Borderland Beat
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The tragic death of Sinaloa Woman winner of 2012 exceeds the epic imagery of glamorous drug trafficking. In the midst of conflicting versions, the authorities fail to provide a credible report of clashes between gunmen and army elements which overwhelmed the young Maria Susana Flores Gamez in the dawn of November 24. Witnesses say the shooting soldiers shot her even as she surrendered, begging them not to. Exclusively, Proceso presents fragments of a vivid chronicle of those events that the Sinaloa weekly Ríodoce published in this week's edition.
They continued on the escape route to El Palmar de los Leal, a population that is two kilometers south of El Progreso. The truck that had crossed their escort, also started following him, while the military continued after the gunmen.
Conflicting Versions
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The clearer Proceso version of the events surrounding the death of Maria Susana Flores Gamez is overly truncated, glossing over some important points provided in the original Riodoce version. Riodoce's version is too lengthy and sometimes fails to acknowledge seemingly deliberate misinterpretations of events in the various reports by the military. Neither publication is at fault. In my opinion, it was the military that purposefullly created smokescreens of confusion by leaving out facts. It may be still early in the process, and a clearer, interpretation may be pending. Havana
MEXICO CITY (Proceso) - "Do not shoot!" She pleaded. "Do not shoot!" She shouted again. But her words were lost in the rattle of the G-3. The bursts from the army, did not cease, having pursued them since Caitime. The skirmish continued for several minutes. The beauty queen was killed by a bullet that shattered a carotid artery in the left side of her neck, according to the medical report made in the preliminary investigation.
Farewell to the glamor, the catwalk, to photo shoots, to the crown. The winner of the Sinaloa Woman 2012 beauty, Maria Susana Flores Gamez, stepped down from the white pick up, "carrying a long gun," said the military information delivered to the PGR along with various weapons, magazines, rounds of ammunition and implements of war, which interviewed neighbors (by Riodoce) in El Palmar de Los Leal contradict, she yelled for surrender to the Army.
The vehicle from which the girl descended was destroyed upon entering El Palmar de los Leal, Mocorito. Several rifles were found lying on the ground around her, including an AK-47, known as "goat horn," which authorities say, she was carrying when she got out of the vehicle.
She was abandoned to her fate by Orso Ivan Gastelum , El Cholo, and three more gunmen. Upon entering the town, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel hitmen in the area, instructed to "the miss ": "Say you were kidnapped ... they're not going to do anything, they'll let you go."
That said, the gunmen released a burst into the air to distract the army, who were trying to encircle them, El Cholo escaped with the rest between the houses and weeds, into those valleys that produce sesame and vegetables.
The Nightmare
It all started in Caitime, a village of perhaps five thousand inhabitants which is divided by Mexico 15, approximately 20 kilómeters south of the city of Guamúchil.
The dawn of November 24, a convoy with dozens of soldiers crept into town with the order to hunt Orso Ivan Gastelum, El Cholo, an operator of Joaquin "El Chapo Guzman", who in August 2009 escaped from the prison in Culiacan after a farewell party. It's assumed his employer had given that word.
The uniformed officers didn't arrive in official vehicles, but in particular trucks, including double wheeled armored ones. The same vehicles military forces seized three years before in Guasave from hitmen Isidro Meza Flores, El Chapo Isidro, a sworn enemy of the El Cholo. They were hidden under straw bundles.
When Orso Ivan Gastelum's circle of security realized that armed men surrounded the house, they alerted their boss, who was in another hideout, less than 100 meters away. Thinking that it was a rival Guasave group, they began shooting at the strangers. But when they found that it was not the Chapo Isidro they faced but soldiers instead, they took all the weapons that could and mounted in at least two trucks and fled knocking down bushes, fences, speeding down a dirt road leading to El Progreso.
Thus began a chase that spanned three villages and over 15 kilometers and would end when the military shot Susana María Flores Gámez, at the entrance of El Palmar de Los Leal.
Back in the first skirmish a soldier had been shot and killed. Later More soldiers and gunmen would die, including a worker who crossed the shooting and was killed.
One of the military reports integrated into the investigation given to Seido informs that the military received an anonymous denouncement at 21:30 hours on Friday the 23rd in which they said, " People belonging o organized crime established a military check point very early in the morning in some of the access areas entering the town"
An operation was planned and executed at 05:00 the following day. When they arrived, some gunmen fled in their trucks up to a house. The soldiers followed them and were greeted with bullets by offenders who received reinforcements from the interior of the property.
