Borderland Beat |  |
- Morelos tops the list of most violent states-Guerrero most in homicides with Sinaloa in second place
- Shootings Reorganize the CAF
- Mexican Political Family's Close Ties to PRI Party and Prime real estate in the U.S.
- The Gulf Cartel Through the Lens of Río Bravo
| Morelos tops the list of most violent states-Guerrero most in homicides with Sinaloa in second place Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:08 PM PST Lucio source material from Reforma, and Proceso Note: Keep in mind these ratios are from "official" numbers, which are notoriously low balled, but the report gives good indication of which cities are experiencing the greatest criminal activity. Also, victims injured and later die of their injuries are seldom moved to the homicide count. –lucio-  The state of Morelos emerged as the entity with the highest rate of violence in the country, according to the latest report of the Citizen Council for Security and Criminal Justice AC. The study is based on complete figures of previous investigations initiated last year by prosecutors of common law. The allocation of points is reported by type of crime, per 100,000 inhabitants. Of 100 possible points, Morelos is located with 34.05 points six measurable crimes. Guerrero followed with 32.89 points and 32.37 points Baja California. The score of Morelos is almost twice that of the national average, the national average is 18.84 points, but of the 32 states, 12 have an index of violence above the national average. Homicide, Guerrero leads the pact By type of crime, Guerrero in 2014 had the highest homicide rate in the country: 43.67 per 100,000 inhabitants. The rate is three times higher than the national average (13.31). Sinaloa ranks second national position with 34.61 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants Chihuahua ranks third with 30.67; 12 states have homicide rates above the national. Tamaulipas has the highest kidnapping rate Tamaulipas had the highest rate of kidnapping in the country (7.53 kidnappings per 100,000 inhabitants), a rate six times higher than the national average (1.19). Morelos is second national position with 6.22 kidnappings per 100,000 inhabitants Tabasco third with 4.23 Quintana Roo had the highest rate of rape in the country, 28.56 per 100,000 inhabitants, three times the national average of 10.75. Morelos ranks second with 23.78 Chihuahua is third with 23.33. Assaults, The State of Mexico tops the list As for the offense of injury, the State of Mexico had the highest rate at 235.40 per 100 thousand inhabitants, almost twice higher than the national average of 125.89. Second place went to Guanajuato with 218.72 intentional injuries per 100 000 Baja California third with 213.52. Robbery; Tabasco leads In robbery crimes, Tabasco is ranked first with 422.64 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants, which is almost three times the national average, which is 155.96. Morelos is second national position with 405.50 thefts per 100,000 inhabitants and Baja California's third with 306.26. Extortion, once again Morelos is the leader Morelos also won as the entity with the highest rate of extortion in the country, 19.30 per 100,000 inhabitants, same as four times the national average of 4.91. Quintana Roo took second place with 15.97 extortion per 100 thousand inhabitants Jalisco at third with 8.61 Cuernavaca, the most violent municipality replaces Acapulco For municipalities, Cuernavaca, Morelos, bumped the list topper of last year, Acapulco, Guerrero, as the most violent city in the nation. Of 100 possible points, Cuernavaca has 62.19. The study measures 223 municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. According to the study, the score obtained in 2014 Cuernavaca is three times that calculated for the whole country, which is 18.84. The violence in the municipality moved from first to Acapulco in 2014 ranked second with 55.54 points in total. This is followed by: Chilpancingo, Guerrero also with 49.83 points; Oaxaca, Oaxaca, with 45.08 points Playas de Rosarito, Baja California, with 42.91. Three high violence municipalities of the State of Mexico: Tlalnepantla de Baz, with 42.58 points; Ecatepec de Morelos, with 41.78 points Naucalpan with 40.42 points. Culiacán, Sinaloa, came in ninth place with 38.84 points, and tenth is Hidalgo de Parral with 36.80. Homicide ; Acapulco is a staggering 69.60 of 100,000 inhabitants While the total number of crimes positioned Cuernavaca at first, Guerrero led in the highest number of homicides. For the third year Acapulco, is the municipality of 100,000 or more inhabitants with the highest homicide rate in the country (69.60), which is five times the national (13.31). Chilpancingo (Guerrero) occupied the second position with a national rate of 62.95 El Fuerte (Sinaloa) third with a rate of 55.17. Of the 20 municipalities with the highest rates of homicides: Five cities are located in the state of Guerrero, Four cities in Sinaloa Three in Michoacán 73 of the 223 municipalities have a rate higher than the national homicide. No surprise here, Tamaulipas has the highest rate of kidnappings El Mante, Tamaulipas is the municipality with the highest rate of kidnappings in the country (21.05 per 100,000 inhabitants), 18 times the national (1.19). Second is Victoria (Tamaulipas) with a rate of 16.81 Placing third is Chilpancingo (Guerrero) with a rate of 13.27. Of the 20 municipalities with the highest rates of kidnappings, Six cities were Tamaulipas