‘El Chapo’, El Mayo and 22 Members of Sinaloa Cartel Indicted in Texas

EL PASO, Texas — Federal officials unsealed a new federal indictment Tuesday against Mexico’s most-wanted drug boss Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as “El Chapo,” leader of the Sinaloa cartel and one of the world’s richest men.

El Mayo & Chapo

The 14-count indictment was returned April 11, but federal officials announced it Tuesday in El Paso. The 28-page indictment names Guzman and “co-leader of the cartel "El Mayo" aka Ismael Zambada Garcia, along with 22 other men. It alleges they were involved in the operations and management of the cartel, which they say has moved thousands of kilograms of cocaine and marijuana into the U.S. and used the profits to wage war against their rivals and the Mexican government.

The indictment targets the infrastructure of the Sinaloa Cartel, officials said. Although Guzman and Zambada have been indicted elsewhere in the U.S., this indictment focuses on their operations in the El Paso area, Ciudad Juarez and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

 “There are several assassins and hit-squad leaders, this is a blow to their infrastructure” said Joseph Arabit, special agent in charge of the El Paso division of DEA.

The indictment details the cell structure of the Sinaloa Cartel in Chihuahua and names their top lieutenants and several of their alleged assassins. Authorities said a number of those indicted are in Mexican custody and that they will seek their extradition but could not specify which members are currently detained. One of those indicted is cartel lieutenant Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo, arrested in Mexico last February.

Top photo is Torres Marrufo bottom photo is Juarez weapon room belonging to Torres

 “This indictment has been years in the making, the focus is to dismantle the cartel by focusing on their upper echelon,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso Division Mark Morgan.

Morgan said federal agents started working on the indictment back in 2000, at the time when Guzman escaped from a Mexican prison.

Authorities say the Sinaloa cartel’s efforts in recent years to control lucrative smuggling routes through Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, have unleashed waves of violence.

The U.S. has previously offered a $5 million reward leading to Guzman’s capture.

This was not Guzman’s first U.S. indictment. He was previously indicted in, Arizona, San Diego and he and Zambada Garcia aka “Mayo,” both named in the El Paso indictment, were also indicted previously in Chicago and Brooklyn. This latest indictment includes two incidents in which U.S. residents were killed on cartel orders of Torres Marrufo.

*Torres Marrufo allegedly coordinated cocaine and marijuana shipments through Juarez to the U.S., according to the indictment. In September 2009, he ordered a team to kidnap someone in Horizon City, Texas, who had lost a 670-pound load of marijuana to law enforcement in Sierra Blanca. The person was taken to Juarez, tortured and killed. His mutilated body was found later in Juarez.

In May 2010, Torres Marrufo had a groom kidnapped from his wedding in Juarez along with his brother and uncle, according to the indictment. The three were tortured and killed. Police found their bodies days later in the bed of a pickup in Juarez. A fourth person was killed in the kidnapping.

If convicted, the defendants face sentences of up to life in a federal prison. Both Guzman and Zambada Garcia are charged with at least one count of murder that could result in the death penalty.

Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in McAllen, Texas contributed to this report.

Copy of Indictment-(Thanks Mano) link here

Other defendants named in the indictment:

German (Last Name Unknown) aka "Paisa," "German Olivares";

Mario Nunez-Meza aka "Mayito," "M-10"

Amado Nunez-Meza aka "Flaco," "M-11," "El Flais"

Jose Antonio Torres Marrufo aka "Jaguar," "Tonin," Catorce," "14," "Tono," "El Uno";

Gabino Salas-Valenciano aka "El Ingeniero"

Sergio Garduno-Escobedo aka "Coma";

David Sanchez-Hernandez aka "Christian";

Ivan Sanchez-Hernandez

Jesus Rodrigo Fierro-Ramirez aka "Huichi," "Pena";

Arturo Lozano-Mendez aka "Garza";

Mario De La O Lopez aka "Flaco";

Arturo Shows Urquidi aka "Chous"

Salvador Valdez aka "Robles"

