Security elements among 7 dead in plane crash in Zacatecas

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Foto de Wikipedia

Seven individuals including four Mexican federal police agents were killed in an aircraft crash midday Tuesday in Zacatecas state, according to Mexican news accounts.

A news report which appeared in the onlone edition of El Siglo de Durango news daily said that the aircraft was taking off from Zacetacas airport in Zacatecas when the pilot radioed he was returning to the airport.  The aircraft was bound for Mexico City. 

The aircraft crashed in Morelos municipality just ten minutes after takeoff near an area called Noria de Gringos.  The aircraft crashed just a few kilometers from General Leobardo C. Ruiz International Airport in Calera municipality.

The agents were due to return to Mexico City Monday night at around 2255 hrs, but the aircraft was forced to return to the airport because of an unspecified mechanical problem.  The aircraft took off at 1200 hrs on Tuesday, but then crashed.

Among the dead were Antonio Andres Alvarez Mota, a ministerial agent with the Ministerio Publico de la Federacion  and affiliated with the Subprocuraduria Especializada en Investigacion en contra de la Delincuencia Organizada (SEIDO) or organized crime bureau of the Procuraduria General de la Republic (PGR), the Mexican national attorney general's office.

Also reported dead were two Policia Federal (PF) ministerial agents  Ricardo Martín Flores Benitez and Francisco Leonardo Niño Acevedo.  Another PF ministerial agent assigned to Zacatecas, Martín Antonio Gutierrez Cantu, also died in the crash.

Also dead were the pilot, Guillermo Flores Millan, the copilot Juan Manuel Garcia Bernal and a mechanic, Miguel Angel Guerrero Coliev.

The aircraft was a 1985 Kingair 300 twin engine turboprop, which belonged to the PGR.

According to the El Siglo de Durango report, the ministerial agents were in Zacatecas state to serve an arrest warrant for three alleged Los Zetas operatives identified as Juan Luis Gallegos Muro, Fernando Rodríguez Robles Zaldivar and Anacleto Flores.  The three alleged drug cartel members were sent to Centro de Reinsercion Social (CERESO) in Cieneguillas.

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

Zetas Cartel: Money Laundering Trial Week Two Recap

By Havana and Chivis for Borderland Beat

Monday through Thursday of week two below
Week one can be Linked Here

Witness Héctor Moreno was once “Poncho” Cuéllar’s right hand man, when crossed examined by defense attorney Womak, Moreno agrees that he did share a close relationship with Cuéllar, “I saw a lot of what he did, but I didn’t spend the night with him when he slept or anything”, Moreno stated. But yes, he moved 4-5 tons of cocaine to the states each year, he testified. He added that his pay for his involvement was 200k USD per year.

The two men worked directly for Zetas leaders, brothers Miguel Treviño and Omar Treviño. Moreno said he had his “own client”, “one José Vásquez Jr. of Dallas”, who purchased 800 kilos to a ton each month, which generated 4 million USD of revenue per two weeks.

Moreno arranged guns and money smuggling into Mexico while diverting a portion of drug funds for the horse racing operation. He denies giving 200k to Eusebio “Chevo” Huitrón (photo at left)to purchase a horse, although he did remember arranging undocumented migrants to work on the ranch.

He did admit to several payouts in Coahuila, including 10 thousand dollars to Chevo at the María’ Savelle’s Restaurant in Nava, Coahuila  to train Poncho's horse. as Chevo was meeting with Miguel Treviño.  Moreno almost scoffed at the prosecutor when asked, "Of course I did not tell him it was drug money that would be stupid",

Moreno said he and Cuéllar would see Miguel Treviño and Omar Treviño 2-3 times per month. However, that schedule would interrupt as the Zetas leaders would “disappear” for months and then reappearing.

He testified about a race they watched on a computer screen at Miguel’s ranch in Piedras Negras, about watching it with; Miguel, Omar, Lazcano, Comandante Carlitos and Cuéllar.

 Héctor Moreno said he was familiar with money paid to fix the 2010 Labor Day Mr. Piloto race at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. He usually paid New Mexico horse expenses to Nayen from the sale of Miguel’s and Omar’s kilos sold in the States.

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

CDG Executes Zeta Commander Bebe

Recently there was a video on the internet that shows a man who is tied behind his back, at one point has his shirt over his head and is brutally beaten and ultimately decapitated. He is interrogated by his captors but does not seem to talk. He is believed to be Commander Bebe , a plaza boss for Los Zetas and this gruesome scene appears to have been perpetuated by the Gulf Cartel (CDG).

There is a message left by the criminals:

"This is what is going to happen to all the Zetas that are thinking of entering San Luis Potosi, we demonstrate it with work and not with narco banners. Attentive 'El T' C.D.G."

