Lucio R for Borderland Beat

Gerber guzzling the Tecate attempted to say he was taken to the meeting by force

Cesar Gastelum Serrano and his brothers

"Artists get killed because they played at a party for a [rival] drug dealer; because they looked at a dealer's girlfriend."

“ It will spend a lot of time before he treads on a stage again in Mexico ”.

Both singers, known for narcocorridos -- danceable, accordion-driven songs that tell often-celebratory tales about drug dealers -- survived. But Rogelio Brambila Lizarraga, singer of Los Plebes del Arranke, a relatively obscure group whose songs reference the notorious Arellano Felix cartel, wasn't as fortunate. On March 21, the 22-year-old's body was found in a parked car in Tijuana, Mexico, riddled with bullets from two different guns.





"It's like a horror movie," says one independent promoter. "Artists get killed because they played at a party for a [rival] drug dealer; because they looked at a dealer's girlfriend; because they get paid to write or record a song about one dealer and a rival gets upset; or because they somehow piss off the dealer who's funding their career."

Indeed, Rosas (who sang songs about the Sinaloa cartel) and Lizarraga are rumored to have been targeted by rival gangs, and Olivas is said to have been flirting with the girlfriend of the man arrested for his shooting.

"When a singer gets shot, it gets bigger headlines than a police chief getting shot," says Elijah Wald, author of Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns and Guerillas.

"There's different reasons for these killings but there are two factors that haven't changed," adds Alfredo Corchado, Mexico City bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News and author of the book Midnight in Mexico. "Impunity is very high: They kill because they can. And murder is news, which is what killers seek, and it's particularly newsy if you're dealing with a famous singer."


Why would artists take such a risk? Because underworld figures are the biggest benefactors of many regional Mexican musicians' careers.

"Think about it," the promoter continues. "You're a young artist and someone offers you $100,000 to record a song and make it a hit. It goes to No. 1, and suddenly Univision and Telemundo are battling for you."

 The killing spree goes back to the first high-­profile murder of the modern era: singer Chalino Sanchez in 1992. Corridos -- narrative songs telling stories of struggle, heroes and anti-heroes have been an integral part of Mexican culture since the 1800s, and the "narco" variation has been around since the early 1900s. But the genre, which was still underground at the time of Sanchez's death, has grown in popularity along with the country's drug violence.




Since then, at least a dozen big-name acts have been murdered, including Valentin Elizalde in 2006 
Sergio Gomez and in 2007. And in 2013, 17 members of lesser-known band Kombo Kolombia were kidnapped and executed. Following an investigation, the DA of the state of Nuevo Leon said the musicians were ordered killed by their original benefactors, the Mexican cartel Los Zetas, as retaliation for playing shows for rival drug factions.

And while some acts have curtailed their performances or stopped singing narco­corridos (like superstar Gerardo Ortiz,
who has been shot at twice, though he denies any cartel connections), there is little sympathy for those who are seeking notoriety by mythologizing the cartels. "If you're not involved with drug dealers, there's no reason to be afraid," says another promoter, echoing the words of several others who work with regional Mexican acts.

Yet the songs, and the violence, go on. "There's an old saying in Sinaloa: 'I'd rather live five years like a king rather than 50 years like an ox,'" says Corchado. "When I first began covering this 10 years ago, I'd hear that in Sinaloa. Now I hear it all over Mexico. That's our sad ­reality."

Lucio R. Borderland Beat translated and republished from Proceso 

U.S. Agent gives a thumbs up before boarding helicopter

"U.S. Justice Department personnel are disguising themselves as Mexican Marines to take part in armed raids against drug suspects in Mexico, according to people familiar with the matter, an escalation of American involvement in battling drug cartels that carries significant risk to U.S. personnel. Both the U.S. and Mexican governments have acknowledged in the past that American law-enforcement agencies operate in Mexico providing intelligence support to Mexican military units battling the cartels. The countries have described the U.S. role as a supporting one only. In reality, said the people familiar with the work, about four times a year the U.S. Marshals Service sends a handful of specialists into Mexico who take up local uniforms and weapons to hide their role hunting suspects, including some who aren’t on a U.S. wanted list. They said agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration play a supporting role, in similarly small numbers."

