Mexico's bloodshed keeps getting worse - homicides hit a new high for the 3rd month in a row

Posted by Chuck B Almada, Republished from a Business Insider article

Written by Christopher Woody

October 21, 2016

The grisly accounting continues in Mexico, as homicides hit a new high for the year in September - the third month in a row in to lodge such a record.

Nationwide, there were 2,187 homicide victims in September, exceeding the 2,155 of August and the 2,098 recorded in July. July was the first time the number of homicide victims was over 2,000 since the government began releasing that statistic at the start of 2014.

The number of homicide cases - a data point the Mexican government has released since 1997 - were 1,974 in September, which was a high for this year and the most registered since May 2012, meaning those 1,974 cases are the most recorded in a month since current President Enrique Peña Nieto took office in December 2012.

The number of homicide victims in September was a 37% increase over the number in September 2015, 1,599, and the total number of homicides recorded in the first nine months of this year, 16,747, was a 20% increase over those in the first nine months of last year, 13,938, Mexican security analyst Alejandro Hope noted on Twitter.

"Measured by daily average, September 2016 was the month with most preliminary investigations for intentional homicide since June of 2011," Hope said. 2011 and 2012 were the tail end of a period of violence that lashed Mexicostarting around 2009, a few years after then-President Felipe Calderon deployed troops throughout the country to fight drug cartels.

"Let me put it this way: there were more homicides [in September 2016] than in 11 of 12 months of 2012 and in 9 of 12 in 2011," Hope added.

The 16,747 homicide victims recorded nationwide through the first nine months of this year put the country on pace to vastly exceed the 18,673 registered through all of 2015 and the 17,324 the country saw in all of 2014, returning to homicide levels not seen since 2011.

The ongoing spike in homicides is largely driven by increasing violence among organized-crime groups involved in the drug trade.

In the parts of Mexicowhere these groups are active, the number of killing vastly outstrips more placid parts of the country.

Mexicostate, which wraps around Mexico Citylike a horseshoe, saw the most homicides in September, 185, though as Mexico's most populated state, with 16 million people, its homicide rates are typically high.

Southwest Mexico, however, has been a focal point of organized-crime-related violence.
Guerrero state saw 170 homicides. That number was down significantly from the 217 the state had in August, but it was still the second most in the country last month. Guerrero is home to extensive marijuana and opium cultivation, and its location on the coast and near the country's center has made it prize territory for traffickers.

It's thought regional groups, including the Guerreros Unidos gang involved in the disappearance of 43 students in September 2014, are vying for control of the state's eastern highlands, while other gangs and major cartel groups like the Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) are battling for control of Acapulco, a once idyllic resort city on the Pacific coast that is now one of the most violent cities in the world.

Michoacan, in southwest Mexico, saw 164 homicides last month, the second most in the state so far this year. Michoacan has long been a hotspot for cartel activity.

The brutal reign of the Knights Templar cartel sparked a popular uprising around 2014, with citizen-formed auto defensas, or self-defense groups, rising up.

That uprising, coupled with a heavy federal response, undermined the Knights Templar, but since then other groups, including the ascendant CJNG, have moved in.

In recent weeks, clashes in the state have intensified, particularly in the state's central Tierra Caliente region, as remnants of the Knight Templar, elements of the CJNG, state security forces, and others clash. A government helicopter was shot down in September.

Jalisco state, just north of Michoacan, saw 123 homicides in September, its second most this year. The state is thought to be the home turf of the CJNG, but that group has clashed with the dominant Sinaloa cartel there.

In September, it's believed that CJNG gunmen abducted at least one of incarcerated Sinaloa kingpin Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's sons.

He was released five days later, but the incident has brought the Sinaloa-CJNG competition to the fore, and Sinaloa state, farther north of Jalisco, has seen more killings and fighting between state security forces and cartel gunmen in the weeks since.

The most shocking spike in killings has come in Colima, one of Mexico's smallest states by size and population.

Nestled between Jalisco and Michoacan, Colima is home to the port of Manzanilloand is strategically valuable to any cartel trying to move product in and out of Mexico.

Colima saw 48 homicides this September, more than double the 23 it had last September and 24 times the two killings it had in September 2014.

The state's homicide rate so far this year, 58.99 per 100,000 people, is nearly five times the national average of 12.43.

The rising violence has also affected areas savaged by drug-related violence between 2009 and 2012.