In the scuffle Eleazar López Bernal was shot. Some gunmen managed to escape, but they were chased and gave in, capitulated: "We surrender. Do not shoot," says the military report they detained Alvaro Cázarez Iribe with AR-15 rifle, Gabino Ramirez Lopez, who was carrying an AK-47, and Giovanny Rodriguez Beltran, with another "goat horn".
They are all under arrest at SEIDO in Mexico City, where they were taken last Thursday.
Also in Caitime they seized six trucks and an arsenal: six AK-47, AR-15 rifle, a grenade launcher attachment, 40 mm caliber grenade, two defensive grenades, a .45 millimeters caliber Colt pistol 37 different chargers, and 1,308 thousand different cartridges. Also clothing and tactical gear.
(Extract from the report published in 1833 Proceso already in circulation)
RioDoce: not in its entirety.A surprise confrontation between the military and the boss of the Sinaloa cartel hitmen, Orso Ivan Gastelum, authorities give different versions of events. The military reveals that the beauty queen killed in the fray, Susana Flores María Gámez, fired a gun and sodium rhodizonate tests show positive barium and lead. But there are doubts, suspicions and contradictions. Gabriela Soto / Miguel Angel Vega
"Do not shoot!" She pleaded. "Do not shoot!" She shouted again. But her words were lost in the rattle of the G-3. The bursts of the Army that were chasing from Caitime did not cease. It was a scuffle that continued for several minutes. The beauty queen was killed by a bullet that shattered the carotid artery in the left side of her neck, according to the medical report to the preliminary integrated report 141/2012.
Goodbye glamor to the runway, the sessions photo, to the crown. The winner of the contest Sinaloa Woman 2012, Maria Susana Flores Gamez, descended from the white pickup truck, "carrying a long gun," said the military part delivered to the PGR with various weapons, magazines, rounds of ammunition and implements of war . Yelling her surrender to elements of the army, interviewed neighbors by Riodoce in Palmar de Leal
The vehicle that she came out of was destroyed leaving as they entered the town of El Palmar de Los Leal. Several rifles were lying around her, including an AK-47, commonly known as "goat horn", which, authorities say, she was carrying .
She was abandoned to its fate by Orso Iván Gastélum, el Cholo, and three more gunmen . Upon entering the ejido, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel hitmen in the area, instructed to miss: "Say you kidnap ... not going to do anything, you let go." That said, the Cholo escaped with the rest.
Before leaving, they released a burst into the air to distract the army which was trying to corral them.. Then ran between the houses and weeds, in those valleys that produce vegetables and sesame.
Yet the military report got that she served as a retaining wall for the escape of criminals: "that vehicle left in a spot, as a block to help the second truck flee the scene, but shooting continued, resulting in a female person, coming out of the vehicle carrying a long gun, a situation that the other assailants took to their advantage being impossible to capture three wounded comrades,"says the document. Earlier, the same party explains that in one of the assaults in the chase, the gunmen wounded a "military element first then later two more military elements ".
*** All started in a village of Caitime perhaps 500 thousand inhabitants that divides Mexico Highway 15, approximately 20 kilometers south of the city of Guamuchil. early Saturday November 24, a convoy of dozens of soldiers crept into town with the order to hunt down Orso Ivan Gastelum. El Cholo, an operator of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. in August 2009 he escaped from the prison in Culiacan after giving a farewell party where he boasted that his employer had given word.
Uniformed officers did not arrive in cars, but in particular trucks, including double wheeled armored ones that three years earlier, military forces had seized in Guasave from Isidro Meza Flores, El Chapo Isidro hitmen, El Cholo's sworn enemy. They were hidden under straw bales
When Orso Ivan Gastelum security circle realized that armed men surrounded the house, they alerted his boss, who was in another safety hideout, not a hundred yards away.
Thinking that it was Guasave rival groups began shooting at strangers. But he realized that was not who faced Chapo Isidro, but soldiers, they took all the weapons can be mounted on at least two trucks and knocking down bushes and fences went speeding down a dirt road leading to El Progreso .
Thus began a chase and death that spanned three towns and over 15 kilometers would end when the military shot Maria Susana Flores Gamez, at the entrance of El Palmar of Leal. Another soldier had been a hit and a soldier dead, product of the first skirmish. Then came more soldiers and gunmen, including a laborer who crossed the shooting and was killed.
One of the military reports built on research submitted to the Deputy Attorney Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime (SEIDO), reports that the military elements received an anonymous report at 21:30 am on Friday, November 23, because "members of organized crime in the early morning hours, established military-like checkpoints areas of access to the village." So we planned an operation and executed at 05:00 pm the following day. When they arrived, there were gunmen, who fled in their truck up to a house. The soldiers followed them and were greeted with bullets from firearms by criminals, who received reinforcements from the interior of the property. "Wounding at that time a corporal of infantry, so it is repelled by killing one of our aggressors ... while other assailants continued firing from within said building for 15 minutes, "he detailed.