Morelos and five Veracruz has four of the cities. In addition 60 of the 223 municipalities kidnapping rates above the national. Rape: Quintana Roo tops the list As for the crime of rape, Solidaridad, Quintana Roo, is in the municipality of the popular tourist destination of Playa del Carmen. The state has a very low crime rate even when compared to the U.S., however with respect to the crime of rape, it comes in with the highest rate; 48.78 per 100,000 inhabitants. This is almost five times the national (10.75). The second place is Cuernavaca with 46.82 Benito Juarez, Cancun, Quintana Roo, third with a rate of 40.04. Among 20 municipalities with the highest rates of rape; Four cities are in Hidalgo Three in Chihuahua Three in Morelos Two in Quintana Roo Two in Chiapas 101 of the 223 municipalities recorded rape rates higher than the national. Assaults Regarding the crime of assaults and injuries, Kanasín, Yucatán, was in 2014 the municipality with the highest rate with 621.40 per 100 thousand inhabitants, five times the national average of 125.89. The second position corresponded to Oaxaca, Oaxaca, with a rate of 568.24 And third Acuña, Coahuila, with a 479.44. Among the 20 municipalities with the highest rates of assault and malicious wounding; 12 in the State of Mexico 3 in Guanajuato 97 of the 223 municipalities have rates of strokes and above the national malicious wounding rate Morelos has the highest rate of robbery Cuernavaca, Morelos, has the highest rate of robbery: mil144.12 per 100 thousand inhabitants, which is seven times the national 155.96. Cuauhtemoc Mexico City ranks second nationally with 683.06 points and the municipality of Centro, Tabasco, ranks third with 630.61. Of the 20 municipalities with the highest rates of robbery; Six are in the State of Mexico, four at the Federal District Three in Puebla and Morelos 82 of the 223 municipalities have rates of robbery with violence than the national. Extortion As for the crime of extortion, Solidaridad, Quintana Roo, is the municipality with the highest rate with 61.68 per 100,000 inhabitants, it is 12 times the national 4.91. Cuernavaca is second with a rate of 52.64 Cuautla third with a rate of 33.13. Two municipalities of Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas and two of Quintana Roo are among the 20 municipalities with the highest rates of extortion, and 102 of the 223 municipalities have rates higher than the national extortion. Over all cities with the highest criminality In 2014 Morelos had the highest rate of violence among the 32 states of the country in 2014 with 34.05 points. Guerrero was second with 32.89 points Baja California in third with 32.37 points. The homicide ratio of Morelos is almost twice that of the national average, which is 18.84 points. Of the 32 states, 12 have an index of violence above the national average. Of the 20 municipalities with the highest rate of violence five are located in the State of Mexico and the states of: Morelos, Guerrero and Baja California each have three municipalities within that ranking. The municipalities of the following cities that were in the 2013 twenty most violence cities list and no longer on the list: Chalco (Mexico), Cuautitlan (Mexico), Jiutepec (Morelos), Nuevo Laredo (Tamaulipas), San Pedro (Coahuila) Torreón (Coahuila) Replacing those cities in 2014 are: Centro (Tabasco), Cuauhtémoc (Distrito Federal), Cuautla (Morelos), Mexicali (Baja California), Texcoco (Mexico) Tijuana (Baja California) Tlalnepantla Baz (Mexico) The figures from the Citizen Council for Security and Criminal Justice AC were published in January 2015 by the National System of Public Security, and correspond to data reported by prosecutors and/or general prosecutor of justice in each of the 32 states. |
| Posted: 11 Feb 2015 12:21 PM PST Translated for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana Special Report by Otis B Fly-Wheel The restructure of the Arellano Felix Cartel and its dispute with the people of the Sinaloa Cartel for certain plazas; the betrayals inside the cells with hit men looking to raise the ranks, and debts for drugs seized to independent traffickers. They are the causes of assassinations and gun battles in Tijuana, according to analysis of the Authorities and of Alejandro Lares Valladares, Secretary of Public Security in Tijuana.  Zeta Investigations What is happening? asks the Secretary of Public Security for Tijuana, Alejandro Lares Valladares, in relation to the resurgence of criminals with rifles, and of battles in public areas in the middle of the day, the functionary said. He spoke with intent about the criminals of the Arellano Felix Cartel (CAF) reorganizing, with a confrontation between them and the Sinaloa Cartel, and of social decomposition. Also in his charge is the area of intelligence and of the Special Operations Group (GOES) Carlos Gomez, Lares Valladares explains that the head of the CAF detained and freed have returned to their illicit activities. He gave some names, Manuel Lopez Nunez "El Balas", the ex-Ministry Enrique Jorquera Guerrero, Pedro Quintero Velazquez "El 5-8", "El Jaguar", alias "Pedro", and Juan Lorenzo Cargas Gallardo, who is good in areas of intelligence , and so will be at the head of restructuring. He also mentioned of confrontations with the Sinaloa Cartel, headed by "El Chapito Trejo", who operates with Dailia Rodelo"La Prima" and Julian Lopez "El Chino", "El Elias", "El Cabezon" and "Clave Marlon" alias "Alejo". He insists that the brothers Alfonso and Rene Arzarte, continue giving instructions from some point in Sinaloa.  