WebOn June 6, 2021, a series of confrontations between alleged members of organized crime and members of the National Guard in the Tepic area of Nayarit state left at least three Some 200 armed men had Nor were skirmishes between rival traffickers, and the killing of state officials on the orders of organized crime, unheard of in the state. We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately.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 Eastern District of New York accusing Cienfuegos of also collaborating with Nayarits H-2 cartel. According to journalist Laura Snchez Ley, Veytia had turned informant in order to secure a shorter jail sentence. WebA shootout between rival Mexican gangs has left at least 28 people dead, officials say. 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. 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. Sam Quinones. 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 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. Although he acknowledged that this fight will not be easy. In June, two men were shot to death on the beach in Tulum and a third was wounded. Mexican marines run down a street after a gun battle erupted Wednesday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexico. 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. 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. Veytias arrest led the Mexican Federal prosecutors office and lawmakers in Nayarit to open a joint investigation into Sandoval in mid-2017. WebIt is 10:00 am on Saturday, March 20, and in the tourist area of Rincn de Guayabitos, Nayarit, submachine guns are thundering. One month after the June 24 killings, there have been no arrests. The heavily indigenous highlands that were the backbone of 19th-century rebellion, are today one of Mexicos primary opium-growing zones, thanks to a combination of widespread and severe poverty, rugged, mountainous topography, and the limited, ineffective and often corrupt presence of state and federal authorities. '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. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about Gov. A 2014 photo of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn being escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his capture. She continues working here, but recently moved her belongings to Fresnillo where her daughter and mother live in case she has to quickly leave one day for good. There are more than 100,000 guardsmen deployed in the Mexico, plus the military, yet the violence continues apace. Cartel del Golfo The Gulf Cartel and Cartel del Noreste known as Los Zetas by many people, Jones told Fox. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. 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. For many, Cienfuegos arrest and subsequent release is a conspicuous symbol of the intrinsic corruption that plagues the militarized drug war strategy. The minimum tariff for the release of a loved one abducted by Veytias forces was set at 300,000 pesos (approximately $15,000 USD), although sometimes Veytia also demanded property. 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 For the past month, a shot up pick-up truck has rested here. Yet the fact of General Cienfuegos recent release is testament to the difficulties of obtaining real justice for the people of Nayarit. Known to many in Nayarit as El Diablo or La Bestia, Veytia was described by witnesses to his abuses as the military arm of Sandovals governorship, using the Polica Nayaritthe black-uniformed, balaclava-clad paramilitary police he set up as the states main anti-cartel forceas his own personal army. Goods to stock store shelves and medical care frequently dont arrive for fear of cartel roadblocks. Crime "has gone up a little with extortion, with drug sales to foreigners and Mexicans," the prosecutors office said about the raid. 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. The legacy of this political history and the facts of geography together define Nayarits place in the modern Mexican drug trade. Thanks for everything. Goodness me, why people killed each other in world. He also said one person suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the attack, but authorities could not determine whether that person was a hotel employee or a guest because they were still undergoing medical treatment. Nayarit rarely makes the headlines in Mexico, far less in the rest of the world. Photograph: the victims were just trying to make a living, working in what was available. Really it is a nice blog, I would like to tell you that you have given me much knowledge about it. Gulf Cartel Based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, it started in 1920. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. WebMexico: The candidate for mayor of Morolen is killed. The Tulum gunfight also apparently broke out between two groups that operate street-level drug sales in the area, according to prosecutors. 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. MEXICO CITY A 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 from a rival gang. Eduardo Verdugo/AP On 9 February, Patrn Snchez and seven of his men were killed in a joint operation in suburban Tepic. Guests at the nearby Azul Beach Resort also posted videos of people taking shelter or gathering in the lobby. 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. Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. [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. 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 Karim Torres/AP Alleged drug dealers of the Sinaloa cartel are escorted by policemen in Mexico City following their arrests earlier this year. But there is more to the story. Burning vehicles littered the streets as the gunmen faced off against the National Guard, army and police. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Guanajuato has Mexicos highest number of homicides, and has been the scene of turf battles between the Jalisco drug cartel and local gangs backed by the Sinaloa cartel. 