Chihuahua, which borders the USand is home to Ciudad Juarez, saw its highest number of homicides so far this year in September, with 143.

This has likely been driven by violence in Ciudad Juarez, a city of some 1.3 million people and

through which highly lucrative trafficking routes pass.

Increased fighting in and around the city appears to be driven by instability within the Sinaloa cartel since Guzmán was recaptured in January as well as the reemergence of the Juarez cartel, which Guzmán's organization defeated in 2012.

The 2009 to 2012 period when the Sinaloa and Juarez cartels fought over the city made it the most violent city in the world, with more than 3,000 homicides three years in a row.

Farther west, in Baja California's Tijuana, which is also a valuable trafficking transit point, low-level
fighting between the Sinaloa cartel and the CJNG cartel have pushed up homicide levels too.

The state as a whole saw 139 killings last month, the most this year. Tijuana itself had 80 homicides in September, the most this year as well.

This isn't to say that all of Mexicohas been swept by killings.

Nayarit, tucked between Jalisco and Sinaloa on the west coast, has only had 31 killings this year.

Aguascalientesin north-central Mexicohas only seen 32, and Yucatán, Mexico's far eastern state on the Gulf of Mexico, has had just 37 killings.

States like Querétaro and Tlaxcala, which both border Hidalgo, and Campeche, which neighbors Yucatán, have had single-digit monthly homicide totals for much of this year.

In response to elevated crime levels, the Peña Nieto government said earlier this year that it would send federal police and soldiers to intervene in the 50 municipalities that had 42% of the country's homicides.

The criteria used to structure this deployment likely left out many areas with serious crime problems, Hope argued in September.

This kind of intervention also mirrors past responses to crime, such as Calderon's massive deployment in 2007, to which several years of brutal, nationwide violence has been attributed.

"The security policy continues suffering from a deficit of imagination," Hope wrote in Mexican newspaper El Universal in early September. "While that doesn't change, we are going to continue reporting frightening numbers."

Nephew of Former Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cardenas Guillen assassinated *Video with Graphic content*

Original article available at ZETA
Translated by El Wachito

Manuel Cardenas Medina, alias "El Manny", nephew of Osiel Cardenas Guillen, ex leader of Cartel del Golfo, was executed last saturday in front of his family at the gate of his residency in La Escondida, south of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.

A video of one of the security cameras of the complex, shows the moment when a gray Jetta vehicle, pulls up next to the Black Mercedes Benz that "El Manny" was driving when he stopped at the security gate of his residency.

By the side of the co-pilot, a man points a handgun towards "El Manny" of 35 years old, and shots him in the neck. Once wounded he proceeded to drive 100 meters. It was 18:44, according to the digital watch of the video.

It was then that "El Manny" lost consciousness and he crashed his vehicle, causing minor injuries to his passengers: his wife and two sons, while the Jetta drove off into the national highway and dissipated. 

Local media points out that the man executed was son of Mario Cardenas Guillen, alias "El M-1", brother of Osiel, alias "El Loco", "El Patron", "Padrino", "Memo", "El Viejon", o "El Mata Amigos", who is currently incarcerated in the United States for drug trafficking charges.

Cardenas Guillen, ex-leader of Cartel del Golfo assassinated his business partner Salvador Gomez Herrera in 1998, with the purpose of taking control over the cartel.

In March of 2003, members of the Mexican army and the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR), captured him in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. In march of 2005 the Mexican government agreed to his extradition into the United States. However, his extradition was not conducted immediately for several factors.

Finally he was sent to the United States in January of 2007, where he faced 19 charges in a Houston, Texas court. Then in July of 2009, he declared himself guilty of one charge of drug trafficking, one for money laundering and three for the extortion and attempted murder of three federal agents of United States.

 In exchange for declaring himself guilty, the ex leader of the Cartel del Golfo was absolve of other 12 charges of drug trafficking, and sentenced to 25 years and a 50 million dollar fine. 

Last April, an investigation conducted by the American newspaper "The Dallas morning news", pointed that the declaration agreement between Cardenas Guillen and the US government caused "a violent rupture" between El Cartel del Golfo and Los Zetas- who was the execution and paramilitary faction of the cartel-, and lead to the murder of thousands of persons in Mexico and along the Texas border. 

El Manny according to Breitbart Texas

During the rupture, Lorenzo Rosales Mendoza was executed in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan, last august. This individual was the ex secretary of the local town hall and a brother of Rosales Mendoza "El Tisico", founder of La Familia Michoacana and a Lieutenant at the service of Osiel Cardenas Guillen.