"The risks became clear on July 11, 2012 when Mexican Marines and a handful of U.S. Marshals personnel dressed as Mexican Marines were fired on as they walked through a remote field in Sinaloa state. One American was shot and wounded, and in the gunfight that followed, more than a half-dozen suspected cartel soldiers were killed, according to people familiar with the incident. It is unclear whether U.S. Marshals personnel shot anyone.
Members of the FBI, DEA and Marshals Service met with a group of Mexican Marines in preparation for a Friday raid. The goal was to apprehend a senior member of Los Mazatlecos, a gang of enforcers with ties to the Beltran Leyva drug cartel.

A handful of Marshals specialists dressed themselves as Mexican Marines and took Marines weapons. As they and the Mexican Marines set off on foot, a small plane flown by a U.S. Marshals employee kept an eye on the target site, advising colleagues on the ground who in turn guided those on foot. DEA and FBI personnel remained a mile or so away in an armored vehicle, observing and advising.

The men walked through a field toward the site. As they approached a line of bushes, hidden gunmen opened fire. A U.S. Marshals employee with the rank of inspector was shot in the arm and fell. A Mexican Marine rushed to carry him to safety and was also hit. Then another shot struck the American in the torso. 

After the firefight, the wounded American was airlifted to a hospital in Culiacán, where he was kept under guard until he could be moved to a hospital in San Antonio."

Read the full WSJreport by Devlin Bartlett link here

Borderland Beat posted by DD republished from Think Progress

 by Esther Yu-Hsi Lee

Constantino Morales speaks at a July 2014 event, two months before his deportation back to Mexico. Photo : Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement

 Six months after he was deported back to Mexico from the United States, Constantino Morales was shot and killed Sunday night. Morales, an undocumented immigrant who fought for immigration reform in Iowa, was twice denied asylum in the United States before he was found dead in the Mexican state of Guerrero.

“If I am sent back, I will face more violence and I could lose my life,” Morales said at a meeting with Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) in August 2013, according to an Iowa-based, immigration advocacy group Citizens for Community Improvement’s (CCI) Facebook page. “We are in severe need of fair immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship. We don’t want any excuses; we know you can make this happen.”

 CCI explained in a public Facebook message that Morales was “a former police officer in Mexico who publicly stood up against drug trafficking. After many attempts on his life, he came to the US in search of asylum and an opportunity to continue to work to support his family. He was a kind man. He never let his legal status limit his advocacy for immigrant rights.”

Photo : Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement

Morales fled to Des Moines, Iowa in 2010. Natalie Snyders, a CCI organizer, told ThinkProgress that since his arrival in the United States, Morales has worked at a local restaurant. He came to her organization’sattention because he was a victim of wage theft and “became quite involved in the organization as a leader speaking out about immigration reform and other issues related to the Latino community. … He was never afraid to speak out for the community, for the immigration system. A lot of people are afraid to speak out when they’re undocumented, but he wasn’t.”

Maria [last name withheld], a close family friend, mournfully told ThinkProgress that Morales came to the attention of immigration officials after the police pulled him over for a traffic violation and found out that he didn’t have a driver’s license. According to his asylum application, Morales was pulled over and let go twice, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) later showed up at his workplace “saying I had to go with them.”
“
The police stopped [him] one time and the police [said]…you don’t have any driver’s license,” Maria said. “He had to go to court, when he go [sic] to the court, they found out he don’t [sic] have documentation. That’s why ICE be [sic] involved in the case.”

Although Morales didn’t have a license, Iowa state law prohibits certain undocumented immigrants from receiving driver’s licenses.

Snyders said that Morales applied for asylum twice, with an immigration judge denying his application both times. Morales was ordered to leave by September 2, 2014. In a Facebook post, CCI stated that over 200 calls and hundreds of postcards and letters were sent to ICE to petition against Morales’ deportation. “I had never felt this kind of support and care from my community. I am very grateful to all of you, and very proud to be a member of CCI,” Morales said in July 2014.

“I’m really sad because he’s… kind of my family,” Maria said, reflecting on Morales’ death. She said that Morales worked in construction after he went back to Mexico to support his family. “He’s really poor. He no [sic] have any kind of support, so they live day to day. … He’s really afraid to stay in the country because in [Mexico], the police or the government doesn’t have security for the people.”

Morales left behind his six kids, a wife, four siblings, and mother.

Editors Note:   that Morales had two children and a brother, figures provided by Maria. Morales’ asylum application stated that he had six children. His asylum application also indicated that ICE officials came to his workplace to take him in. 


