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Friday, October 03, 2014

Borderland Beat

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Misael Torres M2 Captured

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 10:05 PM PDT

 Borderland Beat



Culiacan: In the early hours, personnel of the Mexican Army and the Deputy Attorney Specialized Investigation of Organized Crime (Seido), arrested Misael Torres Urrea, son of Javier Torres Felix, JT.  He was taken to the Culiacan International Airport, for transfer to Mexico City.

Siedo agents and at least 30 soldiers on board several vehicles conducted a raid at  the home located in the community of Camio Real, where he was with his wife Karen Lopez, his daughter six years and another woman whose identity is unknown.

The home  is located on 4137 San Lucas street.

Federal and uniformed officers searched the house, which took some belongings and documents and interrogated for hours those in the home.

Around seven pm, the military began to prepare for the withdrawal. 

At 19:20 hours, the women were left at the home, while the military transferred Misael Torres.

JT Torres, was one of the main operators in the Sinaloa Cartel and is being held in the maximum security prison of the Altiplano, located in the State of Mexico.
RioDoce 
Thank you to the reader giving BB a heads up

The Consequences of capturing Hector Beltran Leyva

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 07:41 PM PDT

 Borderland Beat translated and republished from La SillaRota

by Víctor Manuel Sánchez Valdés  

Hector Beltran Leyva was part of the Sinaloa cartel until 2008, when his brother Arturo Beltran Leyva decided to sever the connection with the criminal organization, believing that Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada gave up his brother Alfredo Beltrán Leyva "The Mochomo" to Mexican authorities. 

While the betrayal of Chapo and Mayo was never proven, this fact led to the creation of the Beltran Leyva Cartel, who from that time operated in the states of Sinaloa, Sonora, Chihuahua, Nayarit, Guerrero, Morelos, State of Mexico, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla, Michoacán, Nuevo Leon and Quintana Roo.

The role of Hector Beltran Leyva in Sinaloa cartel and the cartel of the Beltran Leyva, was that of a financial trader and liaison with suppliers of cocaine in Colombia, for example, he assumed investments and laundering the proceeds of the criminal activities of his brothers.

Throughout the years, Hector tried to keep a low profile, far from the front lines, but in the gloom of his brother Arturo Beltran Leyva alias "El Barbas" by the staff of the Navy of Mexico on  December 16th,  2009, forced him to take command of the Beltran Leyva cartel.

The rise of the Beltran Leyva cartel was head spinning,  but the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva and the subsequent capture of several members of the organization, undermined its operational capacity. 

Among the key members of the organization who have been captured are: Jose Gerardo Alvarez Vazquez "El Indio" , arrested on  April 21, 2010 in Mexico State Huixquilucan, Edgar Valdez Villarreal , "La Barbie" was arrested on August 30, 2010 in the municipality of Lerma in the State of Mexico, Sergio Villarreal Barragán "El Grande", arrested on September 12, 2010 in the city of Puebla, Carlos Montemayor Gonzalez "El Charro" , arrested on  November 23,  2010 in Mexico City and José Jorge Balderas Garza "JJ", arrested on January 18, 2011 in Mexico City.

The rapid succession of captures of the main leaders of the Beltran Leyva cartel, led to a fragmentation of the organization first two groups, one led by Edgar Valdez Villarreal, the other by Hector Beltran Leyva himself, which in turn were split into dozens of smaller groups; los Rojos, los Guerreros Unidos,  Mano con Ojos,  Barredora,  Cártel Independiente de Acapulco, la Oficina, Cártel del Centro, Cártel de la Sierra, los Mazatlecos and  la Nueva Administración [1] . 


Although the cell division of these groups, the Beltran Leyva cartel survived as an organization, even some of the new groups are linked to it, but now operate with greater autonomy.

Despite this, Beltran Leyva Cartel has lost influence and not the size of other criminal organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel or Los Zetas, the importance of this criminal group, lies in the following aspects: 

1) It is a of the few criminal organizations of this country, which has direct connections with criminal groups that produce cocaine in Colombia 

2) has a drug distribution network in the United States 

3) has a presence in several states of the country

4 ) Has a web of alliances, including  Los  Zetas, the Juarez Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel and recently with the Jalisco Cartel New Generation.

Capturing Hector Beltran Leyva yesterday in the city of San Miguel de Allende Guanajuato, is a further blow in addition to the above, which threatens to undermine the operational capacity of Beltran Leyva Cartel.  And in the medium term, can have a positive effect on reducing violence in several parts of the country; however, this capture can generate violence in the short term in several states in Mexico because the void left by Hector Beltran in the direction of the organization, can be played by several actors.