What is happening repeats Lares? and replies: "That now its very easy for the people to go out and kills somebody, its social decay. What happened with the death of the woman, her stepson under the influence of Crystal meth asks her for money, when it was not given, he attacked and killed her, these events occurred in the Linda Vista colonia on September 11th 2014." "Its social decay its living and is derived from the drug trade in Crystal Meth." In respect of the resurgence in rifles, a recent case was heard, on 12th of December 2014 when two AR 15 rifles were used when a group of men tried to kill another man in the parking lot of Carl's Jnr fast food restaurant in Soler. This man himself had been in a previous shoot out, which occurred on 29th November, in the interior of the Restaurant Cabanna, in an exclusive area of La Mesa delegation. Rifles have always been in Tijuana, that is very clear, recognized Lares, but if we see a chronology there has always been rifles. There is the confiscation of weapons from State Police at Altabrisa. On December 21st 2014, PEP said two rifles and 352 rounds of ammunition were recovered from a house. He said "Recently we have detected on facebook, arms for sale, pistols for 500 pesos." Also they who carried rifles in the streets, they were imprisoned CAF members, are now free, said Carlos Gomez responding to the Secretary of Security. Lately on the other side, is the Sinaloa Cartel, who have the rifles to stop those who are trying to rise in the ranks. For the Authorities, until now the difference with the worst years of insecurity in Tijuana, is that Rifles they have, but they are lacking in equipment. They carry magazines with only 10-15 rounds in, they are searching for the cohesion to become a more effective team. Before we saw former Police Officers, in the videos we see now they are tattooed hit men, exposed the authorities. In terms of attacks in public places and central locations, the opinion of the Police is that they happen because the criminals start to hang around in these areas, where there are many Forces Patrols, thinking that their enemies will not dare to try and kill them there, but they do come and attack them and manage to flee. The resurgence of the Arellano Felix Cartel Completing the phrase, Lares and Gomez detail: "If there exists a reorganization or an intent to reorganize the Arellano Felix Cartel, as it has always existed.... wanting to carry this out, are the men they are releasing from prisons." "They are free, but to do what? Nothing? some of them stay straight for a while, like Manuel Lopez Nunez "Don Balas", who was a business man but returned to drug related activities. But they say that all of the ex prisoners affect insecurity, the CAF had 2,694 who were imprisoned for theft or violence in Tijuana in 2014 have been released. "Is it a fight between those of the CAF who have left prison and the Sinaloans?" asked Zeta "For us yes" "In all of the city?" In certain zones where they are reorganizing, if you review the clashes, they are in the areas that were formerly controlled by CAF: Playas, Soler, La Cacho. In all these places we have to accept their intent to reorganization, because they are leaving prison and do not know how to do anything else than to be a criminal. As an example:"Only 5-8 (Pedro Quintero Velazquez) has 14 or 15 properties in Rosarito, people come from San Luis to sell them, we have just detained one of his accomplices. Speaking of him, they have no arrest warrant and he is a fundamental part of the CAF, he has been working with many people from "Los Surenos" and "Paisas", ex convicts from the prisons in California. We had a well founded fear, that the CAF will recruit from deportees as cheap labor, if you look at the majority of the arrested, or those captured in video images, they have gang tattoos, you check with the United States and they have been imprisoned for murder, robbery with violence, drugs, and do not know how to do anything else, all the tattooed people are not given jobs here. Some of the ex prisoners who are CAF members that are causing problems of insecurity and gun battles are: Juan Lorenzo Gallardo "El Chan", detained in December of 2010, freed in august 2014. Manuel Lopez Nunez "El Balas" captured in September of 2008, and given freedom in November of 2011. Pedro Quintero Velazquez "El 5-8", "El Jaguar", alias "Pedro", apprehended in September of 2012, freed, recaptured 25th August 2013 and freed the following day. "El Chan"carries the baton, "El Balas" left long ago, he was an entrepreneur, but rejoined the organisation, Jorquera is already active with them, "El 5-8" was in San Luis, but has already returned. Subalterns are identified by the alias "El Gros", "El Alejo", "Pit Junior" and "Giovanni", also known as "El Sotol". What are you doing in this regard? We are locating them, to make structures and stop them. As regards the structure of the Sinaloa Cartel, headed by the brothers Alfonso and Rene Arzate "Los Aquiles". In Otay there is a mentor, Elias, all of the detained say that he is the voice of Sinaloa, "El Cabezon" in the east zone, "El Alejo" and "El Chapito Trejo", who has control of them all, the people of this group want it this way according to the testimony of the detained. Betrayals and debts as reasons for killing Consulting both Alejandro Lares Valledares, like Carlos Gomez, and the assistant attorney general for State