Daniel Franco Lopez aka "Micha," "Neon," "Fer";

Luis Arellano-Romero aka "Bichi," Bichy," "Helio";

Fernando Arellano-Romero aka "Rayo," "24," "Gamma," "Blue Demon";

Mario Alberto Iglesias-Villegas aka "Dos," "El 2," "Delta," "Parka," "Grim Reaper," "Daniel Cuellar Anchondo," "Delfin";

Adrian Avila-Ramirez aka "Bam Bam," "Tacuba," "El 19";

Valentin Saenz De La Cruz aka "El Valle," "Lic";

Emigdio Martinez, Jr. aka "Millo";

Carlos Flores aka "Buffalo," "Charly"; and,

Jose (Last Name Unknown) aka "Toca," "Tocayo," "Pachi".

*Additional information about the kidnappings/torture read Buggs previous post HERE
*El Paso Times Article HERE

Read More

Bad guys hit cop shop with grenade in Nuevo Laredo

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Drug and gang related violence in Nuevo Laredo started its fourth day Tuesday morning with a grenade attack against municipal police station, according to Mexican news accounts.

The attack took place at about 0800 hrs near the Nuevo Laredo municipal police station near the intersection of Avenida Avila Camacho and the Anahuac highay. One unidentified civilian was wounded, one car was immolated and another was damaged by the blast.  The explosion was heard as far away as seven kilometers.

Reports also say another shootout took place between armed suspects and a Mexican Army unit later that morning in an area in western Nuevo Laredo called Santa Fe.

The Tamaulipas state Fiscalia General del Estado or attorney general told foreign press agencies that the two Monday afternoon shootouts between Mexican Army units and armed suspects killed seven unidentified armed suspects.
To read the Borderland Beat story on Monday's shootout between Mexican Army units and armed suspects click here
Mexican federal government agencies do not release news to the public due to a clamp on government propaganda as  outlined by Article 41 of the Mexican Constitution which forbids dissemination.  That ban is expected to be lifted the day after the presidential election July 1st.

Reports also say that the four international bridges were apparently unaffected by Tuesday's attacks.

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

Read More

Heriberto Lazcano, “El Lazca” Almost Captured at a “Narco Party"

Translated from NTR, Zacatecas & Mexico Rojo....Paz, Chivis

Monclova, Coahuila.- This Sunday, April 23th, SEDENA of this municipality, set to disposition of PGR, the members of (Banda Jerez) a musical band of Zacatecas, after presumably entertaining in a party in the Recreational Center Seccion 38 of SNTE, of the leader of the Drug Cartel,  “Los Zetas”, Heriberto Lazcano, (aka) “El Lazca, or “Z3”, or “El Verdugo”, the second most wanted by the Mexican authorities.

Along with the 17 members of the musical band, elements of the army also presented as detained 14 other persons, among them waiters and presumably delinquents invited to the “narcoparty”.

Soldiers safeguarded the installations of PGR, while Agents of the Federal Public Ministry defines their legal position.

Outside the PGR office was the two vehicles that the musical band uses to travel, in one vehicle travels the band and the other vehicle transports the instruments; one of the vehicles had the license plate 1-2MJ-07.

The agent of the Federal Public Ministry avoided giving information about the operation since the Army had not presented the report about the events in Recreational Center of the 38 Section of SNTE.

The caterer hired for the event stated that around 3:00 o’clock of Sunday, his son, which was the organizer of the event, called him to tell him that the army would not let him and or others leave the hall. He also said that members of the Musical Band were also detained and transferred to  the PGR.

“They will release them, they are just answering questions and giving a statement, but they are not arrested”, said the person in charge of catering.

After asking him about the social event that he was hired for, he answered, “I thought it was a 15^th birthday party or wedding, we were just hired for catering, we were not told details”.

The Recreational Center of SNTE Section 38 is located north of the outside of the town, also known as “Beautiful Monclovita”, through Road 57, in a solitary place, for which is operated during the day as swimming pool and children playground.

