárdenas Guillen • Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillen • Jorge Eduardo Costilla •
Juárez Cartel Founders: Pablo Acosta Villarreal • Amado Carrillo Fuentes • Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo • Rafael Caro Quintero • Miguel Caro Quintero • Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo • Current leaders: Vicente Carrillo Fuentes • Juan Pablo Ledesma •
Sinaloa Cartel (Armed wing: Los Negros) Founders: Pedro Avilés Pérez • Héctor Luis Palma Salazar • Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo • Current leaders: Joaquín Guzmán Loera • Ismael Zambada García • Ignacio Coronel Villarreal • Édgar Valdéz Villarreal (Los Negros) • Teodoro García Simental • Juan José Esparragoza Moreno •
Tijuana Cartel Founders: Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo • Current leaders: Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano • Ramón Arellano Félix • Eduardo Arellano Félix • Francisco Javier Arellano Félix • Edgardo Leyva Escandon •
Los Zetas Founders: Arturo Guzmán Decena • Jesús Enrique Rejón Águila • Jaime González Durán • Heriberto Lazcano • Miguel Treviño Morales Current leaders: Heriberto Lazcano • Miguel Treviño Morales •
The massacre of 18 people at a drug rehabilitation center near the Texas border is part of a final push by one drug cartel to finish off another some say.
The killings – the largest mass slaying in recent memory in the country's most violent city – raised a three-day death toll in Juárez to nearly 40, despite the presence of 10,000 federal troops and police.
"We're witnessing the extermination of the Juárez cartel," said Alfredo Quijano, editor of Norte a Juárez newspaper. It is a war between the entrenched Juárez cartel and the rival Sinaloa cartel. "The Linea, or Juárez cartel, is down to its last line of defense."
Sinaloa hit men are "killing people at will, hitting them like sitting ducks."
Last August set a record for killings in Juárez, across the border from El Paso, with more than 300 deaths, raising the city's total for the year to about 1,500, and it has surpassed 1,900.
Four men of the group "La Línea" who were arrested in August, and who authorities from the task force Operativo Conjunto Chihuahua say confessed to at least 211 executions in Chihuahua, were order held only for the crimes of paticipating in organized crime and possession of firearm restricted exclusively to the Army. The federal court did not formally charged them for the actual murders.
The federal judge had been appointed to hear the order of apprehension for murder against these sicarios (assassins for hire) but declined due to jurisdictional powers.
In the US many times we find ourselves complaining about the judicial system when it comes to dispensing justice on repeat offenders who commit violent crimes. It seems like there appears to be a revolving door in the judicial system when we see violent offenders re-offend time and time again. We get so frustrated when we see or read in the media about yet another incident of a senseless crime committed by a criminal that has a lengthy criminal record. But consider the latest arrest of a hit-man (sicario) who was arrested by the Mexican army in the crime ridden city of Ciudad Juarez.
Arrested was Juan Pablo Castillo López aka “El Pelon” who is a known member of the notorious gang “Los Azteca” or “Los Carnales.” The military had detained him while he was driving a white late model Chevrolet Tahoe and inside they found an assault rifle AK-47 (known as “cuernos de chivo”) and three handguns along with ammunition. The Tahoe was rigged to conceal weapons and drugs. In one of the secret compartments police found a total of 12 kilos (in 24 packages) of marijuana. In addition the vehicle had an electronic device used to disperse nails when being pursued by police or enemies. The vehicle was modified as if from a James Bond movie.