"Esto les va a pasar a todos los zetas que quieranentrar a San Luis Potosí,
Nosotros lo demostramos con jale no con narcomantas"
ATT. "EL T"
C.D.G.

Commander bebé was plaza boss of San Luis Potosi for Los Zetas where he was in charge to pay the "lookouts" or "halcones" and collect money from other criminal groups to conduct business in the plaza "cobro de piso."

8 die in Monterrey in Nuevo Leon

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of eight individuals were killed in ongoing drug and gang related violence in and near Monterrey in Nuevo Leon, according to Mexican press reports.

An article posted Sunday morning on the website of Milenio news daily said that armed suspects entered  Jhonny´s Place bar in Guadalupe municipality near the Monterrey to Nuevo Laredo highway Saturday night killing three customers and a guard.  Another eight individuals were wounded in the attack.

At nearly the same moment another attack, this time against a traffic cop, took place near a dance hall called Villa Antigua in nearby Juarez municipality in Garza y ​​Garza colony.  Security elements at the scene found one unidentified local police agent dead and two taxi cab drivers wounded.

Friday afternoon at around 1740 hrs, an Apodaca traffic cop was fond shot to death near the intersection of Avenida Carlos Salinas de Gortari and Calle Ojo de Agua.  The officer was identified as Joel Rodriguez Martinez, a motorcycle patrol officer.

Two 7.62mm spent cartridge casings were found at the scene.  Rodriguez Martinez was shot once in the chest and once in the head.

Further south of Monterrey, in Altamira colony, an unidentified man was shot to death and his girlfriend and mother were wounded at a family gathering Saturday night at a residence near the intersection of Privada 7 de Diciembre and Prolongacion Hilario Martinez.

The attack used a handgun and fired seven founds at the victim hitting him once in the head and once in the chest.

Separately, a local Monterrey attorney was found shot to death in Monterrey Friday evening.

According to a separate news report which appeared on the website of Milenio, Eliseo Martinez Elizondo was found near the intersection of avenidas Corregidora and Aaron Saenz near Santa Maria and Cumbres del Valle colonies.  The victim was blindfolded and had been shot three times.  Martinez Elizondo was reportedly kidnapped the day before his body was found.

Martinez Elizondo has been linked to local casinos as a founding member of a gaming company which was bought out Resolute Operating Company, LLC.  He was also general counsel to a number of bars in the Monterrey area and he maintained an office in Texas.

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

Executions: Zetas Decapitate Woman- Aliados Executes CJNG Member

Borderland Beat

Two execution videos are making the rounds of narco  blogs.  In one sicarios from Los Aliados of Guadalajara claims to be cleaning up Jalisco and sends a message to anyone entertaining the thought of helping CJNG.  The man is alive hanging upside down as his executioners begin decapitating him.  Dismemberment completes the grisly act.
 

In the beginning of the video  there is text warning.

 

This is what will happen to all that help El Mencho and his extortionists and kidnappers of CJNG.

 

The second video is a young woman that is decapitated by the Zetas, who according to them betrayed them. In the video one can hear someone screaming that is outside the view of the camera, some say they are the screams of a child.

 

 WARNING!!

 THESE ARE  BRUTAL, OFF THE SCALE HORRIFIC...

 VIDEOS ARE ON THE NEXT PAGE....

 

Military in Shootout with Los Zetas in a Narco Ranch

Borderland Beat

The following video lasting about 6 minutes shows a gun battle between Mexican Marines and a group of sicarios belonging to Los Zetas. This occurred in a ranch in the town of Cerralvo, Nuevo Leon and Los Zetas were from Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon.

A license plate from a Ford truck shows a Texas plate of 83SLJ5 while other luxurious cars have no plates.

The video show a certain number of alleged sicarios that have been slain, some managed to escape and it also shows two females that are detained. It is not known if the females are cooks, prostitutes, sicarias or victims that were abducted. At least one of the females is nude from the waist down.

Throughout the video a helicopter is heard that appears to be searching for the sicarios that managed to flee. Some of the sicarios must have known that their fate was sealed when they heard the sound of the helicopters and knew that they had very little chance of escape.

In the video one can hear the marines talking;

"The one in the car already fell"
"that guey already, , , , "
"The asshole is moving"
"He was dying, he got fucked"
"Lets go, lets go."

If you listen real careful at the beginning of the video you can hear the sicarios that were killed attempted to escape in their vehicles but failed to do so.



Borderland Beat videos

Update:

"Are you dying?"