Deported immigrants face a variety of challenges, including death. One Mexican domestic violence victim was found dead in a burnt-out car five days after she was deported in 2013. And in Latin American countries that have high rates of violence, at least five Central American kids turned up at a morgue in San Pedro Sula, Honduras last year. A Human Rights Watch report on deported Central Americans found that those deported “had fear so acute that they were living in hiding, afraid to go out in public.”

Asylum seekers from Latin America have a difficult time being approved for asylum in the United States based on a credible fear that they are being persecuted or feel threatened in their home countries.

Between 2011 and 2012, only 0.1 percent of Mexican asylum-seekers were referred to a credible or reasonable fear interview by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, a preliminary step to determine whether an individual qualifies for asylum.

Still, a State Department travel warning advisory stated that the “state of Guerrero was the most violent state in Mexico in 2013, with 2,087 homicides and 207 reported cases of kidnapping.” Last month, a mayoral candidate was decapitated in Guerrero with a note found next to her body threatening any politicians who don’t “fall in line,” Reuters reported at the time.

Lucio R. Borderland Beat- Posted by "Pepe", material fromGuadalajara Follow andProceso

"With great respect to the citizenry, we are the CJNG. We want you to know that the problem is not with you, we are here to support you and support local businesses from the criminals and kidnappers, like the Zetas, the Knights Templars and abusive and corrupt authorities. We will defend Jalisco and other states, as we're now doing, even if we have to shed the blood of our own people,"
Sincerely, CJNG.

Lucio R. Borderland Beat information and photos from Valor por Tamaulipas

State riot police sent in by local governments to contain demonstrators have consistently suffered defeats, been forced out of areas where they were outnumbered by protesters and even suffered injuries at the hands of activists. Many police officers, tired of being perceived as enemies of the people and put at risk by their seemingly indifferent superiors, are beginning to speak out.

Officers in Guerrero set a precedent on that night of April 9 when they refused orders from superiors to go after the protesters in order to “fuck them up.”

José Alberto Valenzo, a state police officer who assumed leadership of the 35 riot police who refused to obey orders, argues that police are constantly called into dangerous situations in which they are outnumbered by angry protesters who consistently react to police intervention with violence, causing injuries to officers, and disillusioning many more.

On Thursday, several policemen were beaten by protesters. (José Hernández / Cuartoscuro)

When workers raided the facilities of judicial authorities in the major cities of the state on April 9, police in Acapulco tasked with crowd control agreed to a non-aggression pact with the workers. But in Tixtla and Iguala fellow officers were overtaken by protesters throwing sticks and stones and engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

“It feels hopeless knowing that a co-worker with whom you spend so much time is being attacked, and that the protesters, because of their own stress, have reacted with violence against them,” said Valenza.

“The truth is that there is a lot of stress. Most of the time we’re sent to a demonstration completely outnumbered and therefore protesters attack us,” laments one of Valenza’s fellow officers. “I have five children, all of them minors. If I get injured or suspended, what are they going to eat? No one is going to take care of them.”

Police complain that whenever there is a protest they are almost always viewed as the enemy, and are often put into dangerous situations without proper protection.

“The truth is it shouldn’t be like this; we do everything we can to respect the protesters’ human rights.”

They claim that on more than one occasion they have been used as bait by their superiors, who sent them into dangerous and heated situations.

Tensions in the region increased after the events of September 26 and 27, 2014, when students of the teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa were attacked, abducted and killed in the city of Iguala.

What happened in Tixtla and Iguala is typical of the many problems police face every day, said Valenzo.

Translated by O.B.F-W for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana Article, with additional images from Zetatijuana.

The coastal zone of Baja California lived a violent day, meanwhile Authorities from the Coordination Group insist that all remains calm. They refer to the threats on the Narco Mantas as not making sense. But they recognise the presence of the Cartel Jalisco Nuevo Generacion in Baja California. In the middle of these reflexions, one person survived being shot while being kidnapped, and a criminal cell leader was executed on bench close to the Common Law Courts.


The difference of the passive attitude of the Baja Californian Authorities, during the week, where the coastal zone of Baja California lived a day of successive violence that is unrivalled since the war between the Cartel Arellano Felix of Fernando Arellano Felix ( El Inginerio), and the hit men of Teodoro Garcia Simental between 2008 and 2010.

