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| 400,000 Bribe to Judge Frees son of El Chango Mendez Posted: 25 Feb 2015 05:31 AM PST Translated for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article by Otis B Fly-Wheel A Federal Judge allegedly bribed by Michoacán narco's, frees son of a capo, various audio shows that La Familia and Los Viagras rescued El Chucin Mendez.
Jorge Armando Wong Aceituno, the Federal Judge that exonerated 43 of the 44 cases of detained AUC after a gun battle that killed nine people in Apatzingan on January 6th. He was allegedly bribed by the remnants of La Familia Michoacana and leaders of Los Viagra to prevent the son of a high capo being identified by the Federal Government and being brought to trial. A dozen telephone calls detail the conversations between both organisations soliciting the bribe to the Judge and an Agent of the Federal Public Ministry, who disappeared evidence and collaborated to reduce the charges to obtain the release of one of the children of Jesus Mendez "El Chango", founder of La Familia Michoacana. Recordings that Milenio had access to, among other data, reveal hitherto unknown that : a) Operators of La Familia Michoacana and Los Viagra, a group that had been recruiting sicarios to fill the space left by Los Caballeros Templarios. They were behind the movement that took the Municipal Presidency of Apatzingan last December, which ended in a shoot out with Federal Police. b) On the 6th of January, to free the Mayoress, the Army detained Jesus Mendez "El Chuchin", son of Jesus Mendez Vargas "El Chango", serial killer confessed to be the leader of the cartel after the fall of Enrique Kike Plancarte, who was to be extradited to the United States to stand trial for charges of drug trafficking in the New York District Court. c) El Chango and Nicolas Sierra Santana, leader of Los Viagra, came up with the money for the bribe to facilitate the release of El Chuchin, and possibly the rest of his company, they will be free. d) At least in the case of one person, the process ended up with the defeat of the PGR and PGJE, 43 of the 44 detainees ended up being released, by a corrupt bribed Federal Judge. The recordings, that total 40 minutes, reveal details of how the son of El Chango Mendez participated in taking the Mayors office, an act which was initially presented as a social protest, but in which there was a presence of people linked to criminals.
The audios also gave the idea of how the plan was hatched to bribe the Judge for the release of El Chuchin, though it doesn't mention by name who they were, it is specified in the recordings that payments would be made to the Judge leading the trial of the detainees in Apatzingan at the beginning of this year. The Judge of the Fifth District Court and responsible for the exoneration of the autodefensas detainees, Jorge Armando Aceituno Wong, was the one who took the case. Not only that: during one week imprisoned in the Maximum Security Prison of Tepic, he hid himself as an auto-defensa, which prevented him from being identified and being brought to the attention of SEIDO (Assistant Attorney General specializing in investigation of Organised Crime), where he was considered a high value target. During his stay in the prison, he was admitted under the name Juan Carlos Guttierez Segura, even though no authority noticed him, or knew in effect that they had the son of El Chango Mendez. Until now, the participation of operators of organized criminals, in the taking of the Mayors Office of Apatzingan, on the 22nd of December to the 6th of January had not been substantiated, despite suspicion in different areas of Federal Government that the movement was infiltrated by organised crime. From the start, the taking of the mayors office was presented like it was a civic protest to the gun battle between Hipolito Mora's group and Simon El Americano, on the 17th of December 2014 at La Ruana. When Group 250 of the extinct Fuerza Rurales occupied the Municipal presidency, half a hundred self defence forces ensured that the protest took as a goal to demand from the Federal Government to support Mora in his confrontation with El Americano, stop those responsible for the shooting and put pressure on Alfredo Castillo Commissioner for Michoacán, to launch an offensive against the Knights Templar and specially its leader Servando Gomez La Tuta. For us, in this moment the battle is being won by La Tuta, said Nicolas Sierra, one of the leaders of Los Viagra, who led the taking of the Municipal Presidency and who would later play a central role in the liberation of Mendez Junior. He spoke little after the occupation of