Second video from "Tierra del Narco" shows a 15 year old girl that says her name is Mariella. She appears to possibly be a sicaria that has been shot and is alive but says she can't anymore when told not to go to sleep. She has an apparent gunshot wound to her right upper shoulder. The Marines on the ground are tending to her injuries and talking to her so she remain calm. A Marine calls for the helicopter to say that they have a girl that had been shooting at them and a rifle is seen on the ground next to her. There is no evidence in the video that the girl died, in fact toward the end of the video a Marine asked if the girl finally died and another Marine anwers that she is still alive.

Military say the toll was three sicarios dead, two on the ground and one inside one of the cars. Some rifles are seen on the ground.

 

 

El Señor de los Cielos'

By Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times

'El Señor de los Cielos': New soap opera inspired by Juárez drug cartel kingpin

Lead actor Rafael Amaya plays Aurelio Casillas, a character inspired by Amado Carrillo Fuentes.

A new Telemundo telenovela inspired by the former leader of the Juárez drug cartel has hit the air.

"El Señor de los Cielos" (The Lord of the Skies) airs at 9 p.m. weekdays on Channel 48-KTDO. The series began last week.

The Spanish-language soap opera was inspired by the story of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, who was the head of the Juárez drug cartel and was nicknamed the "Lord of the Skies" for his use of airplanes to smuggle drugs.

Amado Carrillo Fuentes died during plastic surgery in 1997. The Juárez drug cartel is now reputedly run by Amado's brother Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.

The TV series tells the story of a benevolent and violent drug lord named Aurelio Casillas, who becomes one of the most powerful men in Mexico in the 1990s and turns to high-risk plastic surgery to conceal his identity. Model-looking actor Rafael Amaya plays the main character completely with stylish cowboy boots and hat.

"This action-filled story is full of raw passion and emotions, untold luxury, suffering, intrigue and suspense," according to a Telemundo news release.

The telenovela was made by Telemundo Studios and began production in January. It was filmed in the Mexico City area and the central Mexican state of Morelos. Telemundo is a division of NBCUniversal. The series had planned for years.

The new series follows the success that Telemundo has had with other drug-lord inspired soaps such as "La Reina del Sur" (The Queen of the South) and "Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal," which told the story of the infamous Colombian kingpin.

13 die in prison riot in San Luis Potosi state

A list of the wounded can be found here

A total of 13 inmates were killed and another 65 were wounded in a prison riot in San Luis Potosi that began early Saturday morning, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news report which appeared on the website of El Diario de Coahuila news daily, the trouble began at around 0400 hrs at the Centro de Readaptacion Social (CERESO) locally known as La Pila in dormitories 4,5 and 6, with about 100 inmates were involved.

By 0700 hrs the incident was over.

According to a separate news account posted on the website of Milenio news daily, 12 of the dead were identified as Israel Saldaña Bustamante, Edgar Eduardo Padilla Altamirano, Julian Garay Lopez, Oscar Guerrero Gomez, Pablo Ivan Soriano Barrera, Argenis Joshimar Castillo Gonzalez, Omar Castillo Hernandez, Eliud Eduardo Bautista Puga, Uriel Antonio Maldonado Ramirez, Luis Alberto Dominguez Martinez, Arturo Gonzalez Hernandez and Sergio Noe Lopez Puenta.

News of the 13th fatality came in just as a press conference with the governor of San Luis Potosi, Dr. Fernando Toranzo Fernandez was ending. The name of the 13the victim has not been disclosed.

Gob. Dr. Toranzo Fernandez

The Milenio account mentioned that of the 65 wounded, 22 were listed in serious condition.

The San Luis Potosi state Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado (PGJE) or attorney general Miguel Angel Covarrubias was quoted as saying that one prison gang revolted against another demanding money and property inmates received from work inside prison.

According to news reports, inmate involved used homemeade stabbing weapons.  No firearms were used in the riot.  Reports are that concrete was used to construct weapons.

Nine of the dead died inside the prison while four died inside the the prison hospital.

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

3 die in Sierras de Durango

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of  three individuals were found dead in or near the sierras of western Durango since Wednesday, according to Mexican news accounts.

According to a news report posted on the website of El Siglo de Durango news daily, an unidentified man was found dead in Santiago Papasquiaro shot in the head.  The victim was found on a road leading to the village of Canelas.

Near the village of Tayoltita, municipality of San Dimas municipality, Maria de los Angeles Valdez Villanueva, 62, was shot to death Thursday.  The press account said the victim was shot in the chest by an unidentified male suspect who fled the scene.  El Sol de Durango news daily, however said that Valdez Villanueva was shot in the head.

A Mexican Army counternarcotics operation was concluded just two months ago last February in Tayoltita in San Dimas municipality where soldier seized two AK-47 rifles, three 5.7mm pistols, two 9mm pistols, one 40mm grenade launching attachment, one 40mm grenade, 333 rounds of ammunition and 14 weapons magazines.  The seizure included operations in La Lajita in Tamazula as well.