Public Security Jose Maria Gonzalez Martinez agree that, if they are to be arrested and not receive any help from their criminal bosses, the dealers refuse to keep selling and in some cases change their cell phones, and this almost always ends in an assassination. In some cases even the refusal to keep selling is enough to get them killed. "We have seen cases about, where distributors , intending to kill dealers because they believe the dealers were contemplating leaving, or they get shot because they were going to change their mobile phones, or they set them up so their competitors kill them", said Gonzalez Martinez. "Also there are cases of people who are dedicated to crossing drugs into the United States, but something went wrong and the load was seized, if they cannot pay, they get killed", argued Gomez. Other have personal vendettas between drug dealers, with access to guns and drugs. The municipal Police gave an account of a shooting that occurred on the Tuesday 27th of January, the injured man was Sanchez toboada, they said that people identified as "El Perro" and "El Chito", met the injured man and shot him because "El Perro" was told that the man had slept with his wife who was also a drug dealer. Another example is the homicide of Jonathan de Jesus Barraza Izaguirre, his corpse was found located on the 8th of January, on the federal highway of Cuota Playas, with gunshot wound in his chest. Eduardo Llamas was wounded n the same location. The investigation lead to the capture of Hector Hugo Fregoso Ornelas "El Chemo", a drug dealer of crystal meth, who declared that he killed Barraza because Barazza wanted to expand his zone, and he had received orders to kill Barazza from his boss, known as "El Unico, already nobody enters his territory without his permission. They deceived them by telling them that were allowed to sell drugs and were being shown their territory. Also the case of Cesar Hernandez Aguilar, "El Tartamundo" who on January 23rd 2014 killed Francisco Javier Aguilar Robledo by shooting him in the chest several times, he was a drug sales boss , but when he was detained by the Police his boss would not pay his bail, he refused to keep selling, which led to his death. In a likewise manner, are the small shop drug dealers said the Attorney General for Tijuana Gilberto Cota Alanis, when they are attacked they do not want to give information on their attackers, or why they were attacked, and they never want to give statements. Less murders Regarding the gun battles and the homicides, the State Attorney General, Jose Maria Gonzalez Martinez, stated that 2015 had started with a reduction. We mentioned that there is a decrease that is not historical, for the better rate. In January 2012 there were 43 homicides, 42 were committed in 2013, with 47 in 2014, and this year by January 2015 we have 28, he said. In all of Baja California there have been 41 culpable homicides, 27 in Tijuana, 10 in Mexicali, two in Rosarito, two en Ensensada and none in Tecate, according to the official figures of the PGJE. In terms of statistics, in January of 2014, there were 1.2 homicides per day, meanwhile in January of 2015 there had been an average of 1.4 homicides per day. I know they killed a man in a cafe in the colonia Cacho, then a double homicide in Tijuana made too much noise, but in general the numbers are down. "I saw it coming, and admit the table has to be swept clean, said Gonzalez Martinez in reference to the captures made by the Federal Police of Alfonso Lira "El Atlante" and Luis Mendoza Uriate "El Guero Chompas," but specifically to combat that which is deemed narco trafficking in the terms of the PGJE." "We are not going to see the end of narco trafficking, possibly we can forge ahead to decrease what is visible, we went from people who operated in the shadows ten years ago, to people on the street selling product, for this reason we have increased to more than 500% in Police searches related to narco trafficking." "We went from 12 raids throughout the state throughout 2013, to 88 searches in 2014" ( Otis: it could be a thousand raids, but if the targets of the raids are advised beforehand, the numbers don't matter). In addition, we doubled the number of detainees recorded before judges in 2014 to 1,500 which is double the figure from the previous year, " you take them from circulation and the figures reduce," said the state official. "On this subject we have been clear in hitting all the drug selling groups, I told them don't ask me, make it clear to everyone we are coming, because we have found colonias where neither the Municipal Police or the PEP are made available to anyone, there are colonias where they never see a mobile patrol, but here their instruction is not to give information about future searches so they investigate do their job and inform us." "I am very interested in hitting the people of "El Aquiles", of "El Atlante", that to me is the best cure. Historically we see that, you never hit so and so or that location." "Its clear that we come from incredible passivity previously on the part of the police, with search warrants month to month only amounting to 90 per year. Now the PGR have released all the dealers in the past year, they were left with 60 percent of the cases, we ordered six secretaries and they already arrived to help with administration." In respect of the groups that are trafficking and killing, the Attorney General mentioned the usual suspects of "Los Arzarte", the people of Mendoza Uriarte, Don