According to Mexicos naval secretariat, Juan Francisco Patrn, also known as H2, was a key figure in the Beltrn Leyva cartels operations in the states of Nayarit and Jalisco. Calderon said this week that the bloody offensive against the drug cartels isn't just his war but is an effort to make Mexico safe for all law-abiding citizens. All of these activities were overseen by his chief ally and enforcer, Edgar Veytia: the same man charged with the local prosecution of the Mexican states war on the drug cartels., State attorney general Veytia was the man who made good on Sandovals promises to halt the killing in Nayarit: the sheriff to the governors cowboy. Subsequently, in early 2019, the US Treasury Department applied sanctions to Sandoval and his wife and two adult children who have acted or purported to act on his behalf by holding his ill-gotten assets in their names.. Comments are moderated, refer to policy for more information.Enva fotos, vdeos, notas, enlaces o informacin Todo 100% Annimo;borderlandbeat@gmail.com. And all this he accomplished, it is alleged, through embezzlement of state funds, extorsion of businesses, overseeing kidnapping for ransom and seizures of land and property, and, of course, close collaboration with drug traffickers. There is anxiety and uncertainty not knowing where to find safety for your family, said Ramos, Valparasos mayor, who was just re-elected to a third term. Their activity focused on shipping cocaine from Central and South America to the United States and Europe. In 2020, some 93,000 people died of fentanyl overdoses in the U.S., a record high. The other was killed on the beach. Motorists reported on social networks the closure of federal highway 200 in the town of rsula Galvn, where barriers were reported, forcing people to turnaround. On October 15, Cienfuegos was detained in Los Angeles on charges including conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in the United States, allegedly working on behalf of the Nayarit-based H-2 Cartel. Cienfuegos denied the charges against him, and after a month of behind-the-scenes wrangling, US attorney general William Barr decided that . Nayarits coast is a tropical zone fringed by mangrove swamps, where fishing and commercial agriculture are the lifeblood of the local economy. Two suspected drug dealers were killed after gunmen from competing gangs staged a dramatic shootout near upscale hotels that sent foreign tourists scrambling for cover. [5] Authors own fieldnotes from the Sierra de Nayarit. ", Mexico Seems To Favor Sinaloa Cartel In Drug War. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, Valparaso sits on one of those critical highways. Durazo did not initially specify whether authorities arrested Guzmn or let him go. Mike Sington, a guest at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun, wrote in his Twitter account that "Guests are telling me they were playing volleyball on the beach, gunman approached firing gun. This region is difficult to access, sparsely populated, incredibly poor (even by Mexican standards), and predominantly populated by Indigenous Wixrika (Huichol) and Nayari (Cora) people. Jos Luis Gonzlez Meza, a lawyer speaking on behalf of the Guzmn family, told the AP that "Ovidio is alive and free," but he did not elaborate. Shortly after the confrontation, gunmen some wearing black masks took off on a rampage, driving through the city in trucks firing heavy caliber weapons. Ultimately, Veytias incomplete attempt to deliver the state directly into the hands of the CJNG unleashed a new wave of local violence. After a two-year trial, Judge Carol Amon found him guilty on these charges on 26 September 2019 and sentenced him to 20 years prison. The operation was a joint effort between Veytias police forces and the Navy, a surprising partnership given previous events. Three other foreign tourists were wounded in the shooting at a street-side eatery that has some outdoor tables, right off Tulum's main strip. Soon after, the house was surrounded by "a greater force" of heavily armed gunmen and the troops withdrew. Just five weeks later, however, Veytia miscalculated or was perhaps himself betrayed and on one of his twice-monthly trips to San Diego to visit his family was detained at the US border. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Two paramedics carrying a woman in an ambulance from neighboring Jalisco state to a hospital were killed a few days before passing through Valparaso. 'The cartels are not just a U.S.