Violence and threats of kidnappings have been plaguing government workers as well in San Dimas, according to a separate account in El Siglo de Durango.

According to the report, Eduardo Matuk Sariñana -- an administrator with the federal Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) -- said his charges have been subject to intimidation including threats of kidnapping by local drug gangs.

Two weeks ago an IMSS ambulance was fired on and heavily damaged by armed suspects in the village of Vencedores in San Dimas municipality.

In El Salto in Pueblo Nuevo last February, another IMSS clinic was surrounded by local armed drug gang members after one of their members died in the clinic while receiving medical attention.  Threats forced one local doctor to flee the village.

Meanwhile, a third victim was found immolated on Rancho La Joya near the village of San Francisco de Lajas in Mezquita municipality.  The victim was tentatively identified in the El Sol de Durango report as Paula de la Cruz.  The case is being treated by Durango state police investigators as a homicide.

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

Video showing torture of suspect in Torreon

This is well out of my wheelhouse, but this video purportedly shows a suspect undergoing a beating administered by Policia Federal and then presumably signing a confession.

Zacatecas: Dismembered Body With NarcoMessage as Z's Answer CDG

Borderland Beat

 

 

Zetas respond to killings by CDG, As CDG-Zetas War Heats Up

 

The Zacatecas Attorney of Justice, Arturo Nahle Garcia, confirmed the discovery of a decapitated and dismembered body outside of the hotel Samil in La Escondida.

Inside the chest were the remains of a dismembered man , also found was a narco message signed by the “Northeast Cartel” the text was not released but the attorney disclosed  the message indicated it  was a revenge killing .

 

 "This cell is part of the Zetas",  he said , stating further; it was  evident because in the killings earlier in the week, in Felix U. Gómez,  Enrique Estrada,  the victims were Zetas and the narcomessages were signed by CDG, this killing is a response to that event, stated the attorney.

 

On Wednesday in Enrique Estrada, Zac, the mutilated bodies of five men and a woman, between 20 and 35 years old, were found beside the federal highway 45, on a paved rural road that joins the community Feliz U. Gomez with this municipality. Reportedly, at least  three recent model trucks with hooded gunmen aboard, arrived around 9:00 am.

The trucks cargo section contained human body parts.  They were 6 human heads, arms, legs and torsos. They also left two narco messages, one made on a cloth and the other on cardboard.

On a bus bench, recently erected by the Secretariat of Communication and Transportation so that the villagers would wait for the public transportation, they placed the banner that was tied with rope to each pole.

At that time of day there is slow traffic from Fresnillo to Zacatecas,  which is why drivers were able to easily see the mutilated bodies.

 

The Emergency System 066 of the municipal police received dozens of calls referring to the headless human bodies.

When two municipal police patrols arrived to the place, they stayed about 600 ft away and did not approach until the Ministerial and Federal Police arrived. Two groups of experts also arrived to verify the scene, along with the Public Ministry of Local Jurisdiction Agent.

The decapitated heads were left  on cardboards.  Hands and feet were tied with brown tape.

Federal Police also arrived at the crime scene, which supported ministerial safeguard the zone. They were at 500 meters guarding the vehicles that approached. The body parts were taken to the Forensic Medical Service on the municipality of Fresnillo. The experts’ trucks were safeguarded by the Federal Police.

 

On both narco messages said the following:

"Here are your hawks,  pick up your shit. DON'T SEND to the capital, innocent boys, don't rape women. Don’t be gay. The plazas are gained killing rivals, not beating up or abusing innocents. Enjoy the last days of your life, pussy. I am going to teach how to be a man, don't hide, and come out to kick each other’s ass”.

 “Atte: Your parents C.D.G”

The banner and cardboard were confiscated  by the Ministerial Police to transfer it to  the Public Ministry of Federal Jurisdiction Agent of the Attorney General of the Republic. In the last eight years, there has not been an event of this type registered.

After conducting  the corresponding jobs in Enrique Estrada, Calera de Victor Rosales and Fresnillo, patrolling intensified by militaries of 97 Infantry Battalion, Navy of Mexico, as well as by federal forces.

 

Code red was activated in Enrique Estrada, Calera de Victor Rosales and Fresnillo  since there had not been murders of this type, with the purpose of threatening one criminal organization by another.

Confrontations from the two groups of organized crime  have escalated  on the southern part of the state and in some areas of Sombrerete, Chalchihuites and Jimenez del Teúl.

 

 



 

Sources: "Zac", El Circo, Pagina24



Narco Singer Chuy Quintanilla Found Slain North of Mission Texas

Borderland Beat

 

Authorities are investigating the shooting death of narcocorrido singer whose body was found in an orchard north of Mission.

