Ovidio Guzmn was indicted in 2018 by a grand jury in Washington, along with a fourth brother, for the alleged trafficking of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. Gulf Cartel Based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, it started in 1920. Cinco sedes disponibles, Licenciatura Ejecutiva en Derecho. A national newspaper reported that on Monday 96 people were assassinated in drug-related violence across the country the highest daily death toll since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels in December 2006. Media outlets in Mexico later reported that for government had released the fugitive. Staff hustled us into hidden rooms behind the kitchens. A 2014 photo of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn being escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his capture. 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 norteo singer Remmy Valenzuela. See state summaries and advisory levels below for information on your specific travel destination. #Ms: El enfrentamiento inici en el Sector Tres Ros, pero se ha extendido a otros puntos de #Culiacn. 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. 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. 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. Goodness me, why people killed each other in world. More than 23,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Calderon took office 3 1/2 years ago. 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. I imagine the situation at wash center at that time. Some 200 armed men had The administration of President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has pinned its hopes on the so-called Maya Riviera, where it has announced plans to build an international airport and a stop for the Maya train, which will run in a loop around the Yucatan peninsula. The bullet-ridden bodies of the cartel members were discovered in the north-central state of Zacatecas. During the two years that attorney general Herrera Valle spent as the security chief, an estimated 1,500 killings were linked to the states new drug war, as well as close to another 1,400 disappearances. When the shootouts rumble across the plains dotted with ranches, farmers often cant go out to feed their livestock. In one case he gained a building in an up-and-coming tourism hotspot that was later valued at five million pesos (a quarter million dollars), and in another, threatened to have the farmers of La Peita de Jaltemba, on the Nayarit coast, murdered unless they gave him control of communally-owned village lands. Now Zacatecans, including in the state capital of the same name, have awoken on several occasions to corpses dangling from overpasses. Sam Quinones has revealed that the traffickers who dominate the heroin trade in the US Midwest are all predominantly from Nayarit. In the third mass homicide to jolt Mexico in less than one week at least 15 people were killed in It is ironic, then, that it was precisely the Federal governments militarized crackdown on the cartelsand the extreme and generalized violence that accompanied itthat allowed the so-called H-2 cartel to extend its influence to the heart of the government itself; first by gaining unprecedented sway over state authorities in Nayarit, and from there suborning General Cienfuegos Zepeda, the very man supposedly leading Mexicos fight against organized crime. 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 [2] Jean Meyer, Breve historia de Nayarit (Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Econmica/El Colegio de Mxico, 2000) pic.twitter.com/sLXtMeUTHk. Joaquin called the attack "a serious blow to the development and security of the state putting the image of the state at grave risk.". Two paramedics carrying a woman in an ambulance from neighboring Jalisco state to a hospital were killed a few days before passing through Valparaso. The operation was a joint effort between Veytias police forces and the Navy, a surprising partnership given previous events. In June, two men were shot to death on the beach in Tulum and a third was wounded. 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. Theres no cellular coverage and just two phone booths, isolation that adds to the uncertainty. It is inevitable to end this without some kind of force, but importantly, an intelligent and unified manner.Thanks for reporting Gerardo. When they did, they found 18 bodies in San Juan Capistrano, a small community in Valparaso, Zacatecas. 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 The Yucatan Times' content is protected by intellectual property rights, its re-publication, distribution, or retransmission is prohibited without the company's prior authorization. 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. This illicit trade was dominated by Sinaloans, although in many cases they operated from Guadalajara, the state capital of Jalisco. Cartel del Golfo The Gulf Cartel and Cartel del Noreste known as Los Zetas by many people, Jones told Fox. 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. Murders occur daily in Fresnillo, a city that mixes the local offices of major mining companies with farmers working the bean fields. 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. A rumor circulated that the cartels were forcing youth snatched from the communities to work for them. 