Its a clear showing that the violence and criminal control continues latently, as evidenced in a week that concluded as below:

* the Sunday of 5th of April, there were 13 narco mantas displayed in four days, warning of violence, of internal confrontations in the Sinaloa Cartel, and confrontations between them and the CAF.

* Tuesday the 7th of April the Army found and secured a narco tunnel, in the Airport zone of Tijuana, where without leaving the place they found drugs.

* In the first minutes of Wednesday the 8th, around the Boulevard Las Americas in Tijuana, there was the reported kidnapping of a businessman, that ended up being the attempted murder of a youngster who was engaged in illicit activities.

* The afternoon of the same Wednesday, two Ministry Agents were attacked with gun fire in Tecate by a group of hit men who fled.

* On Thursday 9th of April in the morning, in the vicinity of the local Courts, Luis Toscano "El Mono" was attacked and killed by gunfire in the North Zone of Tijuana. ( Otis: see BB reporter Tijuano's coverage of the Story, see link and BB reporter J analysis of the killing see link).

Warning Graphic image on next page caution advised





Toscano enemy of Los Aquiles

In January of 2010, an armed group attacked with guns the vehicle in which "El Mono" was travelling in the central delegation. He was heading down the ramp with his son in the car, he was identified as the man who controls the drug trade in the Northern Zone for the Cartel Arellano Felix.

The Authorities considered him a victim, he was left for dead when his wife told them to take their land in Colima, and no major findings.

Around 8:50 am of Thursday 9th of April 2015, his enemies returned to open fire again. It was opposite a taco stand located on the corner of Avenida del los Charros, in the vicinity of La Mesa Prison in Tijuana, one block from the local Courts, accompanied by Esaul Sahagun Pelayo who Authorities identified as his body guard.



His killers arrived arrived at the Avenida Baurias del Mar, and stayed just opposite of Carro de Birria.    
According to testimony said that 3 men were inside the car, which had four doors, other testimony said there were four people in the car and they opened fire. In this place, Toscano was hit and died from several bullet wounds from 9mm and .40 , one shot hitting his head, Esaul Sahagun died minutes later in the red cross.

At the scene, police dogs found a gun of 8mm calibre, jammed and thrown right in the middle of the bodies of Toscano and Sahagun. The first analysis determined that they tried to repel the attack but don't know which of the dead men tried to fire the weapon.

In the pockets of Luis they located a suspension, a document through which the Mafioso promoted an amparo for himself and another man, to avoid being captured.

The closed circuit CCTV cameras in the area, shows that one of the attackers left running from the scene until the Boulevard Agua Caliente and with no problems took a taxi, no one was specific about whether the taxi was waiting.

A second attacker jumped back into the car and the car sped off. According to the official report, the vehicle was located in Avenida Rosas and Lilias in the Las Vegas Colonia of the Mesa Delegation. Inside was a white polo shirt with blood stains.

Witnesses who saw the men abandon the car, reported that the occupants fled towards the canalizacion, where Municipal Police were directed after them. They came across one of the subjects and asked him to stop, but he ran, when they caught him up, he was not like the others at the canalizacion, the detainee looked clean and not intoxicated, showed a wound with blood on one foot.

But we don't know if the wound is recent, there does not exist the evidence that he is the attacker. The sent the case to the Attorney General.

An element of the State Coordination of Pubic Safety reflected on the assassination of "El Mono", the attacker obviously is "La Rana" - Rene Arzate was constantly trying to take control of the Northern Zone as he had previously authored several mission to try to topple him, but we will see what light the investigations shed on the matter.

The narco trafficker identified as Luis Manuel Toscano had been detained and freed on three different occasions:

June of 2012, the Army detained him with 38 grammes of cocaine, a rifle, a pistol and various munitions.

20th of October 2013, Municipal Agents captured him for detonation of firearms in the private road Lomas de Cierzo. In the following days a man presented himself at the offices of ZETA as the Lawyer of Toscano, and said to the receptionist that he wanted to leave a mention of his client in El Semanario, because he wasn't a criminal and then left, and did not speak with an Editor.

23rd of October 2014, Toscano Rodriguez was recaptured by State Police in the Delegation La Mesa. He was found in possession of a .38 calibre firearm, with four of the nine rounds in the gun being expanding ammunition (Otis: hollow or soft point or frangible bullets that shatter on impact). Several spare magazines, Cocaine, he was also released on this occasion.