The person who is in a better position to take control of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel, is Fausto Isidro Meza Flores alias "El Chapo Isidro", who for years directed the main armed group in the organization, which is called "Los Mazatlecos ", which has a presence in several municipalities of Sinaloa, Mazatlán, Guasave, Ahome, Salvador Alvarado, Choix and  Concordia,  also in southern Sonora,  Baja California Sur, Chihuahua and Nayarit.

In a bid for the leadership of the organization, Isidro Meza has several elements in his favor:
 1) Directs the strongest of the Beltran Leyva cartel armed wings, giving him a greater ability to eliminate potential competitors

2) He has connections with suppliers of cocaine in Colombia and drug dealers in the United States, therefore, has an important revenue stream

 3) Has a direct relationship with the Los Zetas, and with Juarez Cartel and Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación, which allows for reinforcements in case of a conflict

4) It is related to many of the factions of the Beltran Leyva cartel, but not all.
 
Despite the above, one cannot rule out a scenario in which there are groups within the Cartel Beltran Leyva, who disagree with Isidro Meza assuming the  leadership of the organization, in fact, the structure of this criminal group, makes this hypothesis is very doable. 

The cartel of the Beltran Leyva operates through decentralized units, ie, it is actually an amalgam of local smaller organizations, which have their own activities and territories, but also work together when necessary.

Within criminal groups currently in the Beltran Leyva cartel are the following: Mazatlecos (or Cartel Guasave) operating in Sinaloa,  Sonora, Chihuahua, Nayarit and Baja California Sur, la Oficina having influence in Aguascalientes, Jalisco and  Baja California Sur, los Rojos, in  Morelos, Guerrero and  Estado de México, Guerrero.

From the previous paragraphs several scenarios emerge: the first is that Isidro Meza or someone else will take control of the Beltran Leyva cartel without the need for too much violence. 

The second scenario is that Isidro Meza himself or another person, gaining control of the criminal organization, but having done so, after a bloody struggle between two or more factions, in this scenario, it is likely that cities like Mazatlan, Guasave, Cuernavaca, Acapulco, Iguala and Chilpancingo experience large increases in the levels of violence. 

A third scenario is that the Beltran Leyva Cartel was again fragmented into several smaller groups, which also involves the confrontation between various factions in the territories that now control the groups that make up that organization.

It cannot be excluded that the arrest of Hector Beltran Leyva,  will result in other criminal groups like the Sinaloa Cartel, or Guerreros Unidos, will seize an opportunity to contest the control of the areas that now dominated by the Beltran Leyva Cartel. 

In this context, the areas most at risk of raids by other criminal groups are northern Sinaloa, southern Sonora, the northern part of Guerrero, Morelos state and the southern portion of Mexico State. 

In summary, there is a significant probability that after the arrest of Hector Beltran Leyva, outbreaks of violence generated in the short term, in the states of Guerrero, Morelos, Sinaloa, Sonora, Chihuahua and the State of Mexico, as well as lesser extent in Nayarit, Baja California Sur, Michoacán and Oaxaca. 

This is why the Mexican authorities must generate a strategy of containment, so anticipate possible conflicts in sensitive areas and prevent citizens affected by internal conflicts of the Cartel or territorial disputes of this organization other criminal groups.

 [1]      Some of these groups were dismantled and no longer have operational capacity.

Body with skinned face is confirmed as being one of the 37 missing normalistas

Posted: 02 Oct 2014 05:19 PM PDT

Borderland Beat posted by Lala
A macabre image of a man whose face was skinned, has circulated social networks.  It was reported as being that of one of the 4 dozen student teachers (normalistas) missing since last weekends violence in Iguala.

Today, "normalistas" from Iguala marched again, carrying a banner with a photo of Julio César Mondragón, with a woman and a newborn. He had just entered the school  of Ayotzinapa a month ago. 

He is the man in the photo.

People questioned the photo was real not not,  possibily being photoshopped, but the wife of the victim stepped forth and confirmed the photo is authentic.

The fate of the 38 students still missing remians in question. 

Witnesses state that on the night of Saturday, Sept. 27, a terrified, Mondragón ignored the cries of his fellow students who thought it best to stay together, and he fled after a a group of hit men fired at students and teachers, who were from the Guerrero State Coordinator of Education Workers (Ceteg), they were giving a press conference after being attacked by the municipal police, when the new attack took place.

Mondragón disappeared into the night and seen next a day later, murdered and horribly mutilated. 

His parents, and those of Daniel Solís Gallardo, a native of Zihuatanejo, did not want a tribute at the teaching school. The body - what was left of it - of Mondragón, was transferred to the Federal District. 

Representatives of Ayotzinapa´s teaching school were horrified and couldn't  find words to describe how they felt having their classmate found in such a state, "What kind of police, what kind of person can do something like this?", said one of the school leaders. 

It is an outrage that this story has received almost no coverage outside Mexico and little coverage within its borders.  Racism alive and well in Mexico.

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