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. The other was killed on the beach. Soon after, the house was surrounded by "a greater force" of heavily armed gunmen and the troops withdrew. Mexican marines run down a street after a gun battle erupted Wednesday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexico. Nor were skirmishes between rival traffickers, and the killing of state officials on the orders of organized crime, unheard of in the state. Videos posted to social media show multiple gunmen shooting down major thoroughfares. Plenty of families left, some for other Mexican cities to wait for the situation to calm, others to the United States where some 1 million Zacatecans the same number as in Mexico reside. For years, attention focused on violence along Mexicos northern border in cities like Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo. "It's worth the effort to continue on with this fight," Calderon said. They stayed only because there wasnt any way to go, nor any place.. The state prosecutors office said the shop specialized in repairing motorcycles. Last month, a priest was killed in crossfire on the highway. Accounts on social networks by witnesses said Patrn offered resistance when he realized he was surrounded and troops called in an Apache helicopter. He was the very image of a Mexican lawman, with a round, jowly face and thick mustache, a pistol shoved into his belt. Residents abandoning cars and burning vehicles are seen on multiple roads. Lpez Obradors party just won the governorship in Zacatecas, but it remains to be seen if coordination with federal authorities will improve. How did people fight for their rights back in the 20s? In Nayarit, in many ways, the beat goes on. Indeed, it is in some ways unsurprising that Cienfuegos would be connected with an organization based in Nayarit, where the unique dynamics of local politics, combined with the states low profile as a hub for trafficking, have long permitted a particular brand of what Benjamin Smith has termed narco-populism to flourish. 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The legacy of this political history and the facts of geography together define Nayarits place in the modern Mexican drug trade. Yet the fact of General Cienfuegos recent release is testament to the difficulties of obtaining real justice for the people of Nayarit. The government, if it pays attention, can put a stop to everything.. He grew up a dual citizen in San Diego, California, before heading south into Mexico to begin a career of violent crime. The Tulum gunfight also apparently broke out between two groups that operate street-level drug sales in the area, according to prosecutors. Indeed, it is in some ways unsurprising that Cienfuegos would be connected with an organization based in Nayarit, where the unique dynamics of local politics, combined with the states low profile as a hub for trafficking, have long permitted a particular brand of what Benjamin Smith has termed narco-populism to flourish. WebMexicos armed forces delivered a spectacular blow on Thursday night against one of the countrys leading drug cartels when an Apache helicopter rained down machine gun fire Two suspected drug dealers were killed after gunmen from competing gangs staged a dramatic shootout near upscale hotels that sent foreign tourists scrambling for cover. The larger currents of the international drug trade engulfing these Zacatecan communities may not be clear to their residents, but the impact is inescapable. [3] Romain LeCour, Nathaniel Morris, Benjamin T. Smith, The Last Harvest? But this fall, the arrest of Mexicos former secretary of defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, dragged this small and unassuming state into the spotlight. MEXICO CITY (AP) A commando of drug gang gunmen on Thursday stormed ashore at a beach on Mexicos resort-studded Caribbean coast in front of luxury hotels and executed two drug dealers from a rival gang. 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 . Government forces guard the entrance of hotel after an armed confrontation on Thursday near Puerto Morelos, Mexico. [46] Edgar Valdez Villarreal, the leader of Los Negros cartel enforcement, was arrested on August 30, 2010 outside Mexico City. Disfruta con nuestros Crucigramas para expertos! The gunfight took place at a crossroads near Ruiz in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit, some In November, a shootout on the beach of Puerto Morelos left two suspected drug dealers dead. Veytias arrest led the Mexican Federal prosecutors office and lawmakers in Nayarit to open a joint investigation into Sandoval in mid-2017. Str/AFP/Getty Images 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. Ultimately, Veytias incomplete attempt to deliver the state directly into the hands of the CJNG unleashed a new wave of local violence. Nayarit put the safety of the state in the hands of organized crime and in the short term, it worked.. But their relations with El Chapo cooled off after Alfredo Beltrn Leyva was arrested in January 2008. 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. The military has sent reinforcements, but killings continue across Zacatecas: a doctor here, a police officer there, a family hacked to pieces, eight killed at a party, two girls shot along with their parents. 