After the execution of "El Mono", the Coordination Group named his likely criminal successor as Alberto Avila Alvarado "El Chacal" or "The Jackal", Roberto Carlos and Marcos Rafael Toscano Rodriguez, brothers in law and brothers of "El Mono".

The thirteen narcomantas

In 72 hours, between the morning of Sunday 5th of April and the first hours of Wednesday 8th, a total of 12 white fabrics with threat messages allegedly writted by members of organized crime, were hung from various bridges in Tijuana.

The majority were put up over night, and taken down by elements of the Municipal Police, four in La Presa delegation, four in La Mesa and Centenario, two in the Zona Rio and two in Mesa de Otay.

Of these acts only one person was detained and he was set free hours afterwards.



In General the messages were similar to the first ones, located on Sunday on Boulevard Benitez, outside of Plaza Carrousel: " already we are sick of kidnappings and extortions that were supposed to finish, and still allow the "cleaning" to start against the people of tomate and his allies, no against the public of the Government, atek Cartel Nueva Tijuana, CTNG and CJNG".

The narcomanta that closed the first day, was taken down by a group of Ministerial Agents on the morning of Wednesday the 8th, the text was longer and it was left in the close vicinity of the offices of the Attorney General of the State, near the bus station in Tijuana, he said.

"Already we are sick of kidnappings and extortions that supposedly is Ivan Acavar and they continue, the cleaning begins with the people of Alquilez and La Rana and their allies, not against the public or the Government ate: CTNG and CJNG, El Lentes, lideres asociado "Chencho Beltran", El Quieto Lico/ el Atigrado, el Koby, el Gordo Di, El Viejon, El Mono, El Chacal, R4, Trapero, El Trib".

It was left up for some hours, and on the night of 8th of April, manta number 13 was put up, on the Boulevard Agua Caliente on a pedestrian bridge located near Club Campestre, but the quality of the fabric, using print in two colours with a border and minor spelling errors and its message made it different:"its a kind of response, warning and uncheck the CAF" explained a researcher.

The narco manta had the following text:

We are the operative group of CAF, we are going for trozar to topon to all that are not with us and that do not belong to the Arellano Flag will be Pozoleado (chopped up and put in barrels of caustic soda), the evidence we have already given, and not in blankets ( mantas), in Baja this order is initiated against all outsiders.

The Criminal Groups in the State

"We don't have evidence to suppose that CJNG have introduced enough arms, sicarios, into the state to initiate a large scale confrontation with the Sinaloa Cartel, said a member of Counsel for State Security for Baja California unofficially to ZETA.

He confirmed the presence of the following six criminal groups:

* Los Arzate, headed by Alfonso Arzate Garcia "El Aquiles" and Rene Arzate Garcia "La Rana". Entered Tijuana as operators of the detained capo Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera.

* Los Uriate, cousins, and nephews of other parents of Raydel Lopez Uriate "El Muletas" detained on 2nd of February 2010 (Otis: see Buggs report on this arrest see link), operators of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

* Los Payan, family of Rafael Caro Quintero (freed on 9th of August 2013), who operate with the family of Alfonso Lira Sotelo "El Atlante" detained in September of 2014(Otis: see BB reporter Itzli article on his capture see link), El contacto is a son of the boss, also Los Payan are people of "El Mayo".

* Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, started through a son of Ignacio Coronel, also allied to "El Mayo", but without having a permanent presence in Baja California. The Authorities only identify them here as supervising drug loads moving through this plaza.

* The Arellano Felix Cartel

* La Familia Michoacana, with a low profile, and exclusively here to supervise drug shipments to the United States.

People of Jalisco trafficking through Baja California

In respect of Consultants to the presence of CJNG in Baja California, the opinion of Agents of the State Council for Security is: their participation is similar to the Michoacano's, they do the same thing, move drugs to here, they have cells, safe houses, and firearms, but not to operate in the zone, it appears only sufficient to protect their drug shipments from load robbers.

There is a leader of the CJNG that enters and leaves constantly, to ensure delivery of shipments to the United States. They think he is a son of Ignacio Coronel, they don't know if its Mauricio or Arturo.

They also report that, under a false name, the current leader of the CJNG Nemesio Oseguera "El Mencho", obtained official documentation like licences and other credentials accrediting him as a resident of Baja California, but they do not report his presence.

