US authorities estimated he earned a total of $250 million from such illicit activities. 7. We have definitely noticed an increased presence of Mexican security forces , a few clashes with the military, and even a case where suspected drug cartel gunmen abducted two off-duty female soldiers at gunpoint. Nayarits transformation to an estado narco was tied up with the long history of PRI control in the state, and, more specifically, with the nature of Roberto Sandoval Castaedas tenure as state governor between 2011 and 2017which not coincidentally overlapped with General Cienfuegos term as Secretary of Defense during the PRIista administration of President Pea Nieto, from 2012 to 2018. Gunmen stop residents and demand their cell phones to look for information that could tie them to the other cartel. Some areas of Mexico have increased risk of crime and kidnapping. ET Heavily armed gunmen went on a shooting rampage through the city of Culiacn, the capital of Sinaloa state on Mexico's Pacific coast, battling security Rival cartels often kill another gang's street-level dealers in Mexico to eliminate competition and ensure their drugs are sold first. Arturo Nahle, Zacatecas former attorney general and current state supreme court president, said those policies could be right, but will take years to bear fruit. 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. Goodness me, why people killed each other in world. just terrible.cowards! Ramon Perez, a retired teacher, says the governor did the right thing in closing the schools. [3] Similarly, the long coastline and strategic location between Sinaloa and Jalisco that, in the nineteenth century, had made Nayarit a stronghold of the British contrabandists, by the 1960s made the state a strategically important setting for the trafficking of drugs north towards the United States. There were children," Ramirez says. One man and a woman were found wounded at the scene of the attack, along with five children who had not been wounded. 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. 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. 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. But a resident from the same area had a different hope for peace: that one cartel wins soon. Nathaniel Morris is researcher at University College London and holds a Ph.D. in history from Oxford University. After a two-year trial, Judge Carol Amon found him guilty on these charges on 26 September 2019 and sentenced him to 20 years prison. Alleged drug dealers of the Sinaloa cartel are escorted by policemen in Mexico City following their arrests earlier this year. 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. Nor were skirmishes between rival traffickers, and the killing of state officials on the orders of organized crime, unheard of in the state. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution The operation was a joint effort between Veytias police forces and the Navy, a surprising partnership given previous events. 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. As frustration with the drug war grows, Calderon this week tried to rally the Mexican people behind the effort. [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/] In June, two men were shot to death on the beach in Tulum and a third was wounded. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about And the killing continued the next day. Mexico's security secretary, Alfonso Durazo, said the fighting began when about 30 National Guard and army troops patrolling the city were fired on from a house occupied by Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, who is wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges. 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. Earlier this month, a doctor was killed in neighboring Jerez for not stopping. 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. With dozens of other people, Garcia took refuge in a low-end clothing store where people can buy $10 soccer jerseys on credit. 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.". Patrns death comes after increased violence in Nayarit that has seen several killings in the area. 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. [46] Edgar Valdez Villarreal, the leader of Los Negros cartel enforcement, was arrested on August 30, 2010 outside Mexico City. El Chapo was tried this year in a U.S. court and sentenced to life in prison. 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. 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 shootings were the latest chapter in drug gang violence that has sullied the reputation of Mexico's Caribbean coast as a once-tranquil oasis. 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. Veytias arrest led the Mexican Federal prosecutors office and lawmakers in Nayarit to open a joint investigation into Sandoval in mid-2017. 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. From the US Fentanyl Boom to the Mexican. WebMexico: The candidate for mayor of Morolen is killed. A federal grand jury in New York City charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, import and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana between 2013 and 2017. Montes de Oca said they fled in a boat after the attack. 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. horrible. 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. He did not rule out that there were deaths, according to The Associated Press. Thanks for everything. hide caption. On 9 February, Patrn Snchez and seven of his men were killed in a joint operation in suburban Tepic. Further inland is Tepic, the states slightly gritty capital of 330,000, located in an altiplano zone of cane fields and coffee orchards towered over by huge volcanoes. Disfruta con nuestros Crucigramas para expertos! Their activity focused on shipping cocaine from Central and South America to the United States and Europe. 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. WebA shootout between rival Mexican gangs has left at least 28 people dead, officials say. For many, Cienfuegos arrest and subsequent release is a conspicuous symbol of the intrinsic corruption that plagues the militarized drug war strategy. The H-2 Cartel was not some minor group that somehow managed to bribe the countrys top security official. pic.twitter.com/sLXtMeUTHk. In November, a shootout on the beach of Puerto Morelos left two suspected drug dealers dead. And in nearby Playa del Carmen, police stage a massive raid in October on the beach town's restaurant-lined Quinta Avenida, detaining 26 suspects most apparently for drug sales after a city policewoman was shot to death and locked in the trunk of a car last week. The following years were even bloodier, and not just for civilians: numerous police officers were also murdered, including a municipal police chief in the Sierra, and two active members of Nayarits Preventative Police Force and one-time close associates of Edgar Veytia. In the third mass homicide to jolt Mexico in less than one week at least 15 people were killed in More than halfway through his term and with violence reaching new peaks, Calderon said the drug war won't be easy or quick, but he said it's a war that "we will win. "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. 