2011 was even bloodier, with 456 murders recorded across the state. Nayarit rarely makes the headlines in Mexico, far less in the rest of the world. The operation was a joint effort between Veytias police forces and the Navy, a surprising partnership given previous events. just terrible.cowards! The Beltrn Leyva organization were Sinaloans who had once controlled trafficking in Nayarit and several other areas of western Mexico as part of the wider Sinaloa cartel, until a violent break with El Chapo Guzmn and his allies in 2008the same year that Sandoval and Veytia assumed positions in Tepics municipal government. 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/. The legacy of this political history and the facts of geography together define Nayarits place in the modern Mexican drug trade. 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. Cartel map of Mexico. Nayarits coast is a tropical zone fringed by mangrove swamps, where fishing and commercial agriculture are the lifeblood of the local economy. This region is difficult to access, sparsely populated, incredibly poor (even by Mexican standards), and predominantly populated by Indigenous Wixrika (Huichol) and Nayari (Cora) people. From the US Fentanyl Boom to the Mexican. 06/26/2021. 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. After the chemical precursors enter the Pacific ports, they are finished into fentanyl pills in labs in Nayarit, Jalisco and Sinaloa to the west of Zacatecas, said Oscar Santiago Quintos, head of the analysis and intelligence department of Mexicos Attorney Generals Office. For the first time in years, the drug trade in Nayarit received global media attention. Zacatecas, once dominated by the old Zetas cartel, has been the scene of turf battles between a number of cartels. It was this indictment that led to the Cienfuegos arrest in the United States and revealed his place in the Nayarit corruption story. 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 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. The heavily indigenous highlands that were the backbone of 19th-century rebellion, are today one of Mexicos primary opium-growing zones, thanks to a combination of widespread and severe poverty, rugged, mountainous topography, and the limited, ineffective and often corrupt presence of state and federal authorities. In Nayarit, he declared, there was no room for organized crime.. "It's worth the effort to continue on with this fight," Calderon said. 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. A 2014 photo of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn being escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his capture. Armed attackers killed 10 people in a pool hall in an industrial region of central Mexico plagued by drug cartel-related violence, authorities said Thursday. 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. 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. Mexican marines run down a street after a gun battle erupted Wednesday in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, Mexico. The larger currents of the international drug trade engulfing these Zacatecan communities may not be clear to their residents, but the impact is inescapable. Hector Parra/AP On 9 February, Patrn Snchez and seven of his men were killed in a joint operation in suburban Tepic. El Chapo has been in jail for more than a year Credit: Getty - Contributor. 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. Drug-related violence is happening all across Mexico. WebIt was one of the highest-profile political killings in Mexico in recent memory. #Ms: El enfrentamiento inici en el Sector Tres Ros, pero se ha extendido a otros puntos de #Culiacn. He says people heard the shots and started running. 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. 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. 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. Three other foreign tourists were wounded in the shooting at a street-side eatery that has some outdoor tables, right off Tulum's main strip. With dozens of other people, Garcia took refuge in a low-end clothing store where people can buy $10 soccer jerseys on credit. "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. Republication or distribution of this content is They sometimes beat people or tie them up regardless to instill fear. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. Accounts on social networks by witnesses said Patrn offered resistance when he realized he was surrounded and troops called in an Apache helicopter. But a few days ago it was the scene of an intense firefight between cartel gunmen and police and the Mexican military. 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. Nayarits coast is a tropical zone fringed by mangrove swamps, where fishing and commercial agriculture are the lifeblood of the local economy. 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. The dramatic shooting attack sent tourists scrambling for cover at the resort of Puerto Morelos, just south of Cancun. But their relations with El Chapo cooled off after Alfredo Beltrn Leyva was arrested in January 2008. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free), Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. On Tuesday, he gave a passionate televised address to the nation calling on Mexicans to join in the fight against 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. 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. 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. As frustration with the drug war grows, Calderon this week tried to rally the Mexican people behind the effort. Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. The H-2 Cartel was not some minor group that somehow managed to bribe the countrys top security official. Plaza Cigarrera looks like a boring strip mall in Tepic, capital of Mexico's Pacific coast state of Nayarit. ..i dont understand all of these killings and no end to it. 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. According to Mexicos naval secretariat, Juan Francisco Patrn, also known as H2, was a key figure in the Beltrn Leyva cartels operations in the states of Nayarit and Jalisco. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution Jose Garcia works at the taxi stand out front, hailing cabs and helping people with their shopping bags. Finally, Mexicos largest mountain range, the Sierra Madre Occidental, completely dominates the western third of the state. The bullet-ridden bodies of the cartel members were discovered in the north-central state of Zacatecas. In November, a shootout on the beach of Puerto Morelos left two suspected drug dealers dead. The shootout left eight presumed drug cartel members and one policeman dead. 