-Mexico problem I think the way most people see them,' a former Texas Public Safety officer said. Cienfuegos surprise detention, and even more unexpected release, is emblematic of the deeply intertwined nature of military power, political influence and economic opportunity both licit and illicitin Mexico. Drug-related violence is happening all across Mexico. Instead, they changed form, as murders, disappearances, abduction, extorsion and land thefts were carried out, may be investigated and, if appropriate, charged, https://www.noria-research.com/the-youngsters-are-masters-of-opium/. Gov. The CJNG imposed its control over Tepics local, small-time drug dealers by shooting up any bar or nightclub in which they were rumored to work, killing and injuring scores of innocent civilians in the process. "Sol Prendido" and "HEARST" for Borderland Beat In Colima, a video shows CJNG hitmen interrogating a CDS member who alle "Ivan" for Borderland Beat Guano Guzman & Seor Guzman News started to emerge on Friday, February 24, 2023 that a joint fede "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat The aftermath of an armed attack comes into view. Among other things, the cartels are battling to control the most lucrative drug: fentanyl. In the tourist town of Taxco, south of Mexico City, soldiers fought a 40-minute gun battle with alleged cartel hitmen that left 15 people dead. The administration of President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has pinned its hopes on the so-called Maya Riviera, where it has announced plans to build an international airport and a stop for the Maya train, which will run in a loop around the Yucatan peninsula. Subsequently, in early 2019, the, Then, in February 2020, and apparently on the basis of, But it now appears that Sandovals was not the only name Veytia shared with U.S. authorities. Guanajuato has Mexicos highest number of homicides, and has been the scene of turf battles between the Jalisco drug cartel and local gangs backed by the Sinaloa cartel. Last Wednesday, he announced a special strategy to address the cities with the most murders, among them Fresnillo: more military presence and more social development. Some people were locked in the supermarket for more than a hour. Residents said he had been helping them get electricity back after an armed group cut the power to some ranches. Durazo said the security forces took control of the house and found Guzmn, who is also known as "El Ratn," inside. Soon Veytia expanded into trafficking drugs himself. Some 200 armed men had just looted a gas station, according to a witness, and the shooting would continue for hours as an equal number from an opposing group confronted them. Nor were skirmishes between rival traffickers, and the killing of state officials on the orders of organized crime, unheard of in the state. "The governor is making sure that none of the bullets hit any of the students," Perez says, by basically sending children on summer vacation three weeks early. Sandoval was a cowboy in other senses too. It is ironic, then, that it was precisely the Federal governments militarized crackdown on the cartelsand the extreme and generalized violence that accompanied itthat allowed the so-called H-2 cartel to extend its influence to the heart of the government itself; first by gaining unprecedented sway over state authorities in Nayarit, and from there suborning General Cienfuegos Zepeda, the very man supposedly leading Mexicos fight against organized crime. The next morning, a joint force of marines and Veytias officers killed the Beltrn Leyva organizations second-in-command, Daniel Isaac Silva Grate (codenamed H-9), in an ambush in another part of Tepic. i guess it was less corruption back then i do not know, all i know is it is a shame to see Mexico in this situation, people just dont give a damn about anybody else, and they are leaving a trail of people who wont give a damn about others either..terribly sad. But this fall, the arrest of Mexicos former secretary of defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, dragged this small and unassuming state into the spotlight. Indeed, it is in some ways unsurprising that Cienfuegos would be connected with an organization based in Nayarit, where the unique dynamics of local politics, combined with the states low profile as a hub for trafficking, have long permitted a particular brand of what Benjamin Smith has termed narco-populism to flourish. Disfruta con nuestros Crucigramas para expertos! His book Soldiers, Saints, and Shamans: Indigenous Communities and the Revolutionary State in Mexico's Gran Nayar, 1910-1940 was published in 2020. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (JNGC) are dominant in the Nayarit region. He bought a bachelors in forensic science in Tepic, married into a local political family, bought a local transport franchise, and made friends with Roberto Sandoval, who appointed him as Director of Roads and Transit when he became Tepics municipal president in 2008. How did people fight for their rights back in the 20s? If this had been a lone shootout in this city of 300,000 people, residents might have written it off as a fluke and moved on. Juan Francisco Patrns brother Jess, who also played a leading role in the organization, was arrested six years ago. WebA bullet-ridden sport utility vehicle was taken away after a gun battle with Mexican marines in which an alleged regional drug cartel leader was killed in Nayarit state. One man and a woman were found wounded at the scene of the attack, along with five children who had not been wounded. When he took office in 2012, Mexicos President Enrique Pea Nieto drew up a list of 122 drug cartel leaders, making their capture a priority. And it was from this position that he was able to consolidate a pre-existing relationship with the head of the Beltrn Leyva cartel in NayaritJuan Francisco Patrn Snchez, whose codenameH-2would eventually become shorthand for the criminal organization in the state. For years, attention focused on violence along Mexicos northern border in cities like Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo. He specializes in modern Mexican history, and is currently studying the connections between the Mexican Revolution of 1910-140, and the Drug War wracking the country today. Heavily armed gunmen went on a shooting rampage through the city of Culiacn, the capital of Sinaloa state on Mexico's Pacific coast, battling security forces after authorities attempted to arrest a son of imprisoned drug lord Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn. One month after the June 24 killings, there have been no arrests. Alleged drug dealers of the Sinaloa cartel are escorted by policemen in Mexico City following their arrests earlier this year. The shootout left eight presumed drug cartel members and one policeman dead. To order Cinco sedes disponibles, Licenciatura Ejecutiva en Derecho. She continues working here, but recently moved her belongings to Fresnillo where her daughter and mother live in case she has to quickly leave one day for good. MEXICO CITY A commando of drug gang gunmen on Thursday stormed ashore at a beach on Mexico's resort-studded Caribbean coast in front of luxury hotels and executed two drug dealers from a rival gang. Yet the fact of General Cienfuegos recent release is testament to the difficulties of obtaining real justice for the people of Nayarit. The strength of the PRI political machine in a small, provincial but strategic agricultural state enabled an openly corrupt political clique to cut lucrative deals with local drug traffickers. Republication or distribution of this content is Rival cartels often kill another gang's street-level dealers in Mexico to eliminate competition and ensure their drugs are sold first. ET Heavily armed gunmen went on a shooting rampage through the city of Culiacn, the capital of Sinaloa state on Mexico's Pacific coast, battling security Hctor was arrested in 2014. And these practices were so profitable that officials at the heart of President Pea Nietos PRI federal governmentindeed, the commander-in-chief of the same army prosecuting Mexicos war on drug traffickingdecided to get in on the action themselves and take their own cut of the reward. [3] Similarly, the long coastline and strategic location between Sinaloa and Jalisco that, in the nineteenth century, had made Nayarit a stronghold of the British contrabandists, by the 1960s made the state a strategically important setting for the trafficking of drugs north towards the United States. WebHctor Luis Palma Salazar (born April 29, 1960), commonly known as "El Gero Palma", is a Mexican former drug trafficker and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn and Ismael Zambada Garca. By Gerardo 10/28/2010 12:02:00 AM 6 comments. VALPARASO, Mexico (AP) When they heard gunfire in the valley, residents locked their doors and cowered inside their homes. See state summaries and advisory levels below for information on your specific travel destination. Veytias arrest led the Mexican Federal prosecutors office and lawmakers in Nayarit to open a joint investigation into Sandoval in mid-2017. The bullet-ridden bodies of the cartel members were discovered in the north-central state of Zacatecas. When they did, they found 18 bodies in San Juan Capistrano, a small community in Valparaso, Zacatecas. Sandoval was a cowboy in other senses too. Carlos Joaquin said the commando wore ski masks and arrived by boat at the beach. The difference between a state being a venue for drug production, trafficking, and conflicts between rival cartels, and one in which the cartels have actually taken control of the local authorities (or in which the authorities have in fact become narcos themselves), is an inherently political one. Veytias arrest led the Mexican Federal prosecutors office and lawmakers in Nayarit to open a joint investigation