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. It borders eight other states. 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. 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. 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. By Gerardo 10/28/2010 12:02:00 AM 6 comments. 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. 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. Its gunmen also brutalized Nayarits peasant drug growers into accepting their authority,[5] and the lower prices for their merchandise that came with it; and, in an apparent case of mistaken identity, murdered the Sierras first Nayari Catholic priest. MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in northern Mexico said Wednesday they found the bodies of two abducted police officers hanging from an overpass, and the bodies of seven people shot to death in a neighboring city. But this fall, the arrest of Mexicos former secretary of defense, General Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, dragged this small and unassuming state into the spotlight. 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. The authorities didnt arrive until the next day. Residents abandoning cars and burning vehicles are seen on multiple roads. For the first time in years, the drug trade in Nayarit received global media attention. Now Zacatecans, including in the state capital of the same name, have awoken on several occasions to corpses dangling from overpasses. But a few days ago it was the scene of an intense firefight between cartel gunmen and police and the Mexican military. Ten people have been killed by drug cartel gunmen in a Mexican pool hall. ", 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.". By 2010, Tepic had a murder rate of 229 for every 100,000 inhabitants, and was ranked the thirteenth most dangerous city in the world. And at the same time, Patrn Snchez rose up within the ranks of the Beltrn Leyva organization, taking full command of the group after Hctor Beltrn Leyva was arrested in 2014, thus expanding his personal influence beyond Nayarit into parts of Sinaloa, Jalisco, Colima and Guerrero. Its a reminder that residents remain in the line of fire even as the army and National Guard patrol the area. 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. 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But their relations with El Chapo cooled off after Alfredo Beltrn Leyva was arrested in January 2008. They were members of the police force of the neighboring state of San Luis Potosi who had been reported missing hours earlier. Mejore su francs con solo 15 minutos al da. He bought a bachelors in forensic science in Tepic, married into a local political family, bought a local transport franchise, and made friends with Roberto Sandoval, who appointed him as Director of Roads and Transit when he became Tepics municipal president in 2008. Government forces guard the entrance of hotel after an armed confrontation on Thursday near Puerto Morelos, Mexico. hide caption. "The bullets were entering the restaurant.". 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. He was the very image of a Mexican lawman, with a round, jowly face and thick mustache, a pistol shoved into his belt. With the army the bad guys dont move in, said a 74-year-old farmer in San Juan Capistrano, who teared up talking about the situation in his community. The public safety department in Zacatecas state said the policemens bodies were found Wednesday morning in the state capital, also known as Zacatecas. He said he has not been directly threatened, but he has the same fear as everyone. On Monday, Calderon published a 5,000-word defense of the strategy in several newspapers. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto 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. The shootout left eight presumed drug cartel members and one policeman dead. 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. 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. To the east sits San Luis Potosi, a logistics hub filled with shipping companies that can move the tiny pills north. And the killing continued the next day. Armed kids shine light on Mexico's drug cartel violence 06:40. It is not the first time that tourists have been caught in the crossfire of such battles. 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], 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. 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. '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. Check this for more updates, there's something almost everydayhttp://www.nayaritenlinea.mx - El CORITA. 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. The CJNG imposed its control over Tepics local, small-time drug dealers by shooting up any bar or nightclub in which they were rumored to work, killing and injuring scores of innocent civilians in the process. Web15 Murdered in Tepic Carwash. 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. [3] Romain LeCour, Nathaniel Morris, Benjamin T. Smith, The Last Harvest? He says people heard the shots and started running. 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. They included two German men and a Dutch woman. Bernandino Hernandez/AP Nayarit put the safety of the state in the hands of organized crime and in the short term, it worked.. To order The legacy of this political history and the facts of geography together define Nayarits place in the modern Mexican drug trade. Gulf Cartel Based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, it started in 1920. The dramatic shooting attack sent tourists scrambling for cover at the resort of Puerto Morelos, just south of Cancun. 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. 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. Drug cartels have hung the bodies of victims from overpasses before as a message to rivals or authorities, but seldom do so with members of law enforcement. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (JNGC) are dominant in the Nayarit region. To order copies of Ultimately, Veytias incomplete attempt to deliver the state directly into the hands of the CJNG unleashed a new wave of local violence. One might also conjecture that Cienfuegos protection extended to Patrn Snchezs political partners in crime, too. 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. Nor were skirmishes between rival traffickers, and the killing of state officials on the orders of organized crime, unheard of in the state. The gun battle went on for at least 20 minutes. That same year, the Beltrn Leyvas reached a deal with Los Zetas, El Chapos chief rivals and lords of the Gulf drug routes. 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. 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]. Opium Crisis,' Journal of Illicit Economies and Development 1, No.3 (2019) Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. In 2020, some 93,000 people died of fentanyl overdoses in the U.S., a record high. 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.
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