The discrepancies in the mantas

Of the possible alliance with the Cartel Arellano Felix or its new nickname, Carte Tijuana Nueva Generacion to combat the Sinaloa Cartel, though there is widespread suspicion nothing was concrete the researchers said, adding:

In the first narco manta it speaks of "tomato", a criminal identified with this nickname is an ex policeman Jesus Israel de la Cruz Lopez, imprisoned in "El Hongo" prison since 2011, who has got off charges of possession of weapons, but is still being tried for two counts of murder, one in 2009 in the Seventh Criminal Court and another in 2011 in the First Criminal Court.

Jesus Israel de la Cruz Lopez

"The say that they are sick of the kidnapping and the extortion, but there are no kidnappings, there are two reports from a bereaved family of a drug seller.

Others, the last two groups of kidnappers captured in Tijuana were of the CAF, they were police and ex ministerials, they were going about kidnapping and extorting people, and trafficking drugs without permission.

About the content of the mantas, the consultants estimate that, its not clear that any show recognised organograms of criminals of the zone.

In one of the mantas, a branded  name and on another a different name, they put Crescencio "El Chencho Beltran" brother of Arturo Villareal "El Nalgon" as if they were with Sinaloa, and together with Javier Beltran Cabrera "El R4" like they were allied with those who killed his brother, and there are others that are without feeling.
"Also the people of the CAF don't warn or advertise crimes that they are going to commit, they come make their disaster and disappear" and remember the previous mantas were all Los Teos".

According to the investigators, after the capture of Fernando Sanchez Arellano ( June of 2014), the CAF has decreased, and the handling of the CAF has been more corporate, dedicated to the transfer of drugs to the United States.(Otis: see link to Chivis article on his capture see link).

The hypotheses

It would be irresponsible of the Authorities to completely rule out a CJNG - CTNG alliance, the authorities in the Coordination Group are considering several hypotheses.

* Local cells want the Authorities to roll over and see that the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion is operating in Baja California. To push the "heat from the police" towards the men from Jalisco.

* The narcomantas are the product of disputes between local cells, they want to send accusations about them and at the same time achieve notoriety, in this there are two unofficial versions:

a) That the kidnap without permission a narco leader in the fraccioamiento El Rubi and this provoked the reaction.
b) Local groups have entered since leaving prison, Alfonso Lira "El Atlante" ordered that these people support CJNG.

* It is a reflection of the hereditary fight after the capture of "El Chapo" Guzman in February of 2014. In Tijuana the operators of Guzman are fighting those of "El Mayo" Zambado in an internal struggle for the territory.

* Local cells are seeking to destabilize those who are actually in control.

The detained and the free with reservations

According to the Police, Martin Jasso soto, 38 years of age, who was known as a consumer of crystal meth, and recently intoxicated with two litres of Tonaya Tequilla ( Otis: good effort ! ), was detained at 02:20 am on the 6th of April 2015, on the west rapid route General Marquez de Leon, in the Rio Tijuana Zone. He was walking up the stairs of the pedestrian bridge with a white object in his hands. Two patrol officials that were watching the location, saw he was high and he fled toward the inside of the canalization.

They are specific that at no time did they lose sight of him, so they saw him throw what he was carrying, which ended up being a manta with a very similar message to the local messages on Sunday the 5th in the Boulevard Benitez, warning "El tomate", the only difference is that they had written begins instead of start.

Jasso was presented at 03:24 am on 6th of April to the corresponding receiving Agency, charged with theft. In an interview at the Office of the State Attorney, Martin said that the Police lifted him from the Zona Rio Tijuana Costco, that they searched him but found nothing, the took him to a Police Station in the Central Zone, where on entering he saw a manta on a desk "that they say I brought", argued Jasso Soto.

At the end, the PGJE ratified the detention illegal and let him go. The file was opened and shared a unit specializing in organised crime, if it relates to any other event.

CJNG in Baja California Sur

Since February of 2013, the Counsel of State Security for Baja California Sur, has not been contemplating the presence of CJNG in the State.

Between June of 2012 and January of 2013, the dozens of killings in Mexicali and its valley were attributed by the Authorities to a struggle between drug traffickers. The official hypothesis indicates that it was a confrontation between one head of the Sinaloa Cartel, Gustavo Inzunza Inzunza "El Macho Prieto", and another lieutenant of the Sinaloa Cartel, Manuel Garibay Felix, presumably, recently affiliated to CJNG.