Eleazar López Bernal was killed in the skirmish. Some gunmen managed to escape, but they capitulated: "We surrender. Do not shoot," The military report -detained Alvaro Cázarez Iribe with AR-15 rifle, Gabino Ramirez Lopez, who was carrying an AK-47 and Giovanny Rodriguez Beltran, with another "goat horn". They are all under arrest in the City SEIDO Mexico, where they were taken last Thursday. In Caitime they seized six different trucks and an arsenal: six AK-47, AR-15 rifle, a grenade launcher attachment, 40 mm caliber grenade, two defensive grenades , a .45 caliber Colt pistol millimeters, plus 37 different chargers, and 308 thousand different cartridges. Likewise tactical clothing and equipment.
*** After the first skirmish in Caitime, a chase following El Cholo commenced, who was accompanied by Maria Susana. According to eyewitness reports, the gunmen fled to Mexico Highway 15 and took a dirt road of about 11 kilometers, weeds and walled, known by locals as Zaragoza, which connects with El Progress.
According to the military side, three vehicles were introduced by the aforementioned gap: a Ford pickup , armored plates TX-31-216, a Cheyenne Silverado armored gray-silver, TZ-44 076 plates, and a Captiva Sport truck the same color as the above, but with plates VMZ-7794-0. Drivers traveling through a gap near Caitime,
the two integrated helicopter in the operation
observing the shootings. Of the three vehicles, it was only possible to stop one. It was driven by Felipe de Jesus Ortiz Reyes, "who proceeded to surrender, lying on the ground, being held by military personnel."
In the same operation they secured two other vehicles, but no information about where, how, or what happened to the offenders. That information omitted from military report but submitted by military researchers. Nor did it mention that the aggressors belong criminal group, although it is common knowledge to those who are part of Populli Sinaloa cartel.
Die at Dawn
The morning of that day, Rosario Méndez rose shortly before five o'clock. His wife, Sara Conception Yañes, already had prepared his lunch so, El Chayo, as he was known , took the bag with tacos that his gave him, grabbed his cap and went out to the street where a truck that would take him to his work was waiting. His wife said goodbye and did not know it wouldbe the last time see him alive.
According to testimony from people in El Progreso, the chase coming from Caitimen passing through town. The hit men, seeing that the Dodge Ram pickup that El Chayo was traveling in was stopped outside a house waiting for them to open the gate, el Cholo's people violently stopped beside it, the gunmen ran and pulled out El Chayo and the driver of the unit, while the other assassins truck blocked the van to keep the boss safe. All this happened in seconds, and the military was a just few feet away and started shooting left and right against the gunmen. Several of those shots pierced Chayo's body repeatedly, who had no time to lie on the floor, as did his companion.
Jacinto Yanes, 68, night ranch watchman's, recalls with horror, to see and hear the gunmen violently through the truck, and heard the shots from the military, quickly threw himself to the ground and began to crawl next to side of a tree. "Wished at the time wanted that the earth to swallow me, because those thunder and buzzing is the ugliest thing that can happen to a person," he told Ríodoce, days after the shooting.
El Cholo and Maria Susana Flores Gamez, who were traveling in the first of the trucks could not continue due to punctured tires by the shots, got out, covering from the military fire, they switched to the unit that pulled up seconds before.
Gone was the terror, and the shattered body of El Chayo, who had fallen as if struck.
Chasing was to to be limitless. After all they had killed a soldier and wounded two others. That's why, say Ríodoce sources, ElCholo was telling Maria Susana, amid the flight, they would have to separate.
"Soldiers are not going to shoot a woman," he said. "When you get caught, say you had been kidnapped ... they will let go."
Nobody could pinpoint exactly what the beauty queen answered him.
By then the violent chase entered El Palmar, where, passing the first bridge Cholo's people turned left and there, under a tree stopped the truck, got out with guns in hand and moved to another unit.
Soldiers reached there and seeing the truck crossed the road blocking, soldiers armed and barricaded themselves, without inquiring further, began firing.
There began a new hell, because the shooting did not stop until several minutes later.
A neighbor interviewed by Ríodoce said, before the soldiers fired, Susana's voice was heard calling "don't shoot!". But the sounds died in the blasts.
When the shooting stopped, the town looked like a swarm of soldiers, marines and federales. There were two helicopters flying over the area, and the military forces did not let absolutely anybodythe place, but also prevented residents from leaving their homes.