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. The story of the Narco-Nayarit connection therefore illustrates both the deadly consequences of official corruption in the context of the modern Mexican drug war, and also the dangers of assuming that, in the same context, a pax mafiosa can ever be truly peaceful.. Eduardo Verdugo/AP Use tab to navigate through the menu items. Rival cartels often kill another gang's street-level dealers in Mexico to eliminate competition and ensure their drugs are sold first. Some people were locked in the supermarket for more than a hour. rights reserved. They were members of the police force of the neighboring state of San Luis Potosi who had been reported missing hours earlier. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about the victims were just trying to make a living, working in what was available. Mexican marines run down a street after a gun battle erupted Wednesday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexico. The legacy of this political history and the facts of geography together define Nayarits place in the modern Mexican drug trade. just terrible.cowards! The dramatic shooting attack sent tourists scrambling for cover at the resort Zacatecas 746 murders in the first half of the year, compared to 1,065 for all of 2020, give it the highest murder rate per 100,000 residents in the country through June, according to the Mexican government. "The bullets were entering the restaurant.". Durazo did not initially specify whether authorities arrested Guzmn or let him go. 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. To the east sits San Luis Potosi, a logistics hub filled with shipping companies that can move the tiny pills north. WebA shootout between rival Mexican gangs has left at least 28 people dead, officials say. They're shooting!' 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. 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 sensitive and important foreign policy considerations outweighed the case against Cienfuegos, ordering his release so that he may be investigated and, if appropriate, charged in Mexico. The , 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, However mutually beneficial the relationships had been, in 2017 the alliance between Patrn Snchez, Veytia, Sandoval and Cienfuegos fell apart in truly spectacular fashion. The four Arturo, Alfredo, Hctor and Carlos began their criminal career in northwest Mexico as hitmen for the Sinaloa cartel, then led by Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn. [1] Benjamin Smith, The Rise and Fall of Narcopopulism: Drugs, Politics, and Society in Sinaloa, 19301980, Journal for the Study of Radicalism, ii (2013) Calderon said this week that the bloody offensive against the drug cartels isn't just his war but is an effort to make Mexico safe for all law-abiding citizens. [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. "There was a lot of panic. El Chapo has been in jail for more than a year Credit: Getty - Contributor. More troops would be welcome in Zacatecas, though the effectiveness of their patrols is debated. But there is more to the story. 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. An employee who answered the phone at the hotel said the shooting occurred on the beach near the facility. His book Soldiers, Saints, and Shamans: Indigenous Communities and the Revolutionary State in Mexico's Gran Nayar, 1910-1940 was published in 2020. 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. Web(Video) Suspected Members of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) Carried Out a Shooting Attack on a Tourist Police Patrol, Guayabitos, Nayarit, Mexico 04 January He used his power to amass enormous landholdings and expand his own personal ranching operations. One month after the June 24 killings, there have been no arrests. Through the project Touring the Southeast. Hctor was arrested in 2014. Alleged drug dealers of the Sinaloa cartel are escorted by policemen in Mexico City following their arrests earlier this year. Finally, Mexicos largest mountain range, the Sierra Madre Occidental, completely dominates the western third of the state. Country Summary: Violent crime such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery is widespread and common in Mexico. 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. Guests at the nearby Azul Beach Resort also posted videos of people taking shelter or gathering in the lobby. 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.. Others just stayed inside. Ten people have been killed by drug cartel gunmen in a Mexican pool hall. We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. 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. Last week, the assistant director of the local prison was gunned down -- along with his wife and his bodyguard -- as he dropped his kids off at a school. There are more than 100,000 guardsmen deployed in the Mexico, plus the military, yet the violence continues apace. Zacatecas sits between the drugs production and its consumers. Web15 Murdered in Tepic Carwash. Mejore su francs con solo 15 minutos al da. One might also conjecture that Cienfuegos protection extended to Patrn Snchezs political partners in crime, too. [4] But violence related to the drug trade only began to surge in Nayarit after President Calderns 2006 declaration of war on the nations cartels. Soon Veytia expanded into trafficking drugs himself. Valparasos mayor could not confirm or deny figures given by some residents that were double that. He was rumored to have used his bus franchise to smuggle marihuana, as well as heroin processed in laboratories that he operated in Nayarits mountains. Outbursts of gunfire are common. The killings in Zacatecas came one day after prosecutors in Mexicos most violent state, Guanajuato, reported seven men were shot to death at a mechanics shop. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. The story of how that corruption played out in Nayarit brings into focus the interplay between military operations, political maneuvering and drug trafficking. 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. [4] Nathaniel Morris, Now the Youngsters are Masters of the Opium Harvest: Opium, Agriculture and Indigenous Identity in the Sierra of Nayarit, NORIA Research, 20 September 2020 [https://www.noria-research.com/the-youngsters-are-masters-of-opium/] Then, in February 2020, and apparently on the basis of evidence given by Veytia as part of a sentencing deal, the U.S. State Department indicted Sandoval, alleging he had misappropriated state assets and received bribes from narcotics trafficking organizations, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) [and] the Beltran Leyva Organization. On 13 November, at the same time as the Mexican government was pressing for the release of General Cienfuegos in the US, the Mexican prosecutors office issued a warrant for Sandovals arrest on charges of embezzlement, graft and corruption. His name was added to INTERPOLs red list, while Mexican President Lpez Obrador urged him to turn himself in and face justice although to date his whereabouts remain unknown. Sandoval was a cowboy in other senses too. There were children," Ramirez says. Prosecutors said Friday they have arrested a suspect in that killing. The state, then, remains central to the ambitions of some of Mexicos most powerful drug traffickers, a stage where politics and crime continue a decades-long dance. 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. Seems that Sinaloa is battling The Beltran Leyva there and the plaza started to get heated up when they killed EL PEPINO earlier this year. From the US Fentanyl Boom to the Mexican. There was no immediate information on a possible motive in the shootings, but such attacks in Guanajuato in the past have been related to rivalries between drug gangs or street-level drug dealing. 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. Montes de Oca said one of the men targeted in the attack fled into one of the hotels before dying. On Monday, Calderon published a 5,000-word defense of the strategy in several newspapers. Instead, they changed form, as murders, disappearances, abduction, extorsion and land thefts were carried out, may be investigated and, if appropriate, charged, https://www.noria-research.com/the-youngsters-are-masters-of-opium/. While some of the victims of Veytia and Sandovals reign of terror have recently been able to come forward with their stories of kidnappings, disappearances, and torture, such truth telling is cold comfort to those who have been affected by the even deadlier violence that has wracked Nayarit in the years since Veytias detention in the United States. Its a reminder that residents remain in the line of fire even as the army and National Guard patrol the area. Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. 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. "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. The gun battle went on for at least 20 minutes. "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. Among other things, the cartels are battling to control the most lucrative drug: fentanyl. For many, Cienfuegos arrest and subsequent release is a conspicuous symbol of the intrinsic corruption that plagues the militarized drug war strategy. He used his power to amass enormous landholdings and expand his own personal ranching operations. On Tuesday, he gave a passionate televised address to the nation calling on Mexicans to join in the fight against organized crime. 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 cartel is now splintered into small, competing gangs. WebCartels wreak havoc across Mexico in week of 'narco-terrorism' Tourism will account for about 8.3 per cent of Mexico's GDP in 2022, according to the Mexican federal Drug-related violence is happening all across Mexico. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. If someone doesnt stop, they open fire. For the first time in years, the drug trade in Nayarit received global media attention. Mike Sington, a guest at the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun, wrote in his Twitter account that "Guests are telling me they were playing volleyball on the beach, gunman approached firing gun. 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. 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. 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. Obtendr un diploma con estadsticas de nivel, progresin y participacin. [47] This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. Highways running north to key border cities pass through Zacatecas, providing a direct route for northbound drugs and southbound guns. The brothers accused El Chapo of betrayal, and this triggered a bloody vendetta.