Borderland Beat

by Alex Marentes

  The Mexican Army confirmed the arrest of 26 members of the Arrellano Félix Cartel, including Ángel Jácome Gamboa (El Kaibil'), one state police officer, one municipal police officer, and other suspects.

  March 10: The Mexican Ministry of Defense orders 6 Eurocopter EC 725 Helicopters from Eurocopter to transport soldiers in special operations. The deal was finalized behind closed doors between Felipe Calderón and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

  March 10: 5 human heads found in coolers in Jalisco. State Public Safety Secretary Luis Carlos Najera says threatening messages aimed at drug traffickers were found with the heads, which were covered with tape and discovered in individual coolers near the community of Ixtlahuacán del Río.

  March 12: The United States Department of Homeland Security stated that it is considering using the National Guard as a last resort to counter the threat of drug violence in Mexico from spilling over the border into the US.

  March 19: The Mexican Military captures alleged Sinaloa cartel drug trafficker Vicente Zambada Son of Imsael Zambada. Zambada's father, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, also is considered a top leader of the Sinaloa cartel and is among Mexico's most-wanted suspects.

  March 22: Gunmen have killed a state police commander in charge of investigating kidnappings and extortion in the western state of Michoacán. Édgar Garcia was sitting at a red light in his car Sunday when two other vehicles pulled up and opened fire, the state government said in a communique late Sunday. He died at the scene. State police in a nearby patrol car chased the suspects. One of the cars went out of control and crashed into a university building, according to the statement. A gunman got out of the car and began shooting at police, injuring one officer. Police then shot the gunman dead while his partner fled with apparent gunshot wounds.

  March 25: A battle took place between The PFP and members of a kidnapping gang linked to "La Familia" cartel. Two federal policemen were injured and 3 of the delinquents were captured.

  Special Forces Unit captured one of Mexico's most-wanted drug smugglers, Héctor Huerta Ríos, whose nickname "la burra" — female donkey — belies his power as the alleged trafficker controlling drugs flowing through the northern city of Monterrey.

  March 26: A US Marshal, Vincent Bustamante who was the subject of an arrest warrant, was found dead in Ciudad Juárez.

  April 1: Three gunmen were killed by the Mexican army in a 10-minute gun battle.

  April 2 - Vicente Carrillo Leyva, son of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, was arrested near Mexico City.

  April 19 - Eight police officers are killed in an attack on a prison convoy transporting senior leaders of the Beltrán Leyva cartel cartel. Federal Police captured 44 members of "La Familia", including its chief Rafael Cedeño Hernández "El Cede".

  April 22 - The bodies of two undercover government agents are found in Durango, 50 km south of Guanacevi, along with a note saying "Neither priests nor rulers will ever get El Chapo" (El Chapo referring to Joaquín Guzmán and with clear allusion to the comments of the Archbishop of Durango Héctor González Martínez)

  April 30 - Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa, an influential figure in Los Zetas, was captured in the city of Matamoros.

  May 17 - An armed gang linked to the Gulf cartel disguised as police officers break into a prison in Zacatecas and free 50 inmates.

  May 27 - 27 high-ranking officials including 10 mayors and a judge in Michoacán suspected of collaboration with La Familia cartel.

  June 6- 16 gunmen of a drug cartel and 2 Mexican Army soldiers are killed during a four hour shootout in Acapulco

  June 15 - Juan Manuel Jurado Zarzoza of the Gulf Cartel is captured in Cancún.

  June 26 - Federal police kill 12 members of Los Zetas in Apaseo el Alto.

  Gunmen kill two assistants of Ernesto Cornejo, a Partido Acción Nacional candidate, in Sonora, but fail to kill him.

  July 7 - Anti-crime activist Benjamin LeBaron and his brother-in-law Luis Widmar are murdered after armed men storm their house in Galeana, Chihuahua.

  July 11 - Several Police headquarters are attacked by gunmen in Michoacán, leaving several injured, and 2 members of the Mexican Army dead.

  July 14 - The organization tortured and murdered twelve Mexican federal agents and dumped the bodies along the side of a mountain highway. The agents were investigating crime in President Felipe Calderón's home state of Michoacán.

  In a confrontation with Federal Police officers, two gunmen died in the state of Veracruz, no federal officers or soldiers were reported injured.