Baja: The Return of CAF

Translated by "Benny Juarez" for Borderland Beat- From Zeta Tijuana

 

El Javier murdered in Los Cabos

A security source revealed to ZETA that currently “there is a strange sense of calm in the south" of Baja. However, an increase in violence is expected due to the execution of  Guadalupe Acosta Lopez "El Javier" presumed leader of the sale and distribution of drugs in the Los Cabos Plaza.

His murder occurred on Friday, July 8 in the residential development Las Quintas in Culiacan, Sinaloa, event reminiscent of the murder of his predecessor Ranulfo Lopez Portillo "La muñeca" on August 29, 2015 in the same location.

These events, without a doubt, have strongly shaken the criminal organization in Baja California Sur, the last of Los Cabos ("El Javier"). People who were well known that operated for the Sinaloa Cartel, particularly for the Cell of Los Damaso, this is why, according to the police, "All signs point to a new re-shuffle and 'El Babay' (Abraham Cervantes Escareaga) could emerge as the Plaza leader in Los Cabos, fighting for control with Rene el “00” (Alfredo René Bastidas)".

The conflict started since July 31, 2014 and it has yielded many battles, totaling more than 240 executions. According to the criminal map released by military sources, "El Javier" was the visible head of the organized crime groups from the Sinaloa Cartel at the order of Damaso Lopez "El Licenciado”, along with Raul Castillo de la Rosa "El Cochi ", who was considered his armed wing for the control of the Plaza.

However, a judicial source consulted by this weekly publication, was clear to point out that in Los Cabos there is a calmness that is "suspicious", a "calm that could mean two things, one could be an agreement for the Plaza control or, it could be that they are preparing for combat, and I'm leaning more for the latter, which is the most concerning to me”, he said.

Besides "in Los Cabos no one is paying for the right to operate" Military Inquiries, concur about the lack of payment in the Los Cabos plaza, "not even in La Paz, is anyone  paying to operate since Monday (July 11).  This was since the State Preventive Police intervened and stopped payment to municipal employees, or anyone who was being paid."

On Saturday, July 9, in El Cabildo de La Paz, behind closed doors the Joint Command Police, was ratified  in which the Department of Public Safety and Municipal Transit of La Paz informed:

"Currently the sectors in which the city was divided have been merged, with the conjunction of personnel, weapons, vehicles and infrastructure, which will conduct joint patrols, where elements of both corporations will be observed,  aboard both government units and municipal, all under a state supervision " said Alvaro Orlando Gerardo Cabanillas, chief operating officer of the corporation."

But investigations suggest something even more concerning for the military. Since May 5, 2016, when they executed Luis Antonio Montoya Beltran "El Montoya," "El Artista" or "Don Carlos", listed as leader of the northern municipality of La Paz, something was not adding up, because "according to information gathered and text messages between the victim and agents under investigation, Montoya' was betrayed by state agents ", the same that will operate for the newly formed municipal Joint Command.

The imminent return of the Arellano Felix

What draws attention to the armed forces is the presence of members of the Arellano Felix Cartel (CAF), who maintain an alliance with members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) and some small cells left over from the split between cells of  “Los Mayitos”, “Los Pepillos” and “Los Damaso” from the  Sinaloa Cartel;  Juan murillo "El Josesón" or "El Tomatito Cherry".

Ines Zamudio Beltran "El Zamudio" stands out in a supposed merge with the alleged cartel of

"Fanny"

northern Baja California Peninsula. 

Authorities have not been able to identify who is in charge of the CAF in the state. In the relationship that authorities anticipate in Baja Sur they have developed avenues of investigation that started from Mulege, since it was documented that Eduardo Villavicencio Arce "El Lalo" or "El lalillo" and Luis Alberto Echeverría Valdés "El Luisillo" or "El Luisón" presumed leaders of the north Plaza, have been linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.

However, there are indications of the presence of CJNG, this is why military information points to CAF as the controlling entity.

Strategic alliance of El Mayo cells and Mencho

It was presumed this was the door which opened to the Arellano FelFelix,"while the Sinaloa Cartel was fighting for control of the “La Paz plaza". Even in late 2015 and early 2016, members of Public Security at the federal level confirmed a strategic alliance between cells of "El Mayo Zambada", from the Sinaloa Cartel, and Nemesio Oceguera Cervantes "El Mencho" to prevent other criminal groups from entering important plazas such as La Paz and Los Cabos, "of great importance to drug trafficking  to The Americans (United States)", which could tilt the balance of influence to CJNG causing the established cells in the State to “flip flags”, as criminals like to say.