When the soldiers asked the guests about the motive of the “Narco Party”, unfortunately no one knew whom the party was for so the authorities didn’t know how to specify the type of event, nor who had organized it.

Ruben Moreira, Constitutional Governor of the State of Coahuila, assured the media he was unaware of the details of the operation implemented by SEDENA and SEMAR in Monclova, for which he will await the corresponding official information.

Supposedly a tip-off, alerted “El Lazca”, after which he  left the party before the authorities arrived.  There has been the presumption that the leader of the “Zetas” may reside in Monclova.

The Governor made clear that his government is in full disposition to contribute in the actions implemented concerning the attacks  against crime.

He indicated that the operations are appreciated for which he hopes that actions will multiply in benefit of the people of Coahuila, even though he didn’t gave an opinion about the possible residence of Heriberto Lazcano, El Lazca, second drug dealer most wanted in the country. *

*perhaps he should ask his brother?  

 Thanks to SRG of Borderland Beat Forum for the video find...

Read More

Mantas Left Naming Culprits of Chihuahua Bar Slaughter

by Chivis Martinez for Borderland Beat

(Chihuahua) Unknown persons left  narco mantas which names the persons responsible for the slaughter on Friday night that left 15 victims dead.  The massacre was in the Colorado Bar in Chihuahua city.

The mantas were displayed on vacant land draped on wire fencing.

The manta text translated is:

"To the people of Chihuahua, the masterminds of the massacre of Bar Colorado are Javier Llamas Orta (Harry Potter), Jesus Salas (El Chuyin), Alejandro Areas (El Grande) brother of El Indio, Benjamin Valeriano (El Cachilas), Uriel Canton and Jose Borunda Cadenas.

Sincerely: Concerned Society"

Original text in Spanish:

Al pueblo de chihuahua, los autores intelectuales de la masacre del Bar Colorado son Javier Llamas orta (Harry Potter), Jesus Salas (El Chuyin), Alejandro Areas (El Grande) hermano del Indio, Benjamin Valeriano (El Cachilas), Uriel Canton y Jose Borunda Cadenas.

Att. Sociedad Preocupada”.

Read More

Mexican Army bags 3 bad guys in Nuevo Leon

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Three unidentified armed suspects died in an encounter with Mexican Army troops in Cadereyta municipality in NuevoLeon Monday morning, according to Mexican news reports.

The shootout took place near the intersection of Calle Mango and Avenida Naranjo in Huertas del Sauc colony.  The army unit had been dispatched to the area three kilometers from the La Boca-El Castillo road on reports on a criminal group operating in the area.

The road patrol observed a suspect run into a residence at about 0600 hrs after the patrol had been spotted.  Shooting began shortly afterwards.  Mexican Army counterfire killed two armed suspects inside the residence while a third armed suspect died while attempting to flee aboard a parked sedan.

The firefight lasted about ten minutes. Afterwards it was determined that two more suspects were in the house, but had fled into the bush.

Soldiers seized a stolen Dodge Stratus sedan, one AR-15 rifle, one AK-47 rifle and an undisclosed quantity of AK-47 ammunition found in the vehicle.

Milenio news daily on its website Monday evening reported that two more Cadereyta city workers were shot to death Saturday afternoon less that five kilometers where three other city workers were murdered.  The two victims, were identified as Alfonso Gonzalez Leal, 42 and Omar Garcia Mata, 59, and were workers for the Cadereyta Secretaria de Desarrollo Social or Ministry of Social Development.
You can read the Borderland Beat story on the three murdered Cadereyta city workers by clicking here (second listed item)
The report said that the two workers were travelling aboard a Nissan Tsuru sedan near the village o El Castillo,on the Allende-Cadereyta road when they were attacked, presumably while still on the move.  Their vehicle was attacked from behind.

Cadereyta is about ten kilometers east on Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

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

Read More

April 23rd Death in Durango: 9 die

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Four individuals, three of them unidentified, were found shot to death in a remote location in Durango state Sunday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.