It all happened at a grapefruit orchard off Bryan Road north of FM 1925 at 6:15 a.m. Thursday.

Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office deputies were called out to the area to investigate a body found.

Sheriff Lupe Treviño told Action 4 News that the body found was that of singer Chuy Quintanilla.

 

Crime Scene

 Workers found Quintanilla's body in a pool of blood next to a tan Chevrolet Tahoe.  Sheriff Treviño said Quintanilla had two bullet wounds to the head.

Deputies believe that Quintanilla was killed in the orchard and left to die next to the singer's SUV.

Hidalgo County Justice of the Peace Luis Garza pronounced Quintanilla dead and ordered an autopsy to learn more about his death.

Investigators are taking tire prints in the area to get an idea of what vehicle the suspects were driving.

 

 

Family Members

 

Family members of the slain singer were at the crime scene and told Action 4 News that Quintanilla lived in Palmview.

The family members said they last heard from him on Wednesday evening and were not able to reach him on his cell phone Wednesday night.

Family members headed to the crime scene after they heard a body was found and saw his SUV in the orchard.

 

Quintanilla's musical career spanned decades but included singing "corridos" or "musical narratives" describing the exploits of Gulf Cartel leaders.
Source: Valley Central

Below are NOTE: two of his narcocorridos below, the top video is  of Tony Tormento (Tamaulipas) and the bottom video of Comandante R1

 

Click on any image to enlarge

 Thanks to reader "JF" for the heads up

Saltillo: Dismembered Bodies of Vanguardia Photog and Student Discovered

Borderland Beat As posted on BB Forum by "Lala"

PGJE's Morales reports the bodies before their arrival

At the intersection of colonias Los Arcos and Miravalle, south of Saltillo, the dismembered bodies of two men were left  next to the wall of an elementary school each one with a message, .

The bodies were in the middle of the pavement at the intersection of boulevard Diamante, Alejandrina and Arco Suizo.

Strangely, according to elements of the State Investigative Police, they were alerted about the "discovery" of the two bodies, provided with  much detail by the Regional Delegate PGJE Claudia Elodia Brondo Morales , and apparently to soon, for  when they arrived the bodies were not there yet.

"Well, you saw that we went around three times and went through the same place three times, and it wasn´t until the third that the bodies were here, it is odd that the delegate knew even how they were dressed and how they were wrapped, and insisted so much in sending us to the exact point, but worst is that she sent us there even before the bodies had been dumped" said one of the detectives.

NEIGHBOR FINDS THEM

 While they were searching, a man who passed by and saw the bodies went in his car to give notice to the Municipal Police, at the South Delegation facilities in Echeverria and Libertad.

The policemen on duty passed the report to the State Emergency System 066 and then it was confirmed that ministeriales detectives had already located such bodies.

Although the statement that sent the Attorney General of the State mentioned that the discovery was made at 02:00 hours on Wednesday, actually happened at 00:30 am, shortly after that neighbor reported it to the Municipal Police.

The bodies were found at the edge of the ridge near Arco Suizo, one was on a bedspread with its mutilated limbs surrounding the body, the other body was on top of a black bag and there were sheets on the sidewalk. The messages were placed on top of the bodies and by when the bodies were taken they remained unidentified.

oops! Claudia Morales of PGJE  sent authorities for the bodies before their arrival

Attorney office identifies the bodies

Almost 22 hours after the discovery of the two dismembered bodies, the Attorney General in the State reported that they had been identified, and made known to the media through a press release ...

Members of the Police Investigation of the Attorney General of the State (PGJE) managed to locate the relatives of the two victims that were found on Tuesday night in Arco Suizo and Alejandrina, Colonia Miravalle.

Relatives identified Daniel Alejandro Martinez Bazaldúa , 22 years old, and Julian Alejandro Zamora Gracia, 23.

Daniel Alejandro Martinez Bazaldúa had been working for about a month as a photographer for the social section of the newspaper Vanguardia, previously worked organizing special tourist trips. Last contact he had with his family was on April 23.

Julian Alejandro Zamora Gracia, according to information provided by family members, was a  engineering student at Northeastern University (UANE) and was doing an internship at a company of Ramos Arizpe. Last contact they had with him was also on April 23.

Along with the bodies there were two messages that make direct reference to both men, saying they had belonged to a criminal organization and had deserted.

El Diario Coahuila

Acuña: Major Operation by Mexican Navy

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

Over a hundred elements of marine Navy of Mexico and Mexican Army secured drugs, weapons, vehicles and suspects, during raids that took place in different parts of the city during Tuesday morning.

Federal sources confirmed that since the early hours of Tuesday, the Marines arrived in Ciudad Acuña aboard armored vehicles and artillery units, proceeding to besiege residences and properties in the process of detaining criminal suspects.