According to a new criminal map of plaza distribution for drug dealing, the CAF is practically in front of the La Paz and Los Cabos Plazas, and with minimal resistance south of the state, but remains in dispute.

In this re-shuffle the following people were identified:

* Alfredo René Bastidas "El 00" who maintains absolute control of Cabo San Lucas and parts of San Jose del Cabo in Los Cabos; while in La Paz has control of the southern part of the capital (from the residential developments of La Fuente to Calafia, and parts of Santa Fe and Miramar)

* Abraham Cervantes Escareaga "El Babay" as the successor to "El Javier" in control of the plaza in San Jose del Cabo. But the surprise for the military the picture was not very clear in La Paz. After the death of Luis Antonio Montoya Beltran "El Montoya," "El Artista" or "Don Carlos" is that the leader who would command the north of the capital could be "El Abogado" an alleged leader who is close to "El Montoya". However, military sources confirmed the appearance of Arely Vizuet "La Vizuet" alleged leader of drug dealing in La Paz, leaving the structure as follows:

"The Vizuet". In charge of the northern territory that expands to residential developments  like El Progreso, Diana Laura and surroundings,  after the struggle for control of the Plaza which forced Damaso to yield on the conflict between the cells of “Los Mayitos”,” Los pepillos” and “Damaso” since 2014 until this current year.

Laura Fernanda Gonzalez Gonzalez "La Fanny" Allegedly in charge of the drug distribution in bars and nightclubs in La Paz In support of “La Vizuet". Also Identified as prostitute at the bar La Playa Bruja.

"Angelus" the known Nickname of who is presumed distributes drugs to drug dealers aligned with "La Vizuet".

Abraham Cervantes

Alfredo René Bastidas "El 00" who operates in some points from La Fuente to Calafia, and parts of Santa Fe and Miramar. In the works of logistics and support to criminal cells in La Paz, especially in the north, "El 00" was involved with a clear and marked support in the purge of Damaso from the plaza in the capital; in the area of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of La Paz, military forces arrested in June Luis Sanchez Castro, alleged operator of “El 00” "in La Paz, to kidnap rival drug dealers and to support the sale and distribution of weapons. In his phone conversations were found where he explained that he had "kidnapped" a woman.

A military source confirmed to ZETA police involvement in this re-shuffle: "Unfortunately the door was left open from the state (police), much  has been said about State commanders betraying 'El Montoya' and that's why there was retribution against Osorio (Luis Alejandro Osorio Alvarez, General Commander of the State Police who was attacked on May 13, 2016), we have even had reports of units involved in logistics, it was a very unfortunate surprise ... municipal policemen own  those cars and they have seen us, they only hang their heads. " As for what is to come, the source we consulted sees two possibilities: "The first hypothesis is that things will be quiet for a long time until another struggle for control happens, and the second one is, that the Sinaloa Cartel looks to counterattack, I don't even want to imagine this scenario.”

The Arellano Felix returned to have control of the Plaza?

"They have always existed, at first, when they lost control, the Arellano were there from the Valley (Comondú) and up. They never really left, only now it just seems that they have taken control. And so this is how the execution of 'El Javier' took place. About him it was known thanks to statements by members of his clan, arrested in Baja California Sur, that he had been operating for the criminal structure of Los Damaso for a short time from his ranch in the community of Tegoripa, municipality of Badiraguato, Sinaloa; he rarely went to Los Cabos, which was the plaza he along with his brothers controlled, he would sent the orders to his top leaders from Sinaloa.

When he was arriving aboard a luxury vehicle to the home of  relatives in the exclusive neighborhood of Las Quintas, one of the main drug dealing operators of Los Damaso in Los Cabos, Javier Guadalupe Acosta Lopez, was intercepted by gunmen who riddled him with bullets.

The armed group driving in a dark Ford Lobo truck; Acosta Lopez had no time to react when he saw the masked men who shot him, leaving him lying beside his vehicle.

According to investigators of the Ministerial Police, he was traveling with at least one other person whose identity and whereabouts are unknown, as both doors of the truck “El Javier” was driving "were left open, stuck in one of the sidewalks of the Isla Guadalupe  Street, in from of a residence with a black gate.