One of the dead was identified as Israel Diaz Martiniano, 43 from the village of Garrame de Arriba.   The four were found a few meters from the Los Herrera-Topia road in the Durango Sierras, but Durango state authorities have failed to disclose a more accurate location.

Five other individuals were killed in Durango state in ongoing drug and gang related violence.

• A father and his son were shot to death in an apparent home invasion last Thursday morning in Gomez Palacio.  Armando Cardoza Marrufo, 64 and José Armando Cardoza Gutierrez, 31 were shot to death at a residence on calle 16 de Septiembre in Filadelfia, colony as they resisted an apparent attempt by armed suspects to steal their vehicles.
• A man in his 20s was shot to death in Durango city last Saturday night. Manuel Alejandro Rodriguez Gonzalez, 27, was travelling by foot along calle Vicente Guerrero in Insurgentes colony when two suspects aboard a motorcycles shot him twice, once in the chest and one in the head.  Three 9mm spent shell casings were found at the scene.
• Two men were shot to death and another two were kidnapped in Mapimi municipality Saturday night.  Ignacio Montelongo Cardenas, 36 and  Edgar Roberto Alvarado Montelongo, 19 were attempting to buy alcohol in the village of Bermejillo when several armed suspects travelling aboard two vehicles fired on them.  The suspects also took two other unidentified individuals and fled the scene.  A total of 18 spent shell casings for a .223 AR-15 rifle and 15 from an AK-47 rifle were found at the scene.

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

Read More

Fighting in Nuevo Laredo enters 3rd day

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A reported third day of gunfights between Mexican Army units and armed suspects took place in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Monday afternoon, according to various Mexican news reports.

As of Monday evening gunfights between Mexican Army soldiers and armed suspects have been reported on the road to the airport in Nuevo Laredo.  Earlier Twitter reports had mentioned two international bridges were the locations of roadblocks put up by drug gang shooters, but it was later confirmed that the bridges mentioned meant two bridges that lead to the airport.

Reports from El Norte news daily website Monday evening claimed  a number of dead and wounded armed suspects at the hands of army troops, but those reports will remain unconfirmed as all Mexican federal government entities are under restrictions under Article 41 of the Mexican Constitution not to publish government propaganda during federal elections.

At least one pursuit and gunfight took place on Avenida Reforma at about 1530 hrs when a Mexican Army road patrol encountered a convoy of armed suspects travelling aboard several pickup trucks.  Attempts by the army patrol to pursue were stopped as taxis, trucks and cars were, presumably carjacked, left in the path of pursuing security forces.

Roadblocks have been reported at the commercial zone to include Paseo de la Reforma hotel, avenidas Monterrey and Lago de Chapala, the airport roads and the road to Piedras Negras, Coahuila or Mexico Federal Highway 2.

Roadblocks have also been reported in Bulevar Luis Donaldo Colosio and near the intersection of, Avenida Reforma and Cesar Lopez de Lara.

Nuevo Laredo is generally considered to be Los Zetas territory, but that drug gang has been under considerable pressure from Gulf and Sinaloa drug cartel operatives in the city who have threatened to end Los Zetas' dominance in the city

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

Read More

Five Years Of War: What Has Changed?

A submission

It’s been five years since President Felipe Calderon began a clampdown on the Mexican drug cartels that have been tearing the country apart. Troops have been sent into a variety of different Mexican states, and bloody battles have become commonplace in many parts of the country. The government that took power in 2006 vowed to take the cartels apart, and bring an end to the bribery and corruption within the police and government. As it stands now, the cartels are still getting drugs into America, and murder victims are being found every day. They are taking advantage of every possible way to keep their businesses running, and deadly violence is a daily part of their lives.