  August 6 - A shootout between police and gunmen leaves over a dozen dead and 22 injured in Pachuca, the capital of the state of Hidalgo. Nine Mexican cartel suspects and three law enforcement officials were injured Thursday. Missing federal agents were found alive, however this discovery initiated simultaneous shootouts and grenade attacks on police installations around Mexico.

  August 8 - Federal police arrest Manuel Invanovich Zambrano Flores, a top lieutenant of the Tijuana Cartel.

  August 20 - Law enforcement officials, led by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration disrupted a massive drug operation by cutting off shipments of cocaine by the ton into Chicago and knocking out a major distribution network that operated out of the city. The drug operation allegedly brought 1,500 to 2,000 kilos of cocaine every month to Chicago from Mexico and shipped millions of dollars south of the border. At the top of the Chicago crew were 28-year-old twin brothers—Pedro and Margarito Flores— who controlled a group of underlings and headed up incoming drug shipments. They were also in charge of collecting, storing and shipping the cash and distributing the drugs around the country, authorities said. The Flores brothers were allegedly supplied by two warring cartel factions that have played a major role in the escalating drug violence in Mexico, including one reputedly led by Joaquín "el Chapo" Guzmán Loera, 54, and Ismael "el Mayo" Zambada García, 59, and another led by Arturo Beltrán Leyva, 47. The Flores brothers, who are in custody, had done business with each of the warring drug cartels, authorities say. Each cartel threatened the Flores brothers with violence if they did business with the other, according to the charges.

  September 3 - Gunmen attack a drug clinic in Ciudad Juárez, lining up patients against a wall and killing at least 17.

  September 6 - José Rodolfo Escajeda of the Juárez cartel is arrested in connection with the drug clinic massacre several days earlier.

  September 16 - 10 people are killed in another gun attack on a drug clinic in Ciudad Juarez.

  October 16 - One Federal Police officer was killed by gunmen while the officer was conducting a traffic stop, instead the men in the vehicle opened fired and killed officer Valentin Manuel Gutierrez Heredia, 34, who was assigned to the Mazatlan sector. shortly after in the afternoon, Mexican troops conducted a raid in the residential zone of Mazatlan leading to a gun battle. One civilian was killed while one soldier and one police officer were injured. Unofficially, it was reported that the armed group is the same one that killed federal agent Valentin Gutierrez, Thursday night.

  December 16 - A two hour shootout between 200 Mexican Marines and Beltrán-Leyva Cartel gunmen led to the death of Marcos Arturo Beltrán-Leyva the main head of the organization and his brother Mario Alberto Leyva, or Hector, in an upscale resort in Cuernavaca, also killed were four of his bodyguards, of which one committed suicide while surrounded by marines. Two marines were also injured and one other died, Navy 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Córdova died while being treated for his injuries.

  December 22 - Only hours after the burial of 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Córdova, gunmen break into his family's house and kill Angulo's mother and three other relatives. The shooting was believed to be retaliation for the death of Marcos Arturo Beltrán-Leyva, as well as a warning against the military forces involved in President Felipe Calderón's war on Mexico's drug cartels.

  2010

  On January 2, Carlos Beltrán Leyva brother of Marcos Arturo Beltrán-Leyva was arrested by Federal Police officers in Cu
liacan, Sinaloa.

  January 8, due to high crime rates in the munipality of Tancítaro, Michoacán its Municipal Police force have been disbanded. City officials will leave the Army and Policia Estatal (State Police) incharge of public security.

  January 12, Federal Police arrested the leader of the Tijuana Cartel, Teodoro "El Teo" García Simental in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

  January 31, Teenagers at a party in Ciudad Juarez are gunned down. At first the number of casualties was reported to be 14 but increased to 16 after two victims died in the hospital later on. Ten of the victims were between the ages of 13 and 19, according to the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office. Four ranged from ages 23 to 42, and two others were unidentified. The local police is investigating the possible causes but said that it is likely linked to a turf battle between rivaling Cartels. However only three of the victims could be linked to the drug trade so far.