Cuco, the people of "El Atlante", and "El Chapito Trejo". "Who and why are they killing?" In general terms, narco trafficking continues in Tijuana. the difference in the wars for territory, is that there are many internal conflicts happening. Jose Maria Gonzalez Martinez added the problem posed is that of the released. He remembers how in conversations before 2008, Raydel Lopez "El Muletas" and Filiberto Parra "La Perra", came and went from prison, the PGR data records possession of 30 wraps, a kilo of Marijuana, etc. and after release they staged one of the worst periods of insecurity in Tijuana. We process so many, but we must make sure not to grow these people into worse criminals, we have to take them out of circulation, he warned. In this category the authorities consider are: Javier Hernandez Flores "El Javi" or "El Lentes", and Dalia Rodelo "La Prima", Julian Lopez "El Chino", they are sought for the homicide of the ex-director of the Municipal Institute of Sport, Arturo Hachadur Kaloyan, which occurred on the 16th of December 2013. In respect of the constant release from prison of criminals, the Attorney General is limited to say, " its a question for the Courts, we do what is within our remit. But "El Javi" is the best example of what is happening at the moment, he has an outstanding arrest warrant for possession of weapons, but was set free." The same occurs with other narco traffickers. "It is not easy to convince the Judges of Criminal Courts, we process them for possession with intent to supply, where the intent to supply is considered a more serious crime, we show they have no work or other source of income, but the judges reduced his charge to possession. So we ask for bail in the region of 12,000 to 20,000 pesos, but the judges lower that to 3000 pesos, so along comes a relative and pays the sum, and they are at liberty" again concluded Jose Maria Gonzalez Martinez. Original special report in Spanish at Zetatijuana |
| Mexican Political Family's Close Ties to PRI Party and Prime real estate in the U.S. Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:58 AM PST Lucio republished from NYT  José Murat Casab, left, a former governor of Oaxaca and an influential member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Members of his immediate family have bought at least six properties in the United States, records and interviews show. Credit Said Hernandez/Revistatucan.com In the fall of 2013, one of Mexico's top housing officials posted an item on Twitter about an advertising campaign promoting mortgages for low-income Mexicans. The campaign's message was simple: "The most important thing in life is in your house." It carried the tag line, "Homes with value." The official, Alejandro Murat Hinojosa, knows something about homes with value, especially across the border.  The windshield of a minivan after a reported assassination attempt against José Murat in 2004. Credit Jorge Luis Plata/European Pressphoto Agency Over the years, he and members of his immediate family — starting with his father, José Murat Casab, a former governor of Oaxaca — have bought at least six properties in the United States, including two condominiums near a ski resort in Utah, another at the beach in South Texas and at least one in Manhattan, according to records and interviews. In New York, José Murat's children have also lived for periods of time in one of the more modest condos at the luxurious Time Warner Center overlooking Central Park.  Alejandro Murat's wife, Ivette Morán, purchased a condominium at 40 West 55th St., left, for $1.18 million, property records show. Mr. Murat says the condo is owned by his uncle, José Hinojosa. Ownership of the homes was often obscured through variations on family names listed on deeds or through shell companies, according to records examined by The New York Times. In fact, on the day the younger Mr. Murat tweeted about the housing program, public filings in Florida recorded the transfer of a $750,000 Boca Raton condo that had been purchased in his wife's name to an entity called IMRO 2013 Trust. The Murats' real estate holdings stand in contrast to the Everyman image that José Murat, renowned for his political might and booming personality, worked to project as governor. "I arrived to the state government with my wife, Lupita, and my four children," he said a year before his term ended in 2004. "And I'm leaving as I arrived, with the same trousers, with the same shoes, with the same shirts and the same car." The Murat properties, which emerged during a Times investigation into the people behind shell companies that own condominiums at the Time Warner Center, have not been the subject of any official inquiry and there is no evidence of any wrongdoing behind the purchases. But the private assets of Mexico's public officials have come under intense focus recently with a fresh round of revelations and protests centered on the country's endemic corruption. Last fall, a scandal erupted over reports that a government contractor had built a multimillion-dollar home for the wife of Mexico's president, Enrique Peña Nieto. While Mr. Peña Nieto's wife, Angélica Rivera, said she was paying for it with money she earned as a soap opera star, she also revealed she owned a condo in Florida. Around the same time, Mr. Peña Nieto disclosed his own $3.3 million in real estate, jewelry, art and other investments. Last week, he said a new federal comptroller would examine purchases by him and his wife of homes in Mexico. And in December, an official at Infonavit, the housing agency run by Alejandro Murat, resigned after a photo of his son with a Porsche was posted on social media, setting off a furor and prompting federal inquiries. The official said the posting was a joke and the car did not belong to his family. These revelations added to the already widespread anger over accusations that corrupt police officers were involved in the abduction and presumed murder last year of 43 college students by a drug cartel. As demonstrations spread, Mr. Peña Nieto was reeling. His Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI, had ruled the country for seven decades until 2000, and he had pledged to erase its legacy of corruption when he took office more than two years ago. Continue reading full article by linking here |