into Sandoval in mid-2017. They included two German men and a Dutch woman. There are more than 100,000 guardsmen deployed in the Mexico, plus the military, yet the violence continues apace. horrible. It seems that nowhere in the country is immune. He did not rule out that there were deaths, according to The Associated Press. Cartel del Golfo The Gulf Cartel and Cartel del Noreste known as Los Zetas by many people, Jones told Fox. Mexico cartel shootout leaves 18 dead. Further inland is Tepic, the states slightly gritty capital of 330,000, located in an altiplano zone of cane fields and coffee orchards towered over by huge volcanoes. If this was the case, we can only imagine what Veytia who thanked Sandoval for his intercession with a gift of Spanish horses worth a million dollars and 300 hectares of recently-seized peasant lands gave to the Secretary of Defense in exchange for his support. Indeed, Nayarit is Mexicos second biggest exporter of mangoes, and primary producer of tobacco. " he says. Disfrute de nuestras lecciones personalizadas, breves y divertidas. Most of them hail more specifically from the town of Xalisco, just outside the state capital of Tepic, where opium gum from Nayarits mountains was processed into black tar heroin and then sent off north for distribution and sale. A federal grand jury in New York City charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, import and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana between 2013 and 2017. hide caption. I imagine the situation at wash center at that time. The Mexico Violence Resource Project is a collaborative effort housed at UC San Diegos Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. To the east sits San Luis Potosi, a logistics hub filled with shipping companies that can move the tiny pills north. Ovidio Guzmn was indicted in 2018 by a grand jury in Washington, along with a fourth brother, for the alleged trafficking of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. It would seem that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who now moved into Nayarit, Just five weeks later, however, Veytia miscalculated or was perhaps himself betrayed and on one of his twice-monthly trips to San Diego to visit his family was detained at the US border. Until, that is, a helicopter-load of marines dropped out of the skies, sparking a fierce battle with the Polica Nayarit, which gave Veytias most important guests enough time to escape. Zacatecas 746 murders in the first half of the year, compared to 1,065 for all of 2020, give it the highest murder rate per 100,000 residents in the country through June, according to the Mexican government. In one case he gained a building in an up-and-coming tourism hotspot that was later valued at five million pesos (a quarter million dollars), and in another, threatened to have the farmers of La Peita de Jaltemba, on the Nayarit coast, murdered unless they gave him control of communally-owned village lands. A national newspaper reported that on Monday 96 people were assassinated in drug-related violence across the country the highest daily death toll since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels in December 2006. The cartel is now splintered into small, competing gangs. Indeed, it is in some ways unsurprising that Cienfuegos would be connected with an organization based in Nayarit, where the unique dynamics of local politics, combined with the states low profile as a hub for trafficking, have long permitted a particular brand of what Benjamin Smith has termed narco-populism to flourish. Agents of the State Prosecutors Office and the Puerto Vallarta Police installed a checkpoint at the entrance of the city after a violent gun battle broke out on Saturday, March 20th, in Rincn de Guayabitos, Nayarit. The shootings were the latest chapter in drug gang violence that has sullied the reputation of Mexico's Caribbean coast as a once-tranquil oasis. In Nayarit, he declared, there was no room for organized crime.. He says everyone dropped to the floor for cover, and eventually the staff herded all the customers into the kitchen. Sandovalor simply el Roberto, as he is still known in Nayarit began his political career under the patronage of PRI state governor Ney Gonzlez (2005-2011). Thanks for everything. the victims were just trying to make a living, working in what was available. All "There was a lot of panic. Nathaniel Morris is researcher at University College London and holds a Ph.D. in history from Oxford University. Zacatecas sits between the drugs production and its consumers. The state, then, remains central to the ambitions of some of Mexicos most powerful drug traffickers, a stage where politics and crime continue a decades-long dance. Karim Torres/AP If we dont manage to pacify Mexico, regardless