  February 8, Raydel Lopez Uriarte, known as El Muletas or Crutches, was arrested in the capital of La Paz. Raydel Lopez Uriarte was considered the leader of the criminal cell that had been previously led by "El Teo", who were engaged in a bloody dispute over turf with Francisco Sanchez Arellano (a) "El Ingeniero", the head of the Arellano Felix cartel.

  February 22, Jose Vasquez Villagrana "El Jabali," 40, was arrested in his home town of Santa Ana, Sonora, which borders Arizona. Described as a key operator of the powerful Sinaloa cartel who served briefly in the U.S. army before taking on the trafficking of 2 tons of cocaine a month into the United States.

  February 24, Osiel Cardenas, 42, is sentenced to 25 years in prison and made to forfeit $50 US million of his personal fortune by a federal court in Texas. Osiel formerly headed Mexico's notorious Gulf cartel, was arrested in Mexico in 2003 and extradited in 2007 to the US, where he has been held behind bars without parole.

  March 1, The Gulf cartel declares war against Los Zetas. Los Zetas are pursued form Matamoros to Monterrey. La Familia sends re-enforcements to assist the Gulf cartel. It is believed that the Sinaloa cartel might also be helping the Gulf cartel attempt to eliminate Los Zetas. The northeast border of Mexico becomes a battle ground in the escalating violence between rivals cartels, military and police officers.

  March 15, Three people connected to the US consulate in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez were killed. A U.S. consular employee and her husband were gunned down inside their SUV near the Santa Fe International Bridge. The husband of an employee of the U.S. Consulate is also executed within seconds. The executions are attributed to the Juarez cartel armed wing "La Linea" using street gangsters of Barrio Azteca with ties to El Paso and Ciudad Juarez.

  March 17, President Felipe Calderon makes an unprecedented third visit to Ciudad Juarez within 33 days. The Mexican President was in Juarez to share his plan to quell violence and to analyze the comprehensive strategy on security. He was pushed to act by the Jan. 31 massacre of at least 15 mostly young people at a party and the slayings of three people attached to the U.S. Consulate. He promises that Juarez will not be forgotten and he promised to send economic and security support.

  March 31, the slaying of an Arizona rancher Robert Krentz by a suspect who apparently fled to Mexico

  April 20, The Hummer Sentenced to 16 Years.

  April 23, Mexico Captures Indio.

  April 29, Drug Lord Extradited to Texas.

  April 29, Wife of "El H" Abducted and Set Free.

  May 15, Former Mexico Presidential Candidate Missing.

  June 28, PRI Gubernatorial Candidate Assassinated in Tamaulipas.

  July 29, Nacho Coronel Killed in Zapopan, Jalisco.

  August 17, Mayor Mayor Edelmiro Cavazos is abducted and killed.

  August 26, Zetas Massacre 72 Illegal Immigrants in San Fernando, Tamaulipas.

  August 30, La Barbie Arrested.

  September 9 – Gunmen killed 25 people in a series of drug-related attacks in Ciudad Juárez, marking the deadliest day in more than two years for the Mexican border city. Two graffiti messages’ appeared in Ciudad Juárez threatening the Sinaloa Cartel drug lord Joaquin Guzman. One message read: "You are killing our sons. You already did, and now we are going to kill your families."

  September 10 – In the border city of Reynosa, across the border from McAllen, Texas, 85 inmates — 66 of whom were convicted or on trial for federal charges like weapons possession or drugs — scaled the Reynosa prison's 20-foot (6-meter) walls using ladders. Forty four prison guards and employees were under investigation. Two were missing. So far this year a total of 201 inmates have escaped from prisons in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

  September 12 - Mexican marines arrest Sergio Villarreal Barragán, a lieutenant of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.

  September 16 - In Matamoros, Tamaulipas, over 25 people were killed after a confrontation between the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas, and elements of the Mexican Navy. This was during the eve celebration of the Mexican Independence Day.

  October 18 – Mexican authorities seized 105 tons of marijuana bound for the U.S., representing the biggest bust in the history of the state of Baja California. Soldiers and police seized the drugs in predawn raids in three neighborhoods. The marijuana was found wrapped in 10,000 packages. The drug had an estimated street value in Mexico of 4.2 billion pesos, about $338 million.

  October 22 – Gunmen kill 14 people at a boy's birthday party in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.

  October 24 – Gunmen in Tijuana kill 13 people at a drug rehab clinic.

