"With the goal of safeguarding the well-being and tranquility of Culiacn society, officials in the security Cabinet decided to suspend the actions," he said. An employee who answered the phone at the hotel said the shooting occurred on the beach near the facility. [1] Benjamin Smith, The Rise and Fall of Narcopopulism: Drugs, Politics, and Society in Sinaloa, 19301980, Journal for the Study of Radicalism, ii (2013) In a country that has suffered more than a decade of violence at the hands of powerful drug cartels, the situation in Zacatecas, as well as violence-plagued states like Michoacn and Tamaulipas, shows that neither the head-on drug war launched by former President Felipe Caldern in 2006, nor the softer hugs not bullets approach of current President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador have managed to break Mexicos cycle of violence. In the tourist town of Taxco, south of Mexico City, soldiers fought a 40-minute gun battle with alleged cartel hitmen that left 15 people dead. The battle for Zacatecas is part of the larger war to dominate the fentanyl market, which is the largest source of money for the cartels in the United States, said Mike Vigil, former head of international operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. WebA commando of drug gang gunmen on Thursday stormed ashore at a beach on Mexico's resort-studded Caribbean coast in front of luxury hotels and executed two drug dealers If we dont manage to pacify Mexico, regardless of what has been done, we are not going to be able to historically prove our administration, the president said earlier this month. For the first time in years, the drug trade in Nayarit received global media attention. Earlier this month, a doctor was killed in neighboring Jerez for not stopping. The cartel is now splintered into small, competing gangs. 21 das de prueba gratuita de nuestro curso de francs online, Mejore su ingls con EL PAS con 15 minutos al da, Disfrute de nuestras lecciones personalizadas, breves y divertidas, Mejore su italiano con EL PAS con 15 minutos al da, Las mejores oportunidades hablan alemn. Nayarits hugely important agricultural sector has made the state a natural stronghold of the PRI, and in particular of PRI strongmen of a particularly brash and populist bent; only two non-PRI governors have ever run the state (once between 1999-2005, while in 2017 the state flipped to current president Lpez Obradors insurgent MORENA party), while the PRIs stranglehold on municipal-level politics has been even more complete. WebJuly 25, 2021 VALPARASO, Mexico (AP) When they heard gunfire in the valley, residents locked their doors and cowered inside their homes. The dramatic shooting attack sent tourists scrambling for cover at the resort The difference between a state being a venue for drug production, trafficking, and conflicts between rival cartels, and one in which the cartels have actually taken control of the local authorities (or in which the authorities have in fact become narcos themselves), is an inherently political one. Rather, it was an organization that not only controlled drug trafficking in Nayarit between 2011 and 2017, but also established close ties with much of the states political elite. Ulyses Ramirez, a cook there, says eight windows shattered but no customers were hurt. Others just stayed inside. Lpez Obradors party just won the governorship in Zacatecas, but it remains to be seen if coordination with federal authorities will improve. If Sinaloans dominated the higher echelons of the Nayarits drug trade, from the 1980s growing numbers of Nayarit natives also began to move from drug production into the more profitable business of trafficking. He became municipal president of Tepic in 2008, and succeeded Gonzlez to the state governorship in 2011, using the PRIs impressive local political machine, together with a carefully cultivated cowboy image, and assurances that only he could put a stop to the violence then wracking the state, to appeal to Nayarits beleaguered and predominantly rural electorate. Indeed, it would appear that their collective successes were sufficient to attract the attention of Mexicos Secretary of Defense, General Cienfuegos Zepeda, who decided he wanted a share for himself. The H-2 Cartel was not some minor group that somehow managed to bribe the countrys top security official. hide caption. ", Mexico Seems To Favor Sinaloa Cartel In Drug War. On The Trail Of Mexico's Vicious Sinaloa Cartel. WebThirteen Mexican police officers and investigators have been killed in an ambush as they travelled through a rural region marking the latest attack on law enforcement by brazen to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about