of what has been done, we are not going to be able to historically prove our administration, the president said earlier this month. Disfruta de nuestras lecciones personalizadas, breves y divertidas. Staff hustled us into hidden rooms behind the kitchens. WebCartels wreak havoc across Mexico in week of 'narco-terrorism' Tourism will account for about 8.3 per cent of Mexico's GDP in 2022, according to the Mexican federal WebOn June 6, 2021, a series of confrontations between alleged members of organized crime and members of the National Guard in the Tepic area of Nayarit state left at least three It is inevitable to end this without some kind of force, but importantly, an intelligent and unified manner.Thanks for reporting Gerardo. WebPuerto Vallarta and Nayarit on alert after army kills cartel leader April 23, 2022 9447 Sal N El Chopas, leader of the Jalisco Nueva Generacin Cartel (CJNG) and accused of In less than eight years, he went from self-proclaimed rags to being one of Nayarits richest men, or, to use a measure more in keeping with his cowboy image, from having two horses, [to] 800 pure-bred Andalusians, which he kept on a luxurious 17-hectare ranch complete with an artificial, palm-tree lined lake. Mexico's security secretary, Alfonso Durazo, said the fighting began when about 30 National Guard and army troops patrolling the city were fired on from a house occupied by Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, who is wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. If Sinaloans dominated the higher echelons of the Nayarits drug trade, from the 1980s growing numbers of Nayarit natives also began to move from drug production into the more profitable business of trafficking. WebIt is 10:00 am on Saturday, March 20, and in the tourist area of Rincn de Guayabitos, Nayarit, submachine guns are thundering. In relation to the events raised on federal highway 200 near the town of Guayabitos in the municipality of Compostela, members of the Mexican Army, Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), National Guard and Municipal Police, are responding , announced the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection in Nayarit. While it is too early to know the full story, according to court documents Cienfuegos advised Patrn Snchez about US investigations into his activities; as alerted him to the presence of informants within his organization (which led Patrn Snchez to order at least one murder); and made sure his subordinates in the Mexican security forces refrained from interfering in the H-2 cartels operations, including kidnappings, torture, jail-breaks, the trafficking of drugs and weapons, and dozens of murders. Gulf Cartel Based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, it started in 1920. With the death of H2, 107 have now been arrested or killed. Attacks on police have become routine in Mexico as the countrys travails with drug cartels and organised crime drag on and the murder rate remains stubbornly high. The groups structure changed with the death of Arturo who was gunned down in a military operation on December 16, 2009 and the arrest of Carlos, the youngest brother, two weeks later. Plenty of families left, some for other Mexican cities to wait for the situation to calm, others to the United States where some 1 million Zacatecans the same number as in Mexico reside. The Fight For Juarez: When Will The Killing End? Zacatecas had it then too as cartels battled for control, but it was overshadowed. And he said to give up in the drug war would be to abandon Mexico and leave it in the hands of organized criminals. The state prosecutors office said the shop specialized in repairing motorcycles. WebOn April 22, 2010, cartel lieutenant Gerardo Alvarez-Vazquez was captured on the outskirts of Mexico City; the U.S. had been offering a $2 million U.S. bounty for his arrest. A 2014 photo of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn being escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his capture. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. For the first time in years, the drug trade in Nayarit received global media attention. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. It split with its enforcers, Los Zetas, by 2010, and the fallout between the two groups had been called the most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico, according to a 2019 CRS report. This allowed them, together, to institutionalize corruption, embezzlement, land-grabs and violence, as well as drug production and trafficking, in the area under their joint control. We have definitely noticed an increased presence of Mexican security forces , a few clashes with the military, and even a case where suspected drug cartel gunmen abducted two off-duty female soldiers at gunpoint.