Multi-Billion Dollar Industry
It’s estimated that around $40 billion dollars a year is spent on drugs by Americans, and all the cartels want a piece of it. The National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA) 2011 revealed that: ‘Mexican Based TCOs were operating in more than a thousand U.S cities during 2009 and 2010.’ It’s one thing getting the drugs into the United States, but they also need to bring the money back. Moving the money back into Mexico is not always easy, because trying to send hundreds of thousands of dollars through a money transfer would arouse suspicion. Instead the cartels are coming up with all sorts of new ways to outsmart the authorities. Large amounts of bulk cash are smuggled from the US back in to Mexico, and while some does get seized, it is only a fraction of the total amount of drug money destined to the cartels that supply the US illicit drug markets. The NDTA 2011 stated that ‘bulk cash seizures totaled $798 million from January 2008 through August 2010.’

Increase In Drug-Related Deaths
The fight back against the drug cartels in Mexico was supposed to bring an end of gang violence and crime, but since 2006 the number of drug-related murders has just kept rising. The national figures for murders linked to organized crime shed some light on how ineffective Mexican police and troops have been in preventing the rise in violence. In 2006, murders linked to organized crime throughout Mexico were estimated to be just below 3,000, and by 2010 almost 3,000 murders were committed in the City of Ciudad Juarez alone. From 2009 to 2010, the total number of cartel-related murders in Mexico rose a staggering 60%, from just below 10,000 to over 15,000. 2011 saw a much smaller rise, but the latest figures released by Mexican officials estimate that 16,700 deaths occurred due to the Mexico drug war last year. On average, that’s 1392 a month, 348 a week, or 50 a day.

The Rise Of Extortion Rackets
One surprising and scary result of the on-going drug war in Mexico is a rise in extortion rackets. This might seem less important than the thousands of people being killed every year, but it poses a great risk to the general public in Mexico. Over the last five years smaller drug cartels have been squeezed out of the business and now it seems there are only two that can successfully operate large drug-trafficking operations into the Unites States. The Pacific Cartel and Los Zetas are now the big two, and so smaller cartels and other criminal cells have changed tactics. Instead of trying to compete with the big two in terms of drug smuggling, they have looked inwards to see where they can generate an income. In an ironic situation, the increase in violence and arrest of cartel leaders has led to domestic mafias specializing solely in extortion. The climate of unpredictable violence between cartels, and the inability of local law enforcement to protect the public has led to people in Mexico paying gangs regular protection money in the hope of staying safe.

What The Future Holds
The current state of Mexico suggests that the drug war is not stopping the cartels. Recently the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, went on the record to defend the American policy that supports the Mexican drug war. Insisting that is was not a failure, she was quizzed by the Mexican Interior Minister, Alejandro Poire, about why Joaquin “Shorty” Guzman, the leader of one of Mexico’s largest and most powerful cartels had not been captured yet. He was arrested and incarcerated in 1993, but 8 years later he managed to escape, and now the US are offering a $5 million bounty for his capture. Her reply was: 'It took us 10 years to find Osama Bin Laden and we found him.' With the Mexican presidential elections coming up in July, President Felipe Calderon does not have years, but only months, to achieve a break through that will boost his plummeting popularity ratings.

Read More

April 21st Mayhem in Monterrey: 13 die

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Six unidentified individuals were shot to death in three separate shootings in Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon Saturday, according to Mexican news accounts.

Armed suspects travelling aboard several vehicles burst into a residence near the intersection of calle Cuarta Oriente and Luis Donaldo Colosio in San Gilberto colony in Santa Catarina, a suburb of Monterrey. 

Two men and a woman were killed at the scene, while a fourth victim was found a short distance away also shot to death.

Reports say two other people were shot, presumably by the same armed group, one near the intersection of calles San Juan del Rio and San German, and another on Calle San Juan.

Sales of drugs are suspected in the shootings.