"I did not want to peek, because I was afraid ... hey, many shots, and we with children and expecting it to end, as we were lying on the ground, "said a man who declined to give his name.
As explained, not even prosecutors could enter the place, as the Army conducted its work expertise.
According Ríodoce sources, El Cholo had been hurt, but just grazed. One of his gunmen would be in worse condition, since one of the shots would have broken an arm, days later, the arm had to be amputated.
But the military version of the first part of the death of "the Miss" is also different. The document specifies that Maria Susana was traveling in armored truck along with others, and she was carrying a "long gun", but it doesn't say she shot at the military, as it should have been institutionally specified.
According to the narrative, a white pickup traveling at high speed towards El Progreso, upon passing a military checkpoint fired at them. They proceeded to repel and started to chase.
Later in the agricultural zone, the soldiers endured a second attack. Also the gunmen robbed a truck and continued escaping. Arriving at the next town, soldiers were met with another attack from that same pickup truck, the one, the model was traveling in .
"Started a third attack by assailants traveling in an armored white truck, wounded the first military person, a little up the road, two other military elements were wounded, repelling the cited aggression . Finally stopping their progression in a different spot, their truck served as block to the second truck aiding the criminals to flee the scene."
"But nevertheless, the assault continued , resulting in a female casualty, the one who stepped from the vehicle carrying a rifle, at that moment the attackers took advantage of order escape place"
The military version concluded without informing what happened to the rest of the attackers who were traveling with her, it is deduced that the truck served as a "wall" the attackers used to escape from the other truck.
From that time the military gained control. They gave notice to civil authorities . But the prosecutor, stationed in the county seat of Mocorito, had to wait two hours to initiate proceedings on the body of the miss, because they wouldn't let anybody through.
Attorney Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez initially said that she ( the beauty was with the gunmen and he refused to point out if she shot.) Days later the prosecutor passed the problem to the PGR when they attested that they performed the rhodizonate sodium test on the corpse. This, according to the written statement resulted positive for barium and lead.
General Moises Melo Garcia adopted the same position when asked about Maria Susana's participation in the facts, according to a media: "I think they are exaggerating the situation, I could not confirm that which PGR is saying (if she fired) , in which case it is they who have to report what happened that day," he said.
About the facts the Department of Defense issued no official statement and only limited to develop parts of confrontation which they were given by the PGR.
Beauty and tragedy
The brief history of Mary Susan was marked by glamor, beauty and tragedy. At age eight her father was killed during a confrontation. Then the girl was under the care of her mother, but she found solace in the beauty contests in which she began to participate.
Leopoldo Sánchez, fashion promoter in Guamúchil said that Susana was first queen of Talent and Fantasy contest, and later Queen of her high school.
Then she began with the catwalks until she became Miss Sinaloa of Tourism
"She was a healthy girl, very pretty and very funny ... never heard that she hung out in those environments," explained the promoter to Ríodoce.
Sometime in those these events, or outside of them, she ran into Orso Ivan Gastelum, but it's a story whose details few know and no one wants to tell.
The night of Friday 23, Maria Susana was in Culiacán and reportedly told her mother that she would go to the Livestock Show to see a Jenny Rivera concert.
But something tragic happened that morning because she was in Caitime, in a El Cholo safe house, that Army intelligence sources had already located, and that same morning, they had the order to assault.
That's why when the mother of Maria Susana got the call that her daughter had been "injured" in a shootout in Caitime, which she first received with horror and then with disbelief.
"No, my daughter is in Culiacán. She went to the fair to see Jenny Rivera with her friends, "She reportedly told the bearers of bad news.
Rooted/vetted/ arraigned by la SEIDO
— Álvaro Cázarez Iribe.
— Gabino Ramírez López.
— Giovanny Rodríguez Beltrán.
— Felipe de Jesús Ortíz Reyes.
Secured:
— Chevrolet Tornado, pick up, white.
— Chevrolet Silverado, pick up, roja.
— Dodge Dakota, pick up, white
— Toyota Sienna, suv, grey.
— Toyota Tundra, pick up 4X4, grey.
— General Motors Silverado, suv, black
— Dodge Ram, de redilas, blanca.
— 6 armas AK-47.
— 1 fusil AR-15.
— 1 Grenade launcher attachment.
— 1 grenade calibre .40 milímeters.
— 2 granadas de fragmentación defensivas.
— 1 Colt pistol calibre .45 milímetros.
— 37 various magazines.
— 1,308 different rounds.
Sources: Proceso, Riodoce