| The Gulf Cartel Through the Lens of Río Bravo Posted: 11 Feb 2015 12:49 PM PST Over the past week and a half I have devoted much of my free time to keeping readers on the Borderland Beat forum informed of the day to day violence occurring in northern Tamaulipas. As we have reached a point that not much has changed, I started devoting more time to analyzing the origins of the conflict. In doing so, I keep coming back to an initial thought: a better understanding of Río Bravo is fundamental. From my past experience in researching, I realized that there would be some uncertainty due to contradictions in the information being reported or times that there is a general absence of information. Thus, this may not be perfect, but the following is my current understanding of how Río Bravo has played a part in the history of the Gulf Cartel.  Municipal Overview Río Bravo is a municipality located between the municipalities of Matamoros, which lies to the east, and Reynosa, which is to the west. The largest city and municipal seat is Ciudad Río Bravo, located relatively near the city of Reynosa. Ciudad Río Bravo is not located on the border with the United States itself, but a rural international bridge lies directly north of the city. The second largest city in the municipality is Nuevo Progreso, which is located northeast of Ciudad Río Bravo and lies on the border with the United States. According the maps created by Valor por Tamaulipas, the Gulf Cartel considers these two cities separate plazas. Due to its location, Río Bravo has been a major transport spot for international drug trafficking. In fact, the first time I read about Homero Cárdenas Guillén, alias "El Majadero", was in an article from 2009 which reported that he used Río Bravo as a staging ground for trafficking shipments of cocaine to the United States. The Gulf Cartel in 2010 In early 2010, Los Zetas formally split from the Gulf Cartel, leading to a war that enveloped Tamaulipas as both sides sought to seize territory and strengthen their bases of operation. At that time the leadership of the Gulf Cartel was shared by two individuals: Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillén, alias "Tony Tormenta", who held the power of the Cárdenas family, and Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, alias "El Coss", a close associate of Osiel Cárdenas Guillén (by then in prison in the United States, having been extradited in January 2007). By the summer of 2010, a number of changes of plaza heads took place within the Gulf Cartel (though it has not been reported as such, I believe that many of these took place as a result of the war with Los Zetas), a few of which are notable for our purposes. In May of 2010, the head of the Matamoros plaza, Alberto Castillo Flores, alias "El Beto Fabe", was executed by the Gulf Cartel on treason charges and replaced by Jose Luis Zuñiga-Hernandez, alias "El Whicho"/code name "XW", a close associate of "El Coss" who had been head of the plaza of El Control. While unspecified, I believe it was around June that Mario Armando Ramírez Treviño, alias "El Pelón"/code name "X-20", was reassigned from Río Bravo to Ciudad Victoria (it should be noted that X-# was a designation for a group of confidants of "El Coss"). Meanwhile, a nephew of "Tony Tormenta, Rafael Cárdenas Vela, alias "El Junior"/code name "900", was reassigned from San Fernando, where he was head of plaza for around ten years, to the plaza of Río Bravo. In November 2010 "Tony Tormenta" was killed in Matamoros during a shootout with Mexican military forces. Among those also killed along with him was the head Los Escorpiones, an operative group of "Tony Tormenta", and several of its members. It was strongly rumored that the location of "Tony Tormenta" was given to the military by "El Coss", who sought to seize sole leadership of the Gulf Cartel. The War of "El Junior Cárdenas" Beyond the rumors of "El Coss" having a hand in the death of "Tony Tormenta", "El Junior" grew He felt that he was not receiving as much help as lieutenants directly associated with "El Coss". Apparently "El Junior" discussed this issue with Samuel Flores Borrego, alias "El Metro 3", the head of the Reynosa plaza, who felt the same way about "El Coss" and a plan was formed to take the Matamoros plaza from the previously mentioned "XW".  