The Marines were supported by helicopter gunships that were kept carrying out reconnaissance flights, as scores of elements raided  properties, and  “safe houses” used by drug traffickers.

Although the details and results of the operation have not been made public, information leaked that an indeterminate amount of drugs, weapons, grenades, cartridges, vehicles of recent model and suspects were seized.

The previous week, in Piedras Negras elite troops managed to confiscate 7 tons of marijuana, as well as grenades, weapons and vehicles.

Piedras Negras is the base operation for the Marina of Mexico (navy) as it continues air and ground operations in the municipalities of Acuña, Jimenez and Piedras Negras in search of members of organized crime.

There have been rumors from Acuña since the weekend.  One rumor was that two Zetas leaders had been captured one in Acuña and one in Monterrey as he flew in from Cancun.  The Zeta captured at the airport was supposedly Alfredo Andrade [in photo above left].  Andrade’s second in command was said to have been captured in Tuesday’s operation in Acuña.

I have received several communications over the past few days from enough people that gives me a sense that the rumors probably have some truth in them.  Today when Vanguardia reported about the Marina and Army operation on Tuesday that gave further support to the reports from people on the ground in Acuña.

If the reports are factual and Andrade was captured he will be extradited to the United States where he has been a fugitive since federal indictment in 2003 named him and 30 co-defendants wanted for drug trafficking and money laundering.

The drug operation, detailed in the indictment, shipped drugs out of  the Mexican city of Ciudad Acuña, across the Rio Grande/Bravo from Del Rio Texas, from Del Rio drugs were shipped to San Antonio, Austin and Waco Texas.

30 of the 31 named in the indictment have been arrested; the lone suspect on the lam is Andrade.

Some are reporting  the second person arrested is Roberto Andrade. 

Sources: LACY, My San Antonio, Vanguardia

6 die in Reynosa

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

A total of six individuals have been killed in separate incidents in Reynosa, Tamaulipas Monday, according to Mexican news accounts.

A news report which appeared on the website of Vanciuc.com said that four armed suspects exchanged gunfire with a unit of the Mexican Army Monday.  The incident took place near the intersection of calles Fuente de Diana and Catorce in Fuentes colony.

The suspects were travelling aboard a Chevrolet Cheyenne pickup truck when the incident occurred. Following the conclusion of the confrontation, soldiers secured four rifles, four pistols, weapons magazines, helmets and bulletproof vests.

Two of the four dead suspects were identified as Edgar Vidales Garcia, of  Mazatlan, Sinaloa and Reyes Jimenez Diaz.

Separately, another exchange of gunfire  with another Mexican Army road patrol took place Monday afternoon at around 1640 hrs.

In a press release posted on its official website, the Tamaulipas state Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado or attorney general said that the two armed suspects were travelling aboard a Nissan Titan pickup truck when it crossed paths with a Mexican Army road patrol in El Olmito colony.

The suspects were identified as Julio Enrique Ramirez Rios and Janer Francisco Cano, both from Reynosa. Soldiers also seized six rifles at the scene in the aftermath.

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

Report: Los Zetas is the Most Powerful Cartel

Borderland Beat

 

Note: The following is the translation  narrative of the video at the conclusion of this post.   To read the report link to Stratfor using the link at the bottom of this post.  Remember, republishing an article is not necessarily the opinion of the BB reporter, and in this case I would disagree with  the analysis in part, however the majority of the report presents sound information that would benefit readers...Paz, Chivis 

 

Zetas are the most powerful criminal organization of Mexico, according to a report from the Stratfor.

The cartel, one of the most bloodthirsty in  the country, has been benefitted from the division of the criminal organizations on the first trimester of the year according to the report published this week.

The report titled "Mexico's Drug War: Balkanization Leads to Regional Challenges", makes an in-depth analysis of the five most important criminal groups in Mexico: The Zetas, Sinaloa Federation, CDG, CJNG and the Knights Templar.

The analysis evaluates the most important events related to organized crime in the last three months and explains the Mexican cartels have followed a trend of fracturing. This trend, which we are referring to as balkanization has existed for more than two decades and affects all of the criminal groups in Mexico.

 

The report that foresees an increase of violence in western Chihuahua, northern Sinaloa, Jalisco and northern Sonora, states: Zetas are currently the most powerful cartel in Mexico. They were formed when they split off from the Gulf Cartel in 2010, however both groups maintained homogeneous and growing, although the reports warn that the most important risks for both organizations is the split between CJNG and Sinaloa Federation.
 

The report points out the increase in operational capabilities of CJNG and Knights Templar during the first trimester of 2013.  In the struggle for the routes of drug trafficking towards the United States, the organization of the Beltran Leyva is isolated from the conflict between the Zetas and the Sinaloa Federation.