Seven other individuals were murdered or found dead in and around Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

• Two unidentified men were shot to death in Juarez, Nuevo Leon late Friday night.  The victims were attacked near the intersection of calles San Ángel and Natalia in La Trinidad colony.  Several spent shell casings for AR-15 assault rifles were found at the scene.
• Three city workers for Cadereyta Jimenez municipality were shot to death Friday morning as they were working on water pipes.  The shooting took place at around 1100 hrs near the intersection of Cadereyta-Allende highway at the seven kilometer marker near the village of El Castillo.
• Two unidentified men in their 20s were fond shot to death.  The victims were found on the Santiago-San Mateo Road at the 15 kilometer marker, outside the Dos Hermanos ranch.  They had been beaten before being shot.
• An unidentified man was detained following a shooting and a pursuit in Monterrey Friday evening.  A Fuerza Civil patrol attempted to stop the suspect who was driving a Jeep Patriot SUV near the intersection of avenidas Ocampo and Pino Suarez.  The subsequent pursuit damaged seven vehicles mostly by gunfire, before the pursuit ended.

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

Read More

The Legacy of General Acosta Chaparro

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Retired general Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro was attacked Friday afternoon in Mexico City in the Mexico City suburb of Polanco in Anahuac colony near the intersection of calles Lago Como and Lago Trasimeno. He  was hit three times in the head by gunfire. He was rushed to receive medical attention but died at about 1820 hrs local time.

General Acosta Chaparro

Mexicans these days recognize the general as a disgraced commander who was accused of receiving money from the founder of the Juarez Cartel,  Amado Carrillo Fuentes AKA Señor de los Cielos or Lord of the Heavens, part of the charges for which Acosta Chaparro was arrested on August 30th, two months short of his retirement.  He was later sentenced for crimes against health. Those charges actually related to his time as a counterinsurgency commander in Guerrero state in the 1970s.  General Acosta Chaparro spent almost seven years in Campo Militar No. 1 military prison in Mexico City.

In the summer of 2007, an appellate court, Quinto Tribunal Colegiado, ordered the Supremo Tribunal de Justicia Militar to impose a new sentence on  Acosta Chaparro saying sufficient evidence had been found of the general's ties to drug trafficking. The new sentence was for a charge he had already been acquitted, So, in June 2007 he was released.

General Acosta Chaparro was one of several military commanders who made their bones in the 1970s and 1990s fighting Marxist guerilla movements in Mexico, a list which includes General Mario Renan Castillo Fernandez Military Zone commander during the latter phases of the Chiapas Conflict of 1994 to 1998, General Leopoldo Diaz Perez, who was Castillo Fernandez's intelligence chief during the Chiapas Conflict,  and General Juan Alfredo Oropeza Garnica commander of the 27th Military Zone in Acapulco, who effectively ended Ejercito Popular Revolucionario (EPR) combat activities in Guerrero in the late 1990s.

Read More

Attack on the Border has Authorities on Alert

By: EFE

The recent deadly shooting attack on a group of undocumented immigrants who were traveling in a vehicle near the Arizona border alerted U.S. authorities to the presence of criminal groups in the region.

Two people died in the April 8 incident near the town of Eloy, where the truck transporting between 20 and 30 undocumented migrants was fired upon by a group of men wearing camouflage.

According to information furnished by the Pima County Sheriff's Office, the bodies of Mexican citizen Gerardo Perez Ruiz and Juan Baltazar Lopez, a Guatemalan national, were found at the scene.

Some of the immigrants who were found in the vicinity said that the attackers shouted at them in Spanish to "stop" before opening fire.

"These criminals who attacked this group are people who have no kind of morals, no conscience regarding the life of another person," Tony Estrada, sheriff of Arizona's Santa Cruz County, told Efe on Thursday.

Estrada, who has law enforcement experience with groups of criminals operating along the border, said that these bands devote themselves to stealing drugs or human "merchandise" from other traffickers.

Another possibility is that the immigrants were attacked by a group of border vigilantes, but that has not been able to be ascertained by investigators of the case.

Sheriff Estrada said the gangs that target drug smugglers and human traffickers operate in the most remote parts of the desert, in mountainous areas where there is not much law enforcement oversight.

"The target in this case are humble people; working, struggling people who come from extreme poverty, who want to survive like any other citizen and who become the target of this group of people, whether they be racist vigilantes or criminal groups," Estrada said.