City Hall, when they hung banners that said Mr President Enrique Pena Nieto, the people demand the arrest of the criminals. But these arguments were only a façade. The telephone conversations, in which stand out a lawyer and a weapons smuggler known to Federal Intelligence, revealed that among those who co-ordinated the occupation of the Municipal Presidency was El Chuchin, also know as El Leon Rapado, who is considered to be the heir to the criminal empire of his father El Chango Mendez. His apprehension, this past 6th of January, started an operation of corruption that ended ten days later, with the Judge Jorge Armado Wong ordering his liberation, when the case prosecuted by the PGR and PGJE collapsed, the Public Ministry said the Judge, had failed in the integration of its records, which is the reason why the charges were dropped. The recordings leave clear that the Public Ministry failed for one reason, because they were ordered to do it. The conversations occurred in 14 calls made between the 7th of January and the 5th of February, and they give the idea of why so easily Ministerial accusations are made, when you have a good defense and the Public Ministry is determined to torpedo the case. The dialogues featured, among others, Jaime Guttierez Escobedo, known arms dealer that has been at the service of La Familia Michoacana, Los Valencia, and Los Templarios, also a lawyer identified as El Licenciado Nahum, and Roberto Contreras Betancourt, son in law of Guttierez Escobedo. Since the start, Guttierez Escobedo, was an old friend of El Chango Mendez, lent his services as a facilitator who arranged the money transfers to pay the bribes and obtain the release of El Chuchin. On the 8th of January, Nahum and Guttierez Escobedo spoke for the first time. They find out that the son of El Chango Mendez was arrested and transferred to the high security prison El Rincon in Nayarit, and began to strategize the legal and illegal defence of the boy, who they say broke the law. Nahum: He was transferred there, but the records remain here, do you know what crime he is accused of? Jamie: Having a firearm Nahum: Having a firearm, they will not be able to prove it, because to make a collection of weapons, necessarily who were the owners of the weapons. Jamie: Yes Nahum: No one is going to accept it. The first signals that they sought to bribe the Public Ministry arrived the next day: Jaime Gutierrez Escobedo called his daughter, he informed her that Nahum had left for Uruapan and needed 10,000 pesos, because on Saturday, January 10th will begin the task of achieving that the charges against El Chuchin be dropped. That money, he said is to feed the Public Ministry so they destroy evidence of him collecting weapons. On January the 10th, presumably after Nahum had "fed" the Public Ministry, the lawyer and Gutierrez Escobedo speak of how the accusations have begun to fade, and the importance of keeping the identity of El Chango Mendez son secret. After attending the Public Ministry, Nahum boasts, already we have two of the three charges dropped against him, those of criminal association and possession of a firearm. The last charge that remained is possession of a Beretta 9mm pistol, to dismiss this evidence, a teleconference had been arranged with El Chuchin, so that he was prepared and knew what to say in response to the testimony of the soldier who stopped him in Apatzingan. The boy responded to the coaching, according to Nahum, "I am content I can defend myself with the information you have given me." Jaime reveals that on that day, in some media outlets, appeared news that the son of El Chango Mendez had been detained in Apatzingan, Nahum responded angrily " What son a bitch said that?" Nahum: "Nobody knows who he is, nobody knows who he is. So I asked Robert not to say anything, because the Attorney General approached me and said : Hey do you know who the son of El Chango Mendez is? or his mother? because I know neither." Jamie: Aha Nahum: I ordered the public prosecutors office to drop it. Jamie: Ah perfect. On the 10th of January, Roberto Betancourt, son in law of Jamie Guttierez, called on the telephone and informed him that he had seen the sister of El Chango Mendez, who had given him 50,000 pesos towards the bribe to liberate El Chuchin. In open forum, Roberto admitted that in a few hours the Lawyer would deliver the bribe to the Judge and the Public Ministry. Roberto: She already gave me the 50, I grabbed the 10 only, because I had to make a few payments. Jamie: Yes, yes that's ok. At this time I haven't seen my friend, but more or less I prepared him for Wednesday, possibly then he will be free. Roberto: Yes