"El 00"

The killing of the drug dealers boss, of Damaso Lopez Serrano "El Mini Lic",  took place on Friday, July 8th, when the war which was initiated  between the factions of the Sinaloa Cartel has entered into an apparent break, according to the  State's Public Security area of coordination.

"At the ranch he will be missed," said a citizen of Badiraguato who was asked about "El Javier" whose family moved his body the day after the murder, on a plane to have a “visitation” at his ranch in the mountains and Sunday July, 10 at noon they returned to the capital for the funeral ceremony in the parish of La Lomita. After the religious homily, he was taken to the Pantheon Gardens Humaya where he was buried.

Only a couple of hours after the crime of Guadalupe Acosta Lopez, on the other side of the city of Culiacan, Sinaloa, a group of inmates of Module 10 of the State Center of Legal Consequences of Crime of Culiacan, located in the union of Aguaruto, broke into the cells of Module 9, where Rafael Gaspar Alvarado "El Rafa" age 30,  was imprisoned. They fired into the air to avoid involvement from other prisoners; he was taken to the yard and hung from an iron beam of a roof of the safety area.

The file of Alvarado says he was serving a 30-year sentence for the kidnapping of a rancher from the El Salado Region, this is where Ismael "El Mayo Zambada” is from; the kidnapping took in April 2004, but the now deceased had been arrested in California for drug trafficking and, after serving five years in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego, the anti-kidnapping police detained him after he was deported to the country and transferred him to the Aguaruto prison.

The state prosecutor's office confirmed that five inmates of Module 10 grabbed Rafael and hung him until he died of asphyxiation, according to forensic reports.

In the prison's interior the version between security officers was that "El Rafa" worked inside for the group of "El Chapo" Guzman, specifically "El Cholo" or "50", one of the highly dangerous prisoners who, along with Jesus Peña González "El Peña" and Alfonso Limón Sánchez "El Poncho" control the state penitentiary. The latter two are members of the "Mayo" Zambada faction. "El Peña" was transferred from the federal prison in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, last April, because he obtained an Amparo (Protection Injunction), and "El Poncho", one of the cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin dealers of "El Mayo" had received protection from the federal justice department since December 2015 to be moved from the maximum security prison of Altiplano to Culiacan. "El Poncho" is fighting extradition to the Federal Court of San Diego, California, in an indictment where the recently arrested Enrique Torres Inés Acosta "El Kike Torres' son of Manuel Torres Felix" El Ondeado "appears.

About the crime of "El Rafa", data collected by coordinating state security reports that his death was a result from the murder of "El Javier", intelligence information held by State authorities, indicated that the group of “Los Chapitos” conformed by Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are trying to weaken “Los Damaso”, and in turn, these are trying to strike back among their younger gunmen.

The war fronts

In the struggle being waged for the Sinaloa plazas-the crime of "El Javier" is part of this conflict, the fronts remain in the mountainous area of Badiraguato, Culiacan and Navolato. An army source revealed that the struggle between the Guzman factions against the Beltran continues on the Badiraguato Mountains, and operations are in place in the three villages where more than 250 families have been displaced due to threats of future confrontations, despite the surveillance of the Secretary of National Defense and the Navy. This war has left more than 15 dead that have not been recognized by the government of Sinaloa. According to reports of Badiraguato authorities, so far 20 out of 70 families have returned to La Tuna, not including the mother of the imprisoned leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Doña Consuelo Loera Perez. In Huixiopa 20 families out of the 50 that abandoned their homes have returned. While in Arroyo Seco, only 25 families have returned out of 60 who live in this community. The report states that 40 out of 50 families have returned to El Potrero de la Vainilla, and 20 out of 30 in La Palma, Villagers find it difficult to return because of the shootings that could unleash for both sides at any time.

They allowed violence to escalate

Meanwhile, in Baja California Sur, for members of the security council, the return of the Arellano Felix Cartel "was expected, it was too much the plaza not being controlled per say, and a resurgence in the north was pointing" for the CAF to expand as it did when it began in the eighties. Meanwhile, in a more general tone, Arturo Rubio Ruiz, president of the Citizen Council for the Care of Victims of Crime, he went straight to question the actions of local authorities: "It is a pity that whoever has the obligation to preserve security and guarantee it, which is the government does not have the tactical, technical, operational capacity and political will, and we have to depend on the cartels agreeing with each other, we are as citizens are hostages of wills beyond the control of the State ".