The report also points out the breakup of the Beltran Leyva Cartel into several groups: Independent Cartel of Acapulco in Guerrero, Los Rojos and Guerreros Unidos in Morelos.

The fragmentation is not reversing, at least not in the next few years says the trimester report. While the Zetas and the Sinaloa Federation continue to face new rivals and internal ruptures, their resources have not decrease.

Both cartels continue to extend their drug trafficking operations on an international level, increasing their influence and their profits. However, they will continue to confront within new reality, in which they are forced to collaborate with or fight with other groups, explains the report authored by Tristan Reed.

This balkanization in the spheres of organized crime,  is determined by Stratfor, the security consultant, and represents new regional challenges to cartels, who  with this  trend are forced to work with  groups or otherwise war against them.

About the Zetas, it emphasizes the risk of losing Hidalgo, their old inquiry, by the Knights Templar. The Knights Templar has made significant progress although violence has not increase, besides the Zetas continue a struggle with CDG for territories such as Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas since 2010.

According to Stratford, the Zetas will face in 2013, a lack of leadership. .continues next page

Poll Says Americans Now: More Concerned About Cartels Than Undocumented Immigration

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

Most Americans probably do not realize what has happened in the security along the frontera.  Recent Obama cuts have changed the template of guarding the south border, and not for the better.

In recent interviews with CBP agents, those I use for sources, agents are frustrated and fearful of what they deem a huge hit to border security.  The three agents are located in: Del Rio Texas, Laredo Texas, and Eagle Pass Texas. 

All three are directly affected by the budget cuts, all have their work week amended to part time hours. 

One agent expressed his dismay at leaving his home in Ohio to relocate at the border planning on a lifelong career.  The university graduate has proven himself in being a quality employee with 3 lofty advancements in 10 years, he is returning to Ohio. 

 The other two agents are considered outstanding employees as well and have been recognized for their work.  All three, two men and one women have university degrees.

One agent expresses his concern for the safety of the nation.  Explaining further he said “quality people will leave, standards will drop, lessor qualified people and less committed people will be hired that do not mind working 3 or 4 days per week. 

Another agent said “the border will move north and become porous, easily penetrable for those wishing to conduct criminal activity, or do harm to the nation.   

A recent poll indicates that interest in undocumented immigration is waning and concerns of Mexican drug cartels heighten.  

Interest in the Mexican drug war has been tepid in the US, primarily because information has not been readily accessible or offered to Americans.  Even today, aside from states situated along the south border, little information is published about the subject. 

That was one of Buggs’ motivating factors when he began Borderland Beat, to help fill a vast void and provide information on the Mexican drug war to those living outside Mexico.  Insight Crime, Small Wars Journal, and others have been the lifeline in providing Mexican drug war information to the English speaking world. 

Other digital publications such as Stratfor have also contributed, however the cost of subscription thwarts the majority of citizens from reading the website.

Additionally, leaders of political parties must began speaking about Mexico's drug violence in order to establish its significance.  That is yet to happen in any relevant way.

The United States presidential election is a glaring example of how establishing the drug war  as a critical issue remains to be seen. I heard Romney mention the drug war violence once, and never heard Obama speak of the issue.  So to the issue was absent in the vice presidential and presidential debates.

Congressional reports on the subject are sub par  An example is a new report  dated February, 2013 which is largely based on outdate material.  In this case it was based mostly on information from the year 2009. Three years time lapse in this drug war is an eternity.

It is now evident that more voters are taking the initiative themselves by seeking information of the drug war.  

As reported in 2012,  for the first time in four decades illegal immigration is at a net zero gain .  Meaning as many  economic migrants are leaving the United States as are making the trek to the United States.    As that is acknowledged and information of the drug war spreads it is apparent that concerns of illegal immigration and the drug war have interchanged dramatically.

 

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 34% of Likely U.S. Voters are more concerned about illegal immigration. Fifty-seven percent (57%) worry more about drug violence.

Sixty-nine percent (69%) believe the U.S. military should be used along the border to protect American citizens if the drug violence continues to escalate along the Mexican border. Only 16% disagree, but another 15% are not sure.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of U.S. voters think it is at least somewhat likely that this drug violence will spill over into the United States. Twenty percent (20%) feel that’s unlikely. This includes 36% who think the violence is very likely to come here and just two percent (2%) who say it’s not at all likely.

 

8 die in La Laguna

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"El Mayo" tries to control Baja California. His lieutenants fight each other.

Borderland Beat

(This post is a partial translation of an original article published on pril 5^th by Tijuana´s ZETA newspaper.)

The federal government abandons Baja California.