increasingly upset with "El Coss" for other reasons as well. It is my theory that around this time "El Junior" began recruiting individuals in Río Bravo for his own personal group called Los Ciclónes de 900, which is generally shortened as Los Ciclónes, to achieve his goals. In March 2011 the plan was enacted and "El Junior" moved to Matamoros, where he declared himself head of plaza, leading to direct confrontation with "XW" and his associates, who used the code names of "XW-#". I tentatively believe that Los Ciclónes expanded by absorbing members of Los Escopriones and Grupo Alfa at this time, though this possibly occurred while "El Junior" was in Río Bravo or, alternatively, at a later time. Regardless, with "El Junior" in Matamoros, "XW" returned to his previous position of head of the plaza of El Control. Meanwhile, "El Coss" named another close associate of his, Juan Roberto Rincón Rincón, alias "El Primo"/code name "X-5", to head the vacated plaza of Río Bravo and in time "El Junior" and allies would fight against him as well. Despite the information indicating that "El Metro 3" largely agreed with "El Junior", there is no evidence that he provided any type of support during the confrontations with "XW" and allies. Nevertheless, "El Metro 3" was killed on September 2, 2011, allegedly by Juan Reyes Mejía González, alias "El Quique"/code name "R1", who was acting on orders from "El Coss". One of the explanations why this occurred is that "El Coss" was angry that "El Metro 3" refused to go along with a plan to unite the Gulf Cartel with the Sinaloa Cartel. Regardless, immediately thereafter, "El Coss" transferred "X-20" to Reynosa to take over as head of plaza. It appears that soon after taking over in Reynosa, "X-20" linked up with Héctor Delgado Santiago, alias "El Metro 4", who was seen internally by Los Metros (the group which "El Metro 3" led) as the successor of "El Metro 3". Together, they decided to join with "El Junior" in an effort to completely push "El Coss" and his allies out of the Tamaulipas border. As the confrontations increased, on October 19 "El Junior" was arrested in Texas, where he had been hiding from "XW" since July. The following week, "XW" and "X-5" were arrested in Texas, where they had fled to during a gun battle in which forces from Reynosa attacked them in Río Bravo. The Division of the Gulf Cartel Thereafter, the fighting waned and Los Panteras, an operative group of confidants of "X-20", took control of Río Bravo. Juan Manuel Rodríguez García, alias "Juan Perros"/code name "Pantera 11" was named head of plaza in Río Bravo and it is possible, but unconfirmed, that around this time Carlos González Escobar, alias "Carlitos Whiskies"/code name "Pantera 7" was named head of plaza in Nuevo Progreso. It appears that the participation of "X-20" and his allies against "El Coss" was the reason for a major turning point in the Gulf Cartel: they began working independently from the rest of the Gulf Cartel and became known collectively as Los Metros. Apparently this faction of the Gulf Cartel was made up of the true Los Metros of "El Metro 3", Los Panteras, and Los Deltas, who were based out of Valadeces. Though there is some uncertainty due to poor documentation in this time period, it appears that the rest of the Gulf Cartel either adopted the name Los Rojos or, at the very least, was identified as such by outsiders. On May 10, 2012, an interview with a former member of the Gulf Cartel began circulating online. If it is to be believed, by this time it appears the previous conflicts had been forgiven and Los Ciclónes (loyal to the Cárdenas family, which at this time was represented by the previously mentioned Homero Cárdenas Guillén and his brother, Mario Alberto Cárdenas Guillén, alias "M-1")were part of Los Rojos and aligned with "El Coss", along with Los Kalimanes, Los Alacranes, Grupo XW, Los R's, and Los X's. Yet Los Rojos would soon suffer major setbacks. On September 4, 2012, "El M-1" was arrested, and on September 12, 2012, "El Coss" was arrested. If the interview is to be believed, I assume it was this point that Los Rojos ceased to exist and from it, two factions emerged: Matamoros, under the leadership of Homero Cárdenas Guillén, to which Los Ciclónes were loyal to, and the CDG del Sur faction based out of Tampico. Alternatively, it is possible that the war of "El Junior" caused irreconcilable differences and these factions emerged then, with the CDG del Sur being allies of "El Coss" and Matamoros being allies of the Cárdenas family. "El Niño" In focusing on Río Bravo, another important development took that September. On the 24th, Adrián González Martínez, alias "El Niño"/code name "Ciclón 9" was arrested in Río Bravo. He was described in news reports as a direct subordinate of "X-20" and head of plaza in Control, Empalme,  This information is hard to place in our framework. One might conclude that "El Niño" became head of the Control plaza at some point following the arrest of "XW", possibly directly afterwards. Likewise, it could be concluded that "Carlitos Whiskies" was not head of the Progreso plaza prior to this and only took over following the arrest of "El Niño". The difficult part is his alleged relation to "X-20", which would make him part of the Los Metros faction. It is possible that this was an error in reporting and he was a member of Los Rojos instead (the fact that he was arrested in Río Bravo would at first glance support that he was part of Los Metros, as there is multiple lines of information indicating that the plaza was lead by "Juan Perros" at this time, but the fact that Los Ciclónes seems to have originated in Río Bravo makes it possible that he had strong ties to the city and he may have even been born there). However, if the information is accurate, then there are a few alternative conclusions: the interview was wrong and