Resuelve los ltimos Crucigramas de Mambrino, Juega a nuestros Sudoku para Expertos y mejora da a da tu nivel, Juega a las nuevas Sopas de letras clsicas y temticas de EL PAS. He used all of the forces at his command to give H-2 complete control of drug trafficking in the state: according to witnesses in Compostela, for example, every week Polica Nayarit officers would escort a truck full of H-2 gunmen into their town to help them to disappear people. Veytia also made sure that any H-2 members who were arrested were always quickly freed. The Mexico Violence Resource Project is a collaborative effort housed at UC San Diegos Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies. Dramatic videos of the two-hour battle were widely shared online and broadcast on national television, including footage of a naval helicopter gunship raining fluorescent red fire down on a safehouse. Nathaniel Morris is researcher at University College London and holds a Ph.D. in history from Oxford University. hide caption. This illicit trade was dominated by Sinaloans, although in many cases they operated from Guadalajara, the state capital of Jalisco. WebHctor Luis Palma Salazar (born April 29, 1960), commonly known as "El Gero Palma", is a Mexican former drug trafficker and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel alongside Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn and Ismael Zambada Garca. This Tuesday, a series of clashes between presumed hitmen and agents of different security corporations in Tepic, in the WebOn April 22, 2010, cartel lieutenant Gerardo Alvarez-Vazquez was captured on the outskirts of Mexico City; the U.S. had been offering a $2 million U.S. bounty for his arrest. With a total area of a little under 30,000 km2, Nayarit is roughly the size of Massachusetts, and 23rd out of Mexicos 32 federal entities in terms of size. In these times, These kind of filth will will only end when EL PUEBLO (THE PEOPLE) stand up. While it is too early to know the full story, according to court documents Cienfuegos advised Patrn Snchez about US investigations into his activities; as alerted him to the presence of informants within his organization (which led Patrn Snchez to order at least one murder); and made sure his subordinates in the Mexican security forces refrained from interfering in the H-2 cartels operations, including kidnappings, torture, jail-breaks, the trafficking of drugs and weapons, and dozens of murders. Sandoval was a cowboy in other senses too. Although the drug trade in Nayarit operated with the direct involvement of government representatives at all levels, the army occasionally attacked traffickers and often arrested, tortured and/or imprisoned peasants caught cultivating poppies and marijuana. Joaquin called the attack "a serious blow to the development and security of the state putting the image of the state at grave risk.". This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. After the brutal murder of his family ordered by his boss Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo, Palma engaged in a string of vicious crimes to He specializes in modern Mexican history, and is currently studying the connections between the Mexican Revolution of 1910-140, and the Drug War wracking the country today. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the, The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star It seems that nowhere in the country is immune. Last Wednesday, he announced a special strategy to address the cities with the most murders, among them Fresnillo: more military presence and more social development. The strength of the PRI political machine in a small, provincial but strategic agricultural state enabled an openly corrupt political clique to cut lucrative deals with local drug traffickers. In Nayarit, he declared, there was no room for organized crime. Homicides fell 75 percent in four years. Public shoot-outs between rival cartel gunmen grew rarer, and by 2016, Nayarit ranked at No 2 on the Mexico Peace Index, and was lauded by President Pea Nieto as an example of PRIista policy success. One town is controlled by Sinaloa, the next by Jalisco, the next Sinaloa again, said a community leader, who like more than a dozen people interviewed requested anonymity to avoid repercussions. But this fall, the arrest of Mexicos former secretary of defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, dragged this small and unassuming state into the spotlight. Agents of the State Prosecutors Office and the Puerto Vallarta Police installed a checkpoint at the entrance of the city after a violent gun battle broke out on Saturday, March 20th, in Rincn de Guayabitos, Nayarit. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. Several cartels are fighting for the area's lucrative retail drug trade, including the Jalisco cartel and the a gang allied with the Gulf cartel. But it now appears that Sandovals was not the only name Veytia shared with U.S. authorities. In 2020 Mexico had the highest number of homicides in the countrys history, there were 17,439 murders, a 1.7% increase but most of the deaths in Mexico are due to fighting between cartels and if you are not part of the cartel then you are probably safe. For Guadalajara-based Sinaloan capos like Ruperto Beltrn Monzn in the 1960s, Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo in the 1980s, and Hctor El Gero Palma in the early 1990s, maintaining control over Nayarit, whose roads connected their native state with their new homes, was therefore doubly important. The German Foreign Office issued a travel advisory about the violence, advising its citizens "if you are currently in the Tulum or Playa del Carmen area, do not leave your secured hotel facilities.". As frustration with the drug war grows, Calderon this week tried to rally the Mexican people behind the effort. There were children," Ramirez says. From having the second-lowest crime rate in Mexico during the first two months of 2017, Nayarit was soon the setting for public shoot-outs between Beltrn Leyva remnants and the invading CJNG, the latter now backed by Veytias successor as state attorney general, Javier Herrera Valle. Mexicos federal government defends its policy of targeting the root causes of violence poverty, corruption, impunity with social programs while deploying the National Guard and soldiers. The day they (soldiers) leave, we know from experience that quickly the criminal groups are going to fight over territory, said Eleuterio Ramos, Valparasos worried mayor. In Nayarit, he declared, there was no room for organized crime.. Since 1970, eighty percent of Mexican tobacco has been grown in the vast plantations of the Nayarit coast, pulling in migrant workers from across central and western Mexico. [1] With any case against Cienfuegos now reliant on the information available to the Mexican prosecutors officewhich, just days before Cienfuegos release, issued an arrest warrant for a former governor of Nayarit also accused of cooperation with the H-2 Cartelit would seem that the Narco-Nayarit connection has never been more worthy of serious analysis. His sons have reportedly taken over the Sinaloa drug cartel, considered Mexico's most powerful organized crime syndicate. The Tulum gunfight also apparently broke out between two groups that operate street-level drug sales in the area, according to prosecutors. Alleged drug dealers of the Sinaloa cartel are escorted by policemen in Mexico City following their arrests earlier this year. In less than eight years, he went from self-proclaimed rags to being one of Nayarits richest men, or, to use a measure more in keeping with his cowboy image, from having two horses, [to] 800 pure-bred Andalusians, which he kept on a luxurious 17-hectare ranch complete with an artificial, palm-tree lined lake. On Monday, Calderon published a 5,000-word defense of the strategy in several newspapers. When Sandoval acceded to the state governorship he named Veytia the states assistant attorney general but never appointed anyone as head of the state justice department, leaving Veytia its de facto chief. WebIn Nayarit, he declared, there was no room for organized crime. Homicides fell 75 percent in four years. Public shoot-outs between rival cartel gunmen grew rarer, and by 2016, A rumor circulated that the cartels were forcing youth snatched from the communities to work for them. And as once the state provided a stronghold from which Patrn Snchez was able to expand his influence over the entire Beltrn Leyva organization, it is rumored that Nayarit is today the headquarters of Audias Flores Silva, alias El Jardinero, widely seen to be the second-in-command of the Jalisco-based organization. But there is more to the story. Bullets ripped through the children's play area at the adjacent Burger King. ..i dont understand all of these killings and no end to it. The legacy of this political history and the facts of geography together define Nayarits place in the modern Mexican drug trade. Government forces guard the entrance of hotel after an armed confrontation on Thursday near Puerto Morelos, Mexico. and the police showed up later and made a big show of showing upand made empty promisesy esta es acabo, Thanks for covering this. WebMEXICO CITY Police have discovered at least 33 human skulls buried in western Mexico, authorities said on Tuesday, the latest grisly find in a region that has suffered