Gustavo Inzunza Inzunza "El Macho Prieto"

Identified as El Manuelon, Garibay Felix was in Puente Grande prison in Jalisco since August of 2009 until June of 2012, where with time he became part of the criminal self government that operates in this CEFERESO, charging cuotas and controlling illicit activities, and from where he directed hit men and drug trafficking activities carried out by his men in Mexicali. As publicly confirmed by the Secretariat of Public Security, after several arrests between 2011 and 2012.

In June of 2012, he obtained a writ of amparo appeal by the Seventh District Court in Criminal Matters in Guadalajara and gained his freedom, intelligence departments of operational forces, were concerned that "El Gordo" was in the process of joining the CJNG.

Additionally, the Authorities explained that Garibay, already allied with CJNG had established links with the CAF to confront the Sinaloa controlled coast of Baja California, through Fernando Sanchez Arellano, and with his then representative in Baja California Sur, Ines Zamudio Beltran, who was arrested on July 2nd 2010 and released, but recaptured on 1st of February 2011 and released on 20th July.

This alleged Society became evident after August the 15th, after the murder in Comondu, Baja California Sur, of the then criminal ringleader of La Paz, Hector Antonio Salazar Monzon "El Oaxaco". One of the hypothesis of the investigation, still open with the Prosecutor General of Justice of the State is:

"The dispute for the narco trafficking plaza between Antonio Salazar Monzon "El Oaxaco" and Ines Zamudio Beltran "El Zamudio", who after a couple of days had returned to California Sur State prior to the killing, to assume criminal control of the Organization of Zamudio along with Manuel Garibay "El Manuelon", recently arrived in the City of Tijuana, and one of the cells of the leader of the Cartel Arellano Felix, of Fernando Sanchez Arellano.

Antonio Salazar Monzon "El Oaxaco"

Death closes the topic

On the 20th of February of 2013, the body of Jose Manuel Garibay Felix, 29 years of age, was found around six in the afternoon on the curve "Del Millon" on the highway to Hacienda del Lazo, at kilometre 3.5 on the highway to Saltillo, in Zapopan, Jallisco.( Otis: see Chivis article on this incident see link).

Consulting Authorities integrated into the Coordination Group, commented that according to the intelligence that they received from their colleagues in Jalisco, Garibay Felix was linked to traffickers of that State for the supply of drugs and money, but the intel was wrong and there were no major inquiries. For the State Counsel of Security in Baja California, this ended the possible relationship with CJNG in the region.

On Wednesday 17th of December 2014, in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Manuel Garibay Espinoza was freed, the father of "El Gordo", and head of Los Garibay, a local Judge freed him for lack of evidence.

Finally as to whether Garibay Espinoza could be an ally and open the doors to the CJNG, is considered unlikely by the Coordination Group, he is a friend of Ismael Zambada, that was and is his line, and less with the precedent of his son.

Original article in Spanish at Zetatijuana

Translated by O.B.F-W for Borderland Beat from a Michoacán 3.0 article

New Images confirm that Rodrigo Vallejo arrived armed to meetings with La Tuta


New images were revealed today of Rodrigo Vallejo Mora together with the leader of the Knights Templar, Servando Gomez Martinez, who currently is a prisoner for drug trafficking.

Through First Newscast and in his column published in "El Universal", Carlos Loret De Mola reveals two images where you can see the son of the former Governor of Michoacán and "La Tuta".

Today he released photographs of this video, analysed by Cisen and the PGR, referring to a recording where it is supposed that Vallejo Mora was coming armed to the meetings with the Templar leader.



The images were taken from one of the several videos of meetings between Government Officials with "La Tuta", who were found in a department that was seized by Federal Authorities.

One of the photographs shows Vallejo Mora with a bulletproof vest and a gun in hand, according to Loret de mola, in the video the son of former Michoacán Governor is upset because a person does not want you to pay and "La Tuta" offers to locate him or her in five minutes and asks if he wants to see him dead.





Original article in Spanish at Michoacán 3.0

Scene of shootout

Readers:

We pride ourselves at Borderland Beat on posting stories that are from good sources, and look for a secondary source if warranted.

We also are not above admitting to an error.