The eight criminal leaders who control the drug trafficking and violence which has caused more than 135 murders this year in Baja California commit crimes with total impunity. The State Attorney General Office has received statements against them but they haven´t gotten any arrest warrants. While the federal government refuses to fight “high impact” crimes, and the local authorities retreat given the lack of support, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada tries to take over control.

There are 8 members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Baja California who control organized crime but none of the Attorney General offices is after them. Neither the Republic´s Attorney General nor the State Attorney General offices have any indictments against the –at least by now- supposed criminals.

The Federal Government led by Enrique Peña Nieto and the Republic´s Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam evade and leave the issue of fighting “high impact” crimes, while the local authorities are afraid to act without support from the Federation in the middle of a fake coordination.

Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

Incoordination that serves to hand in a platter the state of Baja California to the criminals, to the point where a “conclave” took place, in which Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada intends to take charge and decide the fate of the illicit activities in the region.

The actual report, corroborated by the intelligence areas belonging to the different corporations within the northern state Security Council, indicates that during the first quarter of 2013, the only attempt at controlling the criminals came from another criminal in Sinaloa.

Their boss and drug provider, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambado, who along with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman control the Sinaloa Cartel, summoned the leaders of the smuggling cells operating in Baja California. He called them all to Sinaloa, although not everyone has the same level within the criminal organization, all eight attended Zambada´s call.

Raydel Rosalio Lopez Uriarte aka "El Muletas".

From Tijuana and Tecate, Alfonso Arteaga Arzate aka “El Aquiles”, Rene Arzate Garcia “La Rana” and a third man who was recently identified by authorities as brother to the last two. Also Jose Antonio Soto Gastelum aka “El Tigre” and Francisco Javier Mendoza Uriarte aka “El Chapito Uriarte” (Cousin of Raydel Rosalio Lopez Uriarte aka "El Muletas").

Gustavo Inzunza Inzunza aka "El Macho Prieto".

Considered the criminal leaders in Mexicali, Cenobio Flores Pacho aka “El Checo” and Gustavo Inzunza Inzunza aka “El Macho Prieto” were also appointed. From Ensenada and Rosarito the call went to “El Pariente” also known as “El Primo”, a man believed to be a close relative of Hector Eduardo Guajardo Hernandez aka “El Guicho”

Hector Guajardo Hernandez aka "El Guicho"

The reasons for this meeting were the multiple internal conflicts translated into homicides between members of the same cells. These conflicts are awakening the interest and operations from local police that are resulting in seizures and captures. In criminal slang, “They are heating up the plaza”.

The “narco-retailer” executions

From January 1^st to April 3^rd, 2013, there have been 135 murders, most of them related with drug retail rivalries. This is a bigger number than the one recorded in the same period during 2012.

Under that context –the authorities believe-, the criminal conclave took place, where Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada supposedly ordered an end to executions, an instruction which obviously hasn´t been followed because the executions continue. In the short period between March 21^st and April 3^rd there were 20 executions in Tijuana and Rosarito, including shootouts, corpses in blankets, tortured people, incinerated, and half-buried bodies.

There are 3 reasons officially identified by local authorities for this bloodshed:

1. - The drugs arriving at Baja California not only come from Sinaloa, retailers are buying directly from South American cartels and a group from Guadalajara is also supplying them.

2. - Those in conflict are considered second in command, “El Atlante” and Luis Mendoza Uriarte aka “El Güero Chompas” –This last man also left Baja California, his brother in law is believed to be in charge right now-, these men, along with their hit men squads have grown in power, they weren´t called to the reunion and they are not following the instructions given by their criminal superiors, because at the moment, there´s nobody in the state above them.

Jose Luis Mendoza Uriarte aka "El Guero Chompas".

3. - None of the “Eight from Sinaloa” are in Baja California right now. They control the shipments and local retail using third parties, basically their unknown relatives. Most of them left the state when their image and names became public, however, none of them had or has any arrest warrant. In that scenario, it is the Federal Government duty to investigate, chase and arrest the criminals who, even from outside Baja California, commit crimes in that Mexican region.

As a matter of fact, there have been  operations against only two of them.

Against Cenobio Flores Pacho and Jose Antonio Soto Gastelum, who, aided by corruption and partnership with some members of the army and the state police, had made Mexicali their comfort zone. “El Checo” with a safe house in the Villa Hermosa neighborhood and “El Tigre” with one in the San Pedro neighborhood.  The former, being neighbor with the old wealthy families, and the later, with their offspring.

At the end, it was corruption and living between powerful people what let these criminals escape. Authorities asked for access to these areas, they followed protocol and got permission, but the criminals were told about this and escaped -through the back walls- minutes before the police arrived. Cops saw their kids, talked with their wives, but there was nothing about the criminals.      


Full article in original language:
http://www.zetatijuana.com/ZETA/reportajez/los-8-de-sinaloa/