The operation was a joint effort between Veytias police forces and the Navy, a surprising partnership given previous events. [47] On October 15, Cienfuegos was detained in Los Angeles on charges including conspiracy to distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana in the United States, allegedly working on behalf of the Nayarit-based H-2 Cartel. Cienfuegos denied the charges against him, and after a month of behind-the-scenes wrangling, US attorney general William Barr decided that . WebPuerto Vallarta and Nayarit on alert after army kills cartel leader April 23, 2022 9447 Sal N El Chopas, leader of the Jalisco Nueva Generacin Cartel (CJNG) and accused of This allowed them, together, to institutionalize corruption, embezzlement, land-grabs and violence, as well as drug production and trafficking, in the area under their joint control. Through the project Touring the Southeast. The strategies that the Mexican government has implemented over the last 15 years have not worked, he said. More troops would be welcome in Zacatecas, though the effectiveness of their patrols is debated. Really it is a nice blog, I would like to tell you that you have given me much knowledge about it. And it was from this position that he was able to consolidate a pre-existing relationship with the head of the Beltrn Leyva cartel in NayaritJuan Francisco Patrn Snchez, whose codenameH-2would eventually become shorthand for the criminal organization in the state. Mejore su francs con solo 15 minutos al da. ", Sington tweeted "I've never been so scared, literally shaking," before adding "I'm fine now, barricaded in my hotel room for the night, just trying to decompress.". Juan Francisco Patrns brother Jess, who also played a leading role in the organization, was arrested six years ago. But what Veytia had actually done was to hand over the drugs market [to the mafia]. Smoke from burning cars rises in Culiacn, Mexico, on Thursday, after an intense gunfight between security forces and gunmen linked to the Sinaloa drug cartel. According to the national newspaper El Universal, 96 people were killed on Monday alone, the highest daily death toll since Calderon declared war on the cartels in December 2006. Although explicit drug war violence such as inter-cartel warfare and gunfights between soldiers and traffickersdeclined during Veytias time as Nayarits security chief, crime and violence did not in themselves disappear. With 239 murders per 100,000 residents, Fresnillo has the highest perception of insecurity in Mexico: more than 96% of its population lives in fear, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography. All of these activities were overseen by his chief ally and enforcer, Edgar Veytia: the same man charged with the local prosecution of the Mexican states war on the drug cartels., State attorney general Veytia was the man who made good on Sandovals promises to halt the killing in Nayarit: the sheriff to the governors cowboy. He was the very image of a Mexican lawman, with a round, jowly face and thick mustache, a pistol shoved into his belt. That same year, the Beltrn Leyvas reached a deal with Los Zetas, El Chapos chief rivals and lords of the Gulf drug routes. And these practices were so profitable that officials at the heart of President Pea Nietos PRI federal governmentindeed, the commander-in-chief of the same army prosecuting Mexicos war on drug traffickingdecided to get in on the action themselves and take their own cut of the reward. [2] Jean Meyer, Breve historia de Nayarit (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econmica/El Colegio de Mxico, 2000) Some 200 armed men had just looted a gas station, according to a witness, and the shooting would continue for hours as an equal number from an opposing group confronted them. That Edgar Veytia was eventually arrested, tried and convicted for his part in this story, and that an arrest warrant has since been issued for Roberto Sandoval, is somewhat heartening. Subsequently, in early 2019, the US Treasury Department applied sanctions to Sandoval and his wife and two adult children who have acted or purported to act on his behalf by holding his ill-gotten assets in their names.. With dozens of other people, Garcia took refuge in a low-end clothing store where people can buy $10 soccer jerseys on credit. Several police officers surrendered and were arrested by the marines, but unsurprisingly all were released from a Tepic jail shortly afterwards. Far from a law enforcement hero, however, Edgar Veytia was in fact the very picture of a miscreant. The brothers accused El Chapo of betrayal, and this triggered a bloody vendetta. He used all of the forces at his command to give H-2 complete