that's the way it will be. Jamie: Exactly. Roberto: And the sister said, "I know that my nephew will be freed, because he had already been in Seido since the beginning, yesterday Nahum told me he had coached him about what to say about the soldier, and that he was ready to go before the public prosecutor and the Judge on Wednesday but that the bribe had still to be delivered." On the 12th of January, Nahum called Jamie. He said that "Juan Carlos" would be freed in a few hours. In this call its evident that the Judge is subservient to the Lawyer of the son of the capo, who gives the orders. In a last attempt to discover if El Chuchin is among those arrested, the PGR request an investigation. Nahum: I've finished talking to the Judge, him to me. Jamie: Aha Nahum: In two hours, they say, he will be leaving, but in two hours when he leaves the office block, you have to be there at the prison. Jamie: In two hours? Nahum: In two hours, but they said, All is ok Lawyer, but they are suckers, it will be 24 hours that he was kept inside. Jamie: Hey what did the Judge say? Nahum: Well yes, excuse me, but they investigated it in Mexico, we gave them the order that we had investigated it, but we found nothing. On the 14th of February, Nahum revealed that the Judge has advanced El Chuchins liberation, and it is clear who is financing the bribery, it is mentioned the El Gordo Nicolas Sierra Santana provided 100,000 pesos, and that the family of El Chango Mendez had handed over the rest.
On the 16th of January as promised, the Apatzingan detainees are freed by Judge Wong Aceituno, who argues that the Public Ministry failed in the integration of its preliminary investigations, not offering any solid evidence proving that the defendants actually carried weapons of exlusive use by the Army. On the following day the 17th, Gutierrez called Roberto. The son of the capo was free and it was time to settle the bill. But between thieves there is no honor, both agree to keep part of the money and lied to El Chango Mendez and Nico. Roberto: It must be 400 for the Ministry and the Judge, and the Bachelors 200 is separate. Jamie: Well...  The army and Federal police go to the Municipal palace of Apatzingan and detain 44 people. The Detained are transferred to Federal Prison in Nayarit The first call between Jamie Gutierrez and the Laywer Nahum The second call, informs of the transfer to Tepic prison of the son of El Chango Mendez. With a 10,000 pesos bribe, the Public Ministry drop the charges of collection of firearms, and criminal association. The Judge Aceituno informs his Lawyer that his client, the son of the capo will be freed in hours. Judege Wong Aceituno order the immediate liberation of the 43 of the 44 detainees. Gutierrez Escobedo assures that the bribe is 400,000 pesos , the Public Ministry receive 200,000 pesos. Original article in Spanish at Milenio Update on the Judge in the case coming soon. | ||||||
| Dámaso “El Licenciado” López Núñez has emerged as Sinaloa cartel leader Posted: 24 Feb 2015 06:50 PM PST Lucio republished from EL PAÍS posted by siskiyoukid-Translation: Dyane Jean François EL PAÍS weighs in with their theory of who is leading the Sinaloa Cartel in place of El ChapoA picture of Mexican baseball legend Benjamín Gil hangs on the wall of a barbershop where you can get a haircut for just two Dollars. The owner spends no more than five minutes on each customer, applying his clippers mercilessly to each head. Wearing cowboy boots and hats, they walk in with mops of hair and leave with military style haircuts.  As he clips away, he explains how things work around here. "He," he says as he touches up some sideburns, "already knows that you are here, sitting on this sofa." In this town called Eldorado, Dámaso "El Licenciado" López Núñez or "El Lic," one of the heirs to imprisoned drug baron Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, is invisible but occasionally pops into view. The barber points to the street, specifically to a man peering out of the window of a white van, looking around as he takes notes. Once he notices he is being observed, he starts the vehicle and disappears. The mountain is the home of the Sinaloa cartel. Farmers have been selling their marijuana and poppy crops to the executives of this "Amazon of drugs" for decades. The organization can make any delivery, anywhere, in record time. In this rocky and hostile environment, El Chapo, who was arrested almost a year ago, amassed a fortune. El Licenciado – someone who wouldn't be out of place on a company's board of directors – has focused his efforts on the city on the plain: Eldorado. The town is the most populated area of the suburbs around Culiacán and is visible on the horizon because of the smoke coming out of the sugarcane mill.  