Los Ciclónes were part of Los Metros at this time, not Los Rojos; following the arrest of "El Junior", Los Ciclónes were not unified, some were part of Los Metros while others were part of Los Rojos; or there was not a clear wall between Los Metros and Los Rojos, Los Ciclónes operated in territories controlled by each faction. The Fall of "X-20" and Los Panteras Regardless, it is certain that changes began to take place in Río Bravo with the August 17, 2013 arrest of "X-20". There was a question of who would succeed him as leader of Los Metros ("El Metro 4" would have been a likely choice, but apparently died around January 15), but in the end, "Juan Perros" won out. At that point, a brother-in-law of "Juan Perros", Miguel Angel Alemán Salinas, alias "El Alemán"/code name "Pantera 12", took his place as head of the plaza of Río Bravo and Los Panteras continued to dominate. Things began to take a major shift with the arrest of "Juan Perros" on May 25, 2014. There is some information that indicates that "El Alemán" the became leader of Los Metros, but it is far from certain. Regardless, he was arrested on July 16 and his second in command, an individual known as "El Flako" took over as head of the Río Bravo plaza. However, it was the beginning of the end for Los Panteras. On July 22, a member of Los Panteras who was second in command to "Carlitos Whiskies" was killed by federal forces in Nuevo Progreso. Two days later, there were online reports that people from Matamoros (although not specifically mentioned, circumstantial evidence is that it was Los Ciclónes) went to Río Bravo to kill members of Los Panteras and apparently they managed to kill "El Flako" and someone known as "El Paramédico". It was later said online the leadership had completely changed in Río Bravo as "Carlitos Whiskies", "Gama 1", "Pantera 9" and others had fled on July 26, fearing that they too would be killed. By July 31, Nuevo Progreso had a new head of plaza, "El Camarón", also known by the code name "Ciclón 80" (on October 25 he was killed in a shootout with the military and I am not aware who is currently in charge there). As for Ciudad Río Bravo, nothing was specifically reported, but the logical conclusion would be that Los Ciclónes installed their own head of plaza there. It was on September 27 that I first read that Juan Francisco Carrizales, alias "El 98", was head of the plaza of Río Bravo for Los Metros (it is possible that he had come to power there prior to this, but this is the earliest I have found documentation). Because of this, it could be concluded that Matamoros managed to drive out Los Panteras from Nuevo Progreso and Ciudad Río Bravo, but Los Metros regrouped and managed to retake Ciudad Río Bravo. However, circumstantial evidence increasingly supports an alternate explanation: the attacks against Los Panteras were not an act of war against Los Metros, rather, it was something that was agreed upon. In this theory, Los Metros may or may not have provided physical support, but the end result was that the municipality of Río Bravo would be shared by Los Metros and Matamoros, with both sides having people operating there. Moving forward with this theory, the arrangement was severely tested on December 16, when the previously mentioned "El Niño" was killed inside a penitentiary in Reynosa, with rumors indicating he was soon to be released. That night, Los Ciclónes of Matamoros mounted an attack on Río Bravo, apparently against "El 98", who was rumored to have ordered the killing. "El 98" was already in the cross-hairs, multiple reports blamed him for thefts and extortions in Río Bravo, which, under the theory of a shared plaza, would pose a risk against the interests of Matamoros as well if the plaza heated up too much. Nevertheless, war did not start then; apparently cooler heads prevailed and though a major conflict was averted, tensions developed.  Online criticism of "El 98" would continue and, in time, Sergio Velázquez, alias "El Gafe", too became the target of online reports. "El Gafe", once a bodyguard for "El Metro 4", by then was one of the most powerful members of Los Metros, and possibly their leader. My working theory is that "El Gafe" himself was the one who approved of Matamoros running out Los Panteras and was also the one who was able to prevent a war from starting with the death of "El Niño". In both cases, it would be likely that "El Gafe" negotiated directly with Ángel Eduardo Prado Rodríguez, alias "El Orejón"/code name "Ciclón 7", reportedly the current head of the Matamoros plaza.Continuing with my working theory, on January 27, 2015, a picture of "El Gafe" was posted online along with derogatory information. Up until this time, much about "El Gafe" was shaded in mystery. I believe that this absolutely infuriated "El Gafe", who sought to find out the source of the posts and felt that it was done by the Matamoros faction. Reading between the lines, individuals from the Matamoros faction tried to calm things down, in part by stating that he and the "true Metros" had their respect and that they only had a problem with "El 98". Then on February 1 the real name of "El Gafe" was revealed. That same night, "Ciclón 4" was apparently executed by "El 98" in Río Bravo. He may have been the head of plaza on behalf of Matamoros there. Regardless, it was the straw that broke the camel's back and thus, that very night violence erupted in northern Tamaulipas and a new war emerged. |
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