In other words, it seems that in BCS the cartels decide "with bullets" who claims the territory, and "this is how they reach an agreement and I wonder: Where are the authorities?

This is not easy. "Meanwhile a member of Municipal Public Security of Los Cabos stated: "We do not get into that stuff with drugs and drug dealers, we are more concerned about meeting our tasks and we barely can," with the re-shuffle that has been settling over the last two years and to date it seems uncertain whether they have reached an agreement. Those who remain in constant concern are the entrepreneurs of Los Cabos, as the US government has issued three warnings, in which they advised their citizens not to visit La Paz, mainly, but it affects the entire south destination. Therefore, through the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice there is a search for better alternatives to bring security to visitors, this is why they seek to install the so  called "Safe business button" this initiative was announced by Silvia Lupian, Council president. "The reason is to introduce the program that is in place in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, first we want to socialize the program. To help optimize time and give quality service to our citizens, either in prevention or complaints or to request either police, Fire, or Red Cross units, "he explained.

The July attacks

Sources with the Council of Public Security coordination confirmed that the recent attacks in La Paz, one in the mall Soriana La Paz and two more in the residential development Centro, were because "they did not want to work". Monday July 4th, around 9:30 pm, Carlos Manuel Geraldo Sanchez, 40 years old and a native of La Paz, was surprised early when he was about to enter Soriana La Paz; there they riddled him with three bullets. He was linked to organized crime at the service of Raul Castillo de la Rosa "El Cochi," who recruited killers for this character.

On July 6th, in the neighborhood of Marquez and Ramirez of El Centro, Jose Alberto Quinones Marquez, 35, a native of Mazatlan, Sinaloa was chased and gunned down in broad daylight; He was identified as a narco dealer at the service of Los Damaso and exactly on the day he was shot, although a weapon was not found, witnesses claim to have seen him firing against his aggressors; in addition three cell phones and cash were found on him. He received five bullet wounds.

On July 7th at 11:00 pm, in the Heroes of Independence and Rosales streets in El centro, Nolberto Lazcano Rivera was executed with eight shots of 9 mm caliber gun; He was 27 years old and was a native of Badiraguato, Sinaloa; sources indicated that this young drug dealer was way too exposed with weapons and drugs, "he was too visible." Besides he came and went without a fixed place and "to his bad luch, he never sided with any particular group, he was always in the middle and it cost him.”

"CAF's return was to be expected, when there was so much disorganization for command control by the cells of the Sinaloa Cartel scrambling with Beltran Leyva cells, Zetas, CJNG and even Caballeros Templarios, according to records in federal corporations. But more than just a return the Arellano Felix Cartel is taking command because “they always existed” and now has found the right time to control the important points in the traffic of drugs.

Z40 Nephew: Zetas leader Kiko Trevino, Texas arraignment hearing October 11

CEM for Borderland Beat

This is supposedly a foto of "Kiko" we are not 100% sure

Juan Francisco Trevino Chavez, alias “Kiko” will be arraigned on October 11, 2016.  Kiko is the nephew of Miguel Trevino and Omar Trevino, and is presumed to have moved into the premier leader position, after the arrests of his uncles in Coahuila and Nuevo Leon.

When his uncles were arrested a split occurred within the Los Zetas cartel.  Kiko has led the “CDN” (cartel de noreste) and the splinter group is called “Vieja Escuela Z” (Old School Zetas)

He was arrested on September 28, in Baytown Texas, a city located on the gulf coast, about 25 miles from Houston.  Rafael de la Garza and Hilda Morales are his defense attorneys.

Kiko is the son of the eldest Trevino brother, Juan Francisco Trevino, who was released two years ago after serving a 20 year sentence in the United States.

The younger Juan, is known to be a brutal leader, evident by the horrific violence that has plagued Tamaulipas since the clash of the two groups.  His uncles kept him in check while they were at the helm, once he began as premier leader,  grotesque killings and dismemberments  returned and becoming the norm once again, much like when Heriberto Lazcano (Lazca) was alive and in charge of sicarios.