  October 27 – Gunmen kill 15 people at a car wash in Tepic, Nayarit.

  November 4 – In Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas, 8 beheaded corpses were found on the trunk of a pickup truck. On top of the corpses, a poster read the following: “This happens for supporting Los Zetas. Here are all your halcones (informants). Sincerely, the Gulf Cartel.

  November 5 – Antonio Ezequiel Cárdenas Guillen, co-leader of the Gulf Cartel, was shot and killed during a gunbattle against Mexican authorities, along with more than 50 of his gunmen, in the border city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Although not confirmed, some local sources reveal that more than 100 people died that day in Matamoros.

  November 9 – Customs authorities at the International Airport of Mexico City seized 113 kilos of cocaine and two thousand bottles of pills with Risperidone.

  November 9 – Mayor Gregorio Barradas Miravete was found executed with a note left on him that read: "This is going to happen to all those who continue to support Los Zetas."

  November 22 - In the rural outsides of Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, drug cartel gunmen threatened a 77- year-old local entrepreneur, Don Alejo Garza Támez, to give away all his property. According to the report, they gave Don Alejo one day to leave his ranch before the gunmen arrived. If not, they threatened to kill him. Instead, Don Alejo made a fortress in his own ranch; setting up traps, and placing rifles on every house window, waiting for the arrival of the gunmen all by himself. When the gunmen arrived, Don Alejo shot and killed 4 of them, and gravely injured 2. Nevertheless, Don Alejo was killed, too, but he was commemorated for his heroic act.

  December 3 - In Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexican authorities capture Edgar Jiménez Lugo, alias "El Ponchis," a 14-year-old hitman from the South Pacific Cartel. He is the youngest sicario that there is register of in Mexico; "El Ponchis" is well-known for carrying out over 300 violent executions, most of them by mutilation, torture, and decapitation.

  December 9 – La Familia Michoacana's drug lord, Nazario Moreno González, was killed in a shootout with the federal police.

  December 18 – In Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, 151 inmates escaped a federal prison—58 of them were high-profile criminals—and investigations mention that the convicts left through the front door, which implies that the director allowed them to escape.

  December 19 - 2010 Puebla oil pipeline explosion: In the state of Puebla, a pipeline owned by PEMEX company exploded after thieves from Los Zetas attempted to siphon off the oil. The explosion killed 28 people, injured 52, and damaged over 115 homes.
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br />   December 28 – Around 60 gunmen stormed the small, indigenous town of Tierras Coloradas, Durango. The gunmen burned all the houses (40), cars (27), and an elementary school; over 200 natives had to flee the area, others were killed.

  For 2010, the drug-related deaths reached 15,273.

  2011

  January 8 – 28 bodies were discovered in Acapulco, including the decapitated bodies of 15 young men, with the heads scattered around them, which were found outside the Plaza Sendero shopping center. Media reports say that three messages signed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, were found alongside the bodies. The other bodies include 6 found in a taxi behind a supermarket, 4 riddled with bullets in two residential neighborhoods and 3 others in other locations.

  February 16 – In San Luis Potosí, the American ICE agent Jaime Zapata was ambushed, shot, and killed on a highway during his trajectory to Mexico City by a group of gunmen, later confirmed to be Los Zetas. The second agent, Victor Avila, was wounded, and is now in the United States. The gunmen involved in the shooting have been apprehended.

  February 27 – Sergio Mora Cortes, aka "El Toto," is captured by Mexican Marines in Saltillo, Coahuila. Mora Cortes was a leader of Los Zetas in the state of San Luis Potosi, and he was wanted for the murder of the American ICE agent Jaime Zapata and for the murder of a Nuevo Laredo police chief.

  February 28 – 7 bodies found hanging from bridges in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. Messages left with the corpses alleged that the dead were members of the South Pacific Cartel.

  March 1 – A mass grave with over 20 bodies was uncovered in San Miguel Totolapan, Guerrero. Other sources, however, mention that more than 70 bodies were exhumed.

  March 2 – A three-day shooting was registered between the Mexican Marines and Los Zetas in the city of Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas. During these three days, all local businesses and schools closed; a convoy of 50 SUV’s from Los Zetas was seen in the rural highway outside the city.