Don Dámaso died in office. He is buried in a mausoleum near the bridge – an enormous white building topped with a cross. There are security cameras on the outside of the memorial and a kitchen, air conditioning, and leather-covered seats inside. "He tried to give his kids a good education," a family acquaintance says. El Lic studied with the Carmelite Sisters before entering Universidad de Occidente to study law. In 1991, he got his first job as a police officer at the Sinaloa Attorney General's Office. According to El Universal newspaper, he even directed a program to track down fugitives from the law. He was promoted through the murky world of corrupt police precincts and eventually served in the federal prison system. He held several low-level positions while earning $600 before he was appointed to a management position at the maximum security prison in Puente Grande where El Chapo was serving time after his 1993 arrest in Guatemala. Alcohol and prostitutes soon flooded the cells and with El Lic's help, El Chapo fled in 2001. El Lic resigned from his post, citing dissatisfaction with vacation time and salary and became a full-time drug dealer. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) puts him at the top of the leadership chain within the Sinaloa cartel. In March 2012, a Virginia court accused Dámaso López of money laundering and distributing cocaine. In Eldorado he is more than just a drug dealer. He is an authority figure, imperceptible to the naked eye but present in the minds and actions of his neighbors. His men, dressed in Armani caps and Hermés vests, watch everyone who comes in and out of the area. They take down license plate numbers and share information by phone. These men used to go out into the streets on specially designated days and get trigger happy – but that tradition is now banned. Cars are no longer allowed to burn their tires and criminals are expelled from the community and sent to live in nearby towns.  The gentleman brought a band that is very well-known in Mexico here," an ex-municipal official recounts. "And he told all the local residents that they could go along for free. One man, a jealous bastard, tried to drag his wife out of the party by her hair. He got a pretty good beating out of it. No one ruins a party for El Lic." The structure of the Sinaloa cartel is a well-kept secret known only by a few members. "My impression is that the cartel has not named a successor yet," says Javier Valdez, director of the local weekly Ríodoce. "There are several regional chiefs, such as El Chapo's sons, El Mayo [Ismael Zambada] and El Lic. If one of them had tried to take control of everything, there would have been an internal war and there isn't. It's true that El Lic is a very powerful guy. He has a strong presence in the region of Eldorado with spies, vehicles that patrol the streets all day. He moves around easily here and that means he is protected." The only published picture of El Lic is a blurry image of a man with small eyes, a smooth forehead and a goatee taken 10 years ago. He has a son, Mini-lic, a kind of junior drug dealer who brags about his luxurious lifestyle on social media: leopards, guns, youths who have tattooed his name on their chests. Rumor had it that he might be the successor to El Chapo, his godfather. (above is Los Hijos Del Señor - El Licenciado") "He's a youngster who only worries about the glamorous side," an organized crime expert says. "He is not involved in the business. He is far from being a leader." The narcocorridos ballads about the life of drug bosses aggrandize him but, in Sinaloa, almost no one is what they seem. After El Chapo fell, the vain capos who once wanted to be immortalized in song now ask composers to write about their rivals so the police can jump on them. On the way to Culiacán and Eldorado, a number of memorials for victims of car accidents sit at the crossroads. One of these cement structures pays tribute to one of Lic's sons. The young man, who crashed into a ranch, was wearing a crucifix, a gift from a relative when he died. Someone tore it off him. It had to have been a thief who thinks gold has no value on the other side. But, the next day, people woke up to find a large poster hanging from one end of a street to the other. The deceased's father was making a public call for the crucifix to be returned. First, he used words. Then, he used lead. Since then, the townspeople say no one, not even vultures, would dare sniff the pockets of a corpse. |
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