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 . 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. For the first time in years, the drug trade in Nayarit received global media attention. 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. Patrn assumed a leading role in the organization following the arrests and deaths of the four Beltrn Leyva brothers. Opium Crisis,' Journal of Illicit Economies and Development 1, No.3 (2019) There were 15 days that we didnt go out for anything, said Claudina Betancourt, a nurse born in San Juan Capistrano. 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, rights reserved. VALPARASO, Mexico (AP) When they heard gunfire in the valley, residents locked their doors and cowered inside their homes. Mexico cartel shootout leaves 18 dead. 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. It is not the first time that tourists have been caught in the crossfire of such battles. 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. The lack of control that the country is Use tab to navigate through the menu items. The H-2 Cartel was not some minor group that somehow managed to bribe the countrys top security official. More troops would be welcome in Zacatecas, though the effectiveness of their patrols is debated. If someone doesnt stop, they open fire. 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. The dramatic shooting attack sent tourists scrambling for cover at the resort 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 He used his power to amass enormous landholdings and expand his own personal ranching operations. Ramon Perez, a retired teacher, says the governor did the right thing in closing the schools. and the police showed up later and made a big show of showing upand made empty promisesy esta es acabo, Thanks for covering this. 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. When they did, they found 18 bodies in San Juan Capistrano, a small community in Valparaso, Zacatecas. In the third mass homicide to jolt Mexico in less than one week at least 15 people were killed in Mexicos 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 on a residence in the Pacific resort of Nayarit where the leader of the Beltrn Leyva organization was holed up, killing him and seven members of his organization. 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. More than 23,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Calderon took office 3 1/2 years ago. He grew up a dual citizen in San Diego, California, The Beltrn Leyva organization were Sinaloans who had once controlled trafficking in Nayarit and several other areas of western Mexico as part of the wider Sinaloa cartel, until a violent break with El Chapo Guzmn and his allies in 2008the same year that Sandoval and Veytia assumed positions in Tepics municipal government. Disfruta con nuestros Crucigramas para expertos! The cartel is now splintered into small, competing gangs. 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. [5] Authors own fieldnotes from the Sierra de Nayarit. 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. 7. 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. Vean el tipo de armas que se estn usando. El Chapo was tried this year in a U.S. court and sentenced to life in prison. 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. "It's worthwhile in order to build a free and safe country." On Monday, Calderon published a 5,000-word defense of the strategy in several newspapers. Joaquin called the attack "a serious blow to the development and security of the state putting the image of the state at grave risk.". The public safety department in Zacatecas state said the policemens bodies were found Wednesday morning in the state capital, also known as Zacatecas. [47] 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. 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. Despite allegations of corruption and human rights abuses, the army has remained legally privileged, closed to all external scrutiny, and at the very heart of the current Mexican presidents nation-wide public security and policing strategy. 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. Everyone ran from beach and swimming pools. The north-central Mexican state holds strategic importance for drugs being shipped to the United States. [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/] pic.twitter.com/sLXtMeUTHk. The state now appears firmly in the hands of the CJNG. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador accused. In Nayarit, in many ways, the beat goes on. In 2019, Veytia was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison in a U.S. drug-trafficking case accusing him of using wiretaps and other law enforcement tools to protect the turf of a drug cartel. Veytias arrest led the Mexican Federal prosecutors office and lawmakers in Nayarit to open a joint investigation into Sandoval in mid-2017. Armed kids shine light on Mexico's drug cartel violence 06:40. A rumor circulated that the cartels were forcing youth snatched from the communities to work for them. By Gerardo 10/28/2010 12:02:00 AM 6 comments. Web15 Murdered in Tepic Carwash. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. 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. "There was a lot of panic. 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. There was panic, said a 21-year-old man, the oldest of five siblings. 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. They're shooting!' Rival cartels often kill another gang's street-level dealers in Mexico to eliminate competition and ensure their drugs are sold first. 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. 7. Several shootings have occurred near schools. An employee who answered the phone at the hotel said the shooting occurred on the beach near the facility. This Tuesday, a series of clashes between presumed hitmen and agents of different security corporations in Tepic, in the 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. The other was killed on the beach. WebThe 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.