control of drug trafficking in the state: according to witnesses in, In October 2013, Veytia even provided security at a wedding at Santa Mara del Oro lake, where Juan Francisco Patrn Snchez and Hctor Beltrn Leyva, were entertained by famous, Both sides gained from this partnership: Sandoval grew extremely rich, as did Veytia, who earned money from embezzlement, kidnapping, murder-for-hire, extorsion, and the seizure of peasants lands. In recent months, the Jalisco cartel kidnapped several members of an elite state police force, tortured them to obtain names and addresses of fellow officers and began hunting down and killing police at their homes, on their days off, in front of their families. "There was a lot of panic. In the nearby city of Fresnillo, police later found the bullet-ridden bodies of four women and three men. And the killing continued the next day. If this had been a lone shootout in this city of 300,000 people, residents might have written it off as a fluke and moved on. 'The cartels are not just a U.S.-Mexico problem I think the way most people see them,' a former Texas Public Safety officer said. The H-2 Cartel was not some minor group that somehow managed to bribe the countrys top security official. The next morning, a joint force of marines and Veytias officers killed the Beltrn Leyva organizations second-in-command, Daniel Isaac Silva Grate (codenamed H-9), in an ambush in another part of Tepic. Shortly after the confrontation, gunmen some wearing black masks took off on a rampage, driving through the city in trucks firing heavy caliber weapons. They sometimes beat people or tie them up regardless to instill fear. Accounts on social networks by witnesses said Patrn offered resistance when he realized he was surrounded and troops called in an Apache helicopter. Cristbal Castaeda, the public safety director for Sinaloa state, told Milenio television that people had been wounded in the firing, but gave no figures. The next morning, a joint force of marines and Veytias officers killed the Beltrn Leyva organizations second-in-command, Daniel Isaac Silva Grate (codenamed H-9), in an ambush in another part of Tepic. After 30 people were gunned down last weekend, the governor seized control of the local police, called on Calderon to send in more federal police and shut public schools statewide. In August 2019, just a month before Veytias final sentencing, an indictment was filed in the same Court of the, Cienfuegos surprise detention, and even more unexpected release, is emblematic of the deeply. It split with its enforcers, Los Zetas, by 2010, and the fallout between the two groups had been called the most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico, according to a 2019 CRS report. Guests at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun posted videos and photos of tourists hiding or nervously milling in the lobby and hallways of hotels during the incident. Burning vehicles littered the streets as the gunmen faced off against the National Guard, army and police. the victims were just trying to make a living, working in what was available. To order Some areas of Mexico have increased risk of crime and kidnapping. pic.twitter.com/sLXtMeUTHk. All Sandovalor simply el Roberto, as he is still known in Nayarit began his political career under the patronage of PRI state governor Ney Gonzlez (2005-2011). "About 15 people arrived on the beach to assassinate two men who had showed up saying they were the new dealers in the area," the head prosecutor of Quintana Roo state, Oscar Montes de Oca, told the Radio Formula station. 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There were 15 days that we didnt go out for anything, said Claudina Betancourt, a nurse born in San Juan Capistrano. Since then, H-2 and his men had fought hard against El Chapos group to maintain control of Nayarit and found a vital ally in Veytia, who from 2011 helped them to locate and assassinate their rivals. Montes de Oca said eight suspects in the Tulum attack had been detained in possession of firearms. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Some people were locked in the supermarket for more than a hour. Disfruta con nuestros Crucigramas para expertos! Patrn assumed a leading role in the organization following the arrests and deaths of the four Beltrn Leyva brothers. Residents said he had been helping them get electricity back after an armed group cut the power to some ranches. The battle for control of Guanajuato, an industrial and farming hub, have continued despite increased efforts by police and the National Guard to contain the fighting. Motorists reported on social networks the closure of federal highway 200 in the town of rsula Galvn, where barriers were reported, forcing people to turnaround. With a total area of a little under 30,000 km2, Nayarit is roughly the size of Massachusetts, and 23rd out of Mexicos 32 federal entities in terms of size. On 9 February, Patrn Snchez and seven of his men were killed in a joint operation in suburban Tepic. That Edgar Veytia was eventually arrested, tried and convicted for his part in this story, and that an arrest warrant has since been issued for Roberto Sandoval, is somewhat heartening. A young hepless male sits inside a vehicle su "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat Ex-con and comedian Johnny Mitchell explains what it's really like to sell weed for the Mex "HEARST" for Borderland Beat In a confusing early morning event, Army soldiers shot five men dead in the border city of Nuevo Lare "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat In the municipality of Matamoros, the Grupo Escorpin, a faction of the Gulf Cartel, shows off "HEARST" for Borderland Beat The Attorney General announced that El Mayos Tijuana lieutenant, El Aquiles, organized the street e Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels, Federal Operation Raid To Capture "Guano" Guzman, Convicted Dealer Exposes What It's Like to Work With Mexican Cartels, Five Killed in Nuevo Laredo, CDN Hitman Among the Dead, Human Rights Violation Allegations, Matamoros, Tamaulipas: Grupo Escorpin, Armed Wing of the Gulf Cartel Interrogates Several Captives, Mayo's Aquiles Had El Lobo's Lawyer Killed, says Attorney General. With his return to Mexico, though, Cienfuegos fate is now tied far more tightly to that disgraced ex-governor Sandovalcurrently a fugitive and likely still on Mexican soilthan it is to Veytia. The lack of control that the country is Durazo said the security forces took control of the house and found Guzmn, who is also known as "El Ratn," inside. Although the drug trade in Nayarit operated with the direct involvement of government representatives at all levels, the army occasionally attacked traffickers and often arrested, tortured and/or imprisoned peasants caught cultivating poppies and marijuana. Last month, a priest was killed in crossfire on the highway. Cienfuegos surprise detention, and even more unexpected release, is emblematic of the deeply intertwined nature of military power, political influence and economic opportunity both licit and illicitin Mexico. If Sinaloans dominated the higher echelons of the Nayarits drug trade, from the 1980s growing numbers of Nayarit natives also began to move from drug production into the more profitable business of trafficking. It was this indictment that led to the Cienfuegos arrest in the United States and revealed his place in the Nayarit corruption story. " he says. The operation was a joint effort between Veytias police forces and the Navy, a surprising partnership given previous events. Eduardo Verdugo/AP That Cienfuegos has meanwhile escaped what looked to be an inevitable life sentence in the US, even as the Mexican authorities have moved against his political partner in crimehighlights the sheer power of the Mexican army. I imagine the situation at wash center at that time. Since 1970, eighty percent of Mexican tobacco has been grown in the vast plantations of the Nayarit coast, pulling in migrant workers from across central and western Mexico.[2]. Just five weeks later, however, Veytia miscalculated or was perhaps himself betrayed and on one of his twice-monthly trips to San Diego to visit his family was detained at the US border. He grew up a dual citizen in San Diego, California, before heading south into Mexico to begin a career of violent crime. Rather, it was an organization that not only controlled drug trafficking in Nayarit between 2011 and 2017, but also established close ties with much of the states political elite. He says people heard the shots and started running. Days after the June 24 shootout, authorities found two more corpses, raising the death count to 20. It would seem that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who now moved into Nayarit, Just five weeks later, however, Veytia miscalculated or was perhaps himself betrayed and on one of his twice-monthly trips to San Diego to visit his family was detained at the US border. He said he has not been directly threatened, but he has the same fear as everyone. On 9 February, Patrn Snchez and seven of his men were killed in a joint operation in suburban Tepic. He used his power to amass enormous landholdings and expand his own personal ranching operations. Montes de Oca's office said earlier in a statement that "there was a clash between rival groups of drug dealers on a beach" near the hotels.