The sheriff said that the ideal situation is for everyone to be able to cross the border into the United States legally to work, and he says he feels that the only solution is for comprehensive immigration reform.

This is not the first incident of its kind along the Arizona border. In 2007, two similar attacks occurred, both of them with deadly consequences.

In the first of those earlier incidents, three immigrants died during an attack on the truck transporting them to the outskirts of the city of Tucson. In the other, two undocumented immigrants lost their lives when men dressed in black fired on the truck they were riding in.

In the first case, authorities were not able to make any arrests and the motive for the attack continues to be a mystery. In the second, authorities concluded that the armed group was looking to steal drugs without knowing that the truck was transporting undocumented migrants.

Matt Allen, special investigative agent with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Arizona, told Efe that the agency - along with local law enforcement - has focused on fighting the activities of these criminal organizations.

Read More

How Mexico Druglords Spend their Ill-Gotten Gains

Mexico's narcotics magnates have billions of dollars at their disposal.

Some of that money goes toward the staple bling, such as gold-plated semi-automatics and so forth.

Adam Raney tells us how they spend the rest of their ill-gotten gains.

 By: Al Jazeera

Read More

UPDATE: Chihuahua Massacre Photos

By Chivis Martinez for Borderlandbeat

The slaughter began at 9PM Friday night a group of armed men entered the El Colorado Bar located in Colonia Granjas. Shooting from both the left and right sides of the bar, the action appeared to be indiscriminate as the gunmen opened fire on customers, servers, bartenders and musicians. 

In vain people dove under tables or used chairs as shields from the large caliber bullets.  16 people were  killed leaving a flood of bleeding bodies everywhere of those killed and injured.

Unofficial reports indicate that 5 vehicles with 10 gunmen were parked  outside the bar, witnesses say the gunmen appeared to be very young minors.

The shooting occurred in the northern Mexico city of Chihuahua, the dead included two journalists, prosecuting attorneys said Saturday.

"They have been identified as Hector Javier Salinas Aguirre and Javier Moya Munoz, who were journalists from the city of Chihuahua with many years working at radio stations," said a source from the Chihuahua state attorney's office.

Nine other people died violently between Friday night and early Saturday in nearby communities, where gang drug violence is common.

They included four others from the city of Chihuahua; four from Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas; and one from the town of Madera.

Hector Salinas, who for years was a radio reporter and former press chief for the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, most recently worked as director of the local news site Futuro.mx, officials said.

Javier Moya, a journalist and veterinarian, was chief news officer for a local radio station and recently was working as a press spokesman for the city of Chihuahua.

Witnesses said that in the attack Friday night about seven heavily armed men burst into a bar called La Colorada and demanded to know the whereabouts of two or three other men.

After getting no response, they opened fire, police said.

The massacre follows a similar shooting February 4, when an armed group burst into another Chihuahua bar and opened fire, killing nine people. They included five members of a band and a policewoman.

Authorities have not established a motive.

Read Badanov Post for greater detail:
http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2012/04/13-die-in-bar-massacre-in-chihuahua.html 

sources used:
El Diario de Chihuahua
El Heraldo de Chihuahua
La Rojo Chih and AP

Read More

The Capture of El Chapo Could Boost Politician for the Race Toward the Presidency

A little over two months of the presidential elections in Mexico, the capture of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman could be a historic achievement for President Felipe Calderon, and consequently, a huge boost for the candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota.

The world's most wanted drug lord who escaped from the Mexican authorities on January 2001, could return to prison "soon," according to press statements from Attorney General Cuitlahuac Salinas who heads the organization Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime, who said that a few weeks ago “El Chapo” almost got caught.

If the arrest of the capo is realized during this electoral process, the political party of Calderon could get a "sweet trophy," contrary to the negative publicity that has been seen since the beginning when he took office in 2006, the time when he declared war on organized crime gangs.

This triumph for Calderon could also benefit PAN candidate Josefina Vazquez Mota who could garnish support from the Mexican people, and thus help improve her rankings among the polls in the elections coming up on July 1.