This post from “Think Progress”, featured Constantino Morales.  Morales was  a deportee who warned that he would be killed if deported, and shortly after his arrival back in Guerrero, his prediction became reality and he was killed.

Feeling uneasy about the story, I contacted DD sharing that the story did not feel right, that there was zero information about the manner or place of death.  Saying he died in Guerrero was too vague, yet that was the only information the publication provided.

I continued researching regions of Guerrero using his name, and found nothing.

Then today a reader sent an article from a regional news outlet telling the complete and truthful story.

That post is republished below.

It is sad that stories such as this will give fodder to those who are against immigration and have distain for migrants, the large majority of migrants are good, hardworking, honest people.

We regret posting the story, but I hope readers can respect the fact we are making the correction with this update.

Borderland Beat Administrators

Chivis and DD

Story from la Lider

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana BCS Report

In the war for control of the narco trafficking plaza between Damaso and "Mayitos", appears Melissa Margarita Calderon Ojeda, identified by Military and Federal Authorities as "Head of Sicarios of "El 28" and responsible for the past crime wave in La Paz.

Melissa Margarita Calderon Ojeda "La China"

The Ambush





La China




What has puzzled investigators in the case is how the head of Sicarios knew that "El Hector" would be there at that point at that time, how she sent a hook to make him stop, so that they could attack him, well according to the girlfriend, just when they stopped out of nowhere the gunman appeared and opened fire, and the drunk woman we helped had disappeared.

The only people who knew they would pass this point were the two cousins and the girlfriend of the criminal boss, the two cousins were identified as Marcos and Edgar Navia.

On the night of the crime, Audencio Giovanni Lopez Beltran "El Hector", had been accompanied by some friends in the disco Red XS, where - according to testimony, he left with his girlfriend and her friend.


The Crimes

But the case of Audencio Giovanni Lopez Beltran " El Hector", his is only one of until now 7 crimes, where it has been practically proved that the participation of the Boss of Sicarios of Felipe Eduardo Guajardo Garcia " El 28", Melissa Margarita Calderon Ojeda "La China". The others are as follows.

1. Jesus Abraham Sanchez Martinez, killed on 26th of December 2014 in La Calle Juan de Dios Angulo, in the Daniel Roldan Zimbron libramiento in La Paz Colonia.

2. Anacleto Saenz Alarcon "El Cleto", executed on 10th of February, while passing through Daniel Roldan Zimbron libramiento, between the Avenue's Las Garzas and Carretera al Norte in La Paz.


8. Fernando Antonio Alvarado, assassinated in the Cajoncito stream on the way to Los Arenales in La Paz.

Not only these

Who is "La China"?


Name: Melissa Margarita Calderon Ojeda

Nickname: La China

Date of Birth: 12th of August 1984

Parents: Jose Alfredo Calderon Cota , Alma Guadalupe Ojeda Angulo

Living at: Rojo between Terracotta and Guinda, Arcoiris III Colonia

Distinguishing Features: Tattoo on the back of her left forearm, with the words "Vonborstel". Tattoo on the inside of right forearm of the letter A.
Tattoo in the middle of her back with a Chinese character for the letter A.
Tattoo on the right shoulder blade of a butterfly.
Tattoo on her lower spine of a fish and flowers.
Tattoo on her abdomen of a butterfly.

Other information:
Age: 31 years old
Origin: La Paz, Baja California Sur
Height: 1.60 metres
Complexion: Regular
Hair: Black
Ears: Medium
Sex: Female
Eyebrows: Regular
Eyes: Black
Nose: Medium
Mouth: Large
Lips: Thick

Seeking "La Gaby"


Name: Gabriela Huizar Lopez
Nickname: La Gaby
Age: 26 years of age
Origin: La Paz, Baja California Sur
Height: 1.70 metres
Complexion: Robust
Hair: Brown, straight and long
Ears: Medium
Eyebrows: Regular
Eyes: Regular and green colored
Nose: Medium
Mouth: Medium
Lips: Medium

El Gafe being transferred to DF-after his arrest hell broke out in SW Reynosa

Sources:
Fotos from: TMX, Reforma, Meny Times, Michoacan 3.0
Reportan bloqueos y tiroteos en Reynosa
Valor por Tamaulipas
Reynosa Zona de Peligro

Photo by: Juan José García

"El Gafe"Returned to Tamaulipas in February, following the arrest

of Omar Treviño

"El Gafe" following his arrest of Friday-