For the first time in years, the drug trade in Nayarit received global media attention. WebMexico: The candidate for mayor of Morolen is killed. [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. "The bullets were entering the restaurant.". The operation was a joint effort between Veytias police forces and the Navy, a surprising partnership given previous events. Guests at the nearby Azul Beach Resort also posted videos of people taking shelter or gathering in the lobby. Goods to stock store shelves and medical care frequently dont arrive for fear of cartel roadblocks. Sam Quinones has revealed that the traffickers who dominate the heroin trade in the US Midwest are all predominantly from Nayarit. Armed kids shine light on Mexico's drug cartel violence 06:40. ", Mexico Seems To Favor Sinaloa Cartel In Drug War. A rumor circulated that the cartels were forcing youth snatched from the communities to work for them. Lpez Obradors party just won the governorship in Zacatecas, but it remains to be seen if coordination with federal authorities will improve. Outbursts of gunfire are common. 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 . 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. 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. 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. With dozens of other people, Garcia took refuge in a low-end clothing store where people can buy $10 soccer jerseys on credit. hide caption. Several police officers surrendered and were arrested by the marines, but unsurprisingly all were released from a Tepic jail shortly afterwards. 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. Montes de Oca said eight suspects in the Tulum attack had been detained in possession of firearms. From having the second-lowest crime rate in Mexico during the first two months of 2017, Nayarit was soon the setting for public shoot-outs between Beltrn Leyva remnants and the invading CJNG, the latter now backed by Veytias successor as state attorney general, Javier Herrera Valle. 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. He said just sharing territory with one group makes residents complicit in the eyes of their enemies. 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. "Sol Prendido" and "HEARST" for Borderland Beat In Colima, a video shows CJNG hitmen interrogating a CDS member who alle "Ivan" for Borderland Beat Guano Guzman & Seor Guzman News started to emerge on Friday, February 24, 2023 that a joint fede "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat The aftermath of an armed attack comes into view. To the east sits San Luis Potosi, a logistics hub filled with shipping companies that can move the tiny pills north. Jos Luis Gonzlez Meza, a lawyer speaking on behalf of the Guzmn family, told the AP that "Ovidio is alive and free," but he did not elaborate. 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. 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. Nayarits transformation to an , Rarely seen in public without a sombrero and an embroidered Wixrika shoulder bag, Sandovals self-proclaimed peoples government undertook numerous eye-catching projects, such as building a public sports and concert arena (which soon flooded), huge water-capture tanks in the poor outskirts of Tepic (which were never connected to the local water supply), and a sports center shaped like a giant cowboy hat. And these practices were so profitable that officials at the heart of President Pea Nietos PRI federal governmentindeed, the commander-in-chief of the same army prosecuting Mexicos war on drug traffickingdecided to get in on the action themselves and take their own cut of the reward. 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. Photograph: Web15 Murdered in Tepic Carwash. He said he has not been directly threatened, but he has the same fear as everyone. One might also conjecture that Cienfuegos protection extended to Patrn Snchezs political partners in crime, too. Gunmen stop residents and demand their cell phones to look for information that could tie them to the other cartel. Similar violence is occurring in other states like Michoacn and Guerrero, where residents caught between competing gangs suffer extortion, abductions and killings. hide caption. Tepic is my hometown and it has become a disaster, I am saddened by what has become of it. 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. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); All Rights Reserved The Yucatan Times 2020, Merida number one in the preference for Easter vacations, US Ambassador Ken Salazar says the USMCA achieved Teslas investment in Mexico, Lpez Obrador accuses opponents of exaggerating minister Yasmn Esquivels case, German circus replaces wild animals with holograms, Maya indigenous tourist guide speaks 4 languages fluidly, Battle for water in Yucatan: there are big challenges to ensure the supply, Rhythmic gymnastics team will compete in Yucatan Cup, Worlds second-largest blue hole found off the Yucatan Peninsula shores, Cine Mvil ToTo: dates and locations in Yucatn. Highways running north to key border cities pass through Zacatecas, providing a direct route for northbound drugs and southbound guns. Crime "has gone up a little with extortion, with drug sales to foreigners and Mexicans," the prosecutors office said about the raid. 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. 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. 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. Vean el tipo de armas que se estn usando. 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 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. Nayarit rarely makes the headlines in Mexico, far less in the rest of the world. More than 23,000 people have died in drug-related violence since Calderon took office 3 1/2 years ago. Indeed, Nayarit is Mexicos second biggest exporter of mangoes, and primary producer of tobacco. ", 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.". 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 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. 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.". When he took office in 2012, Mexicos President Enrique Pea Nieto drew up a list of 122 drug cartel leaders, making their capture a priority. 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 other was killed on the beach. The strategies that the Mexican government has implemented over the last 15 years have not worked, he said. It is inevitable to end this without some kind of force, but importantly, an intelligent and unified manner.Thanks for reporting Gerardo. All of these activities were overseen by his chief ally and enforcer, Edgar Veytia: the same man charged with the local prosecution of the Mexican states war on the drug cartels., State attorney general Veytia was the man who made good on Sandovals promises to halt the killing in Nayarit: the sheriff to the governors cowboy. 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. He says everyone dropped to the floor for cover, and eventually the staff herded all the customers into the kitchen. Theres no cellular coverage and just two phone booths, isolation that adds to the uncertainty. 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. The Puerto Morelos shooting comes two weeks after a California travel