Currently Vazquez Mota is not well positioned in the national polls and public opinion, but an event of this magnitude before the election could change the scenario that currently places the PRI candidate Enrique Peña Nieto as the leading candidate to occupy the presidential seat.

The Mexican prosecutor said authorities in the country are focused in capturing the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and produce good results to the public.

Already in custody?

According to a column in El Financiero "El Chapo" Guzman is already being held as a protected witness and soon will be presented to the media.  There are unconfirmed reports that authorities managed to arrest El Chapo in the middle of March during a raid in Los Cabos.

But as we know, different versions come and different versions go, but a return to prison for the capo would weigh too much for the Mexican country and abroad, mainly the United States where authorities seek his capture and have the checkbook ready to pay whatever cost.

Some government analysts predict that the arrest of Guzman could unleash a wave of bloody violence between lieutenants and allied groups for control of the Sinaloa cartel and could be the reason for the hesitation to announce a possible arrest, that is, if it did happen at all.

 
Source: Vanguardia

Read More

15 die in bar massacre in Chihuahua city

This story will be updated as new information becomes available.  Partial list of dead released.

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of 15 individuals were shot to death and another two were wounded in a shooting at a bar in Chihuahua, Chihuahua Friday night, according to Mexican news accounts.

The shooting took place around 2100 hrs at the bar El Colorado near the intersection of calles Cipres and Gonzalez Cossio in Las Granjas colony.

The shooting followed a familiar pattern:  at least ten armed suspects exited from five vehicles, entered the bar and began shooting. Some of the shooters appeared to be under aged. Upon exiting the bar, the shooters fired their weapons into the air to scare away onlookers before fleeing aboard their vehicles.

El Diario news daily reported that the  armed suspects were dressed in black tactical gear which had a skull patch on their uniform.

The news daily also said one of the dead was an unidentified female and one of the wounded was also female, both employees of the bar.  Tiempo news daily reported that an unknown number of musicians were among the victims.

Also among the dead were two journalists, Dr. Francisco Javier Moya, who was a news director at a radio station and Hector Javier Salinas Aguirre, who owned the website, futuro.mx.

Nine of the were identified as:  Rodolfo Cardona Lagos, 72, Federico Perez Moreno, 41,  José Luis Vazquez Garcia, 64,  Jorge Alberto Aragon Cerna, 47,
Cristian Chavez Jaimes, 35, Jose Luis Herrera Pichardo, 59, Efren Anaya Vazquez , 48, Miriam Vazquez Torres, 25 and Arellanes Enemecio, 52.
Originally reported as 13, two of the victims died while receiving medical attention and the two remaining wounded are reportedly in delicate condition.

La Polaka news daily reports that the attack was a response to the detention of La Linea leader Guillermo Castillo Rubio by Policia Federal agents in Queretero state last Wednesday.  La Linea is the enforcement wing of the Juarez drug cartel.

La Linea has suffered a number of setbacks to their security structure due to intensified security in northern Mexico, especially in Chihuahua state and in Ciudad Juarez.

Last August Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, AKA El Diego, was arrested following a brief firefight and pursuit by a special Polica Federal unit.  Acosta Hernandez was until the time of his arrest one of the bloodiest drug capos with a confessed 1,500 murders to his credit, including US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents.

His replacement, Arturo Bautista, 31, AKA El Mil Amores was detained in December in Juarez by Juarez municipal police agents at a safe house along with three other associates.

According to press sources, Castillo Rubio has been forced to flee Chihuahua state due to increased pressure from police and was conducting his enforcement operations from Queretaro state.  Like Acosta Hernandez, he was detained by a Polica Federal special operations force.


A subtext in the detention of Castillo Rubio was that the Juarez cartel had not yet designated a replacement for Bautista following his detention even four months hence, forcing Castillo Rubio to assume duties as La Linea chief.  Castillo Rubio was Acosta Hernandez's boss during at least part of El Diego's reign of terror.

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

Read More