Another possible foto of Kiko

Kiko operated out of Nuevo Laredo Tamaulipas, and Coahuila.  CDN still remains prominent in the state of Coahuila, known as the Zetas “home state”, since their split from CDG.  Zetas have been allowed to operate freely in the state thanks to pay offs to police and state politicos.  One notorious former governor said to have been in collusion with Zetas is Humberto Moreira. Ironically, Lazca ordered the murder of Humberto's son, Eduardo “Lalo” Moreira in Acuna, Coahuila.  This was a settling of scores, as another Trevino nephew was killed by state police the day prior.  Mantas were hung warning “nephew for nephew”.  Because Humberto was no longer governor, his brother Rueben was and was blamed for deploying state police to Piedras Negras which ended in the death of the nephew.  Hence “Nephew for Nephew”

  Arrest Warrant Kiko Leader of CDN Zetas by Chivis Martinez on Scribd

Oddity

U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. was assigned to the case for years.  But he resigned on September 19th  in the wake of a sexual misconduct case against him. 

A judge was assigned to take over the case, that Judge is Robert Pitman,  (left) who was previously the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas.  While in that position he was the lead attorney for the U.S. in its Austin courtroom case against the Zetas, regarding the horse racing money laundering charges.  Borderland Beat covered the entire case from the courtroom. Use your search bar to access the archive posts. Jose Trevino, another of Kiko's uncles was one of the main targets in that case which involved half dozen defendants. 

As judge, Pitman will have a much different role in this Zeta trial.  One wonders if former Zeta leader “El Mamito”, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, might once again be a star witness for the prosecution.  If so, it will become very interesting as it was in the first Zeta trial.

That of course is if it even goes to trial.

Click on image to enlarge

   Juan Trevino CDN Leader Indictment BB2016

El Chapo Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel vs CJNG War Erupts

Posted by Chuck B Almada Republished from Inquisitr
By Elizabeth Gail (Inquisitr)
Sunday 2 October, 2016

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has done a great job of growing the influence of his cartel over the years, with its operations extending to overseas markets such as Europe and the Philippines. But since he's currently in prison, he has left a power vacuum that is problematic to fill. This has made rival cartels bolder in attempts to take over territories controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel, his organization.

And just recently, one of the fastest growing drug trafficking outfits in Mexico, the Jalisco New
Generation Cartel (CJNG), kidnapped one of El Chapo Guzman's son, Jesus Alfredo Guzman. The move was believed to have been undertaken as a warning to the Sinaloa Cartel's leadership, and a way to demonstrate that the CJNG had the means to intimidate the top brass.

Although Alfredo was released about a week after the kidnapping, it has been speculated that he was used as a bargaining chip to gain more narco-trafficking routes to the United States. The following is an excerpt on this from Fox News.

“Seven gunmen swept into La Leche restaurant in Puerto Vallarta's hotel district early Monday, taking the 16 people gathered there by surprise. Without firing a shot, they marched six men out.
“In a flash, 29-year-old Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar became a valuable potential bargaining chip - or a high-profile casualty - in the cartel turf battles that are wreaking havoc in large swaths of Mexico. Analysts say Jalisco New Generation could try to use him as leverage to win territory or other gains from what has been the country's dominant gang.”

And now, just a month after the incident, the two most dominant cartels in Mexico, The Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa cartel are reported to be entangled in a war to dominate the American heroin market.

They have also been involved in violent conflicts in narco-trafficking corridors in Mexico such as Colima, Michoacan, Baja California Sur, and Baja California. According to Russell K. Baer, spokesperson for the Drug Enforcement Administration, the two have recently conflicted over smuggling routes and areas of influence within the United States.

One of the main indicators of the move to increase heroin supplies in the US is the recent drug bust that led to the discovery of a drug trafficking ring that moved the drug from Mexico to the East Coast via Arizona. The following is an excerpt of the report by Insight Crime on this.

“On September 23, law enforcement agencies in New York and Massachusetts announced a major bust of a nationwide heroin trafficking ring that allegedly moved drugs from Mexico to Arizona and on to East Coast markets. The same day, the Treasury Department blacklisted several individuals linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, including Eliseo Imperial Castro, the nephew of Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada Garcia.”

The number of heroin seizures has also gone up, indicating a shift in the market towards heroin. The drug has for a long time has been supplied to the East Coast by the Colombians. But according to the report, the Colombians are slowly losing their influence in the heroin trade game as they no longer control the streets. However, they are still the main suppliers of cocaine to the Mexicans who in turn have extensive drug distribution networks in America.

In other news, El Chapo Guzman's sons are believed to have been behind a recent attack on a military convoy. The incident happened in Culiacan, Sinaloa, El Chapo Guzman's territory, and was apparently to rescue one of the Sinaloa cartel's operatives who was being escorted by the authorities. The convoy was apparently attacked using high powered guns and grenades leading to the death of five soldiers; while 10 ten others were wounded.

The suspect, Julio Oscar Ortiz Vega was said to have been rescued. He is believed to be a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel. According to the Defense Department, the man had been picked up by the soldiers after a shootout in Badiraguato. He was apprehended while his accomplices fled.

Despite BAN, Los Tigres Del Norte Play NarcoCorridos at the Gov't Palace

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat-RIODOCE Sept 16, 2016
Article by Miriam Ramirez

In Sinaloa, with a dedication to “The Boss", Los Tigres del Norte kicked off the national holiday known as " El Grito ", the 206^th  anniversary of the Mexican Independence, with some of their most famous Narcocorridos , this despite the ban that exists in the state against music that glorifies violence.

Just a week ago, the state government denied permission for a presentation by Calibre 50 and Gerardo Ortiz arguing that both groups perform music of the genre of "altered movement" and in Sinaloa there does not exist the conditions under which they could perform.

However, a couple of days later it was announced that Los Tigres del Norte would perform, who are famous for their songs that make tribute to drug traffickers.  In response, Raul Perez Miranda, general Secretary of the government, said that the musicians would respect the agreement.

However, it did not turn out that way.

The night of Sept 15th, the crowd gathered in the main concourse of the Governmental Palace, perhaps  more excited at the prospect of the free concert by the legendary group, than the El Grito itself.

The fireworks ended as Govenor Mario Lopez Valdez made " El Grito " about 11:30 pm and the group famous for their Norteno style music began to play. The concert lasted until 1:30 am.

“We are very excited to be here in our homeland, we will play everything that they want or ask of us ", said the leader of Los Tigres at the beginning of the show.

“Golpes de Corazon" /Beating Heart, "La Puerta Negra" / The Black Door" La Mesa de Rincon "The Table in the Corner” and their latest single "El Atuad "/The Casket,  resounded throughout the public concourse.

They sang the lyrics to" Contraband and Betrayal” and the thousands of Sinaloans gathered sang along with the lyrics of " We left San Isidro and from Tijuana Emilio Varela and Camelia , the Texan, brought the truck with the tires full of weed ."

But it was "The Boss of Bosses", the successful song by Los Tigres that ignited the crowd. Before beginning the song it was expected they would speak of the famous drug trafficker. Los Tigres del Norte announced on the microphone that the song was especially dedicted to “The Boss ".

Sinaloa is among the three most violent states in the country because of the conflicts between the drug cartels as they dispute the production, the trafficking routes and the commerce of drugs. During the six year Administration of Mario Lopez Valdez more than 7000 murders and 2000 missing have been recorded.

Jefe De Jefes Boss of Bosses)

I'm the Boss of Bosses gentlemen,

I respect all levels

And my name and my photograph

Never going to look on paper,

Because my journalist loves me

And if you lose my friendship.

Many chickens just born,

I want to fight with the rooster,

If you could be up to me,

Well, it would take many years

And I will not leave the job,

Where the way I ordered.

My work and courage has cost me,

Handle with many I have,

Many want to climb my height,

Nomas looked to be falling,

They wanted to scratch my crown,

Those who try have been dying.

I sail under water

And also fly to the height

Many believe that the government is looking for me,

Others say it is a lie,

I enjoy nomas from above,

Well, I like that just get confused.

In the accounts takes a rule

From the one to get to the hundred

The man who wants to be right

What is taught to look at their level

But talent does not seek greatness

Because you'll never have.

I'm the Boss of Bosses gentlemen,

And say not by implication,

Many great I ask for favors,

Because they know I'm the best,

Have sought the shade of the tree,

For them not to drive the sun.

Acapulco: Human Remains Left As An Order of Tacos

By: Uriel Sánchez | Translated by Valor for Borderland Beat

Acapulco, Guerrero, September 12, 2016- The mutilated hands of a person were found on a disposable plate on 4^th Street and Mexico Avenue in the neighborhood of Bellavista.

A phone call to the emergency number 066 warned of the finding as police rushed to the scene to verify the information.

Upon arriving at the location, a disposable plate was found with a lid, and under the lid was a pair of hands with radishes, onions, and cilantro, as if it were an order of tacos.

The police cordoned off the area while staff from the Attorney General's Office of Guerrero conducted the relevant proceedings, to then order the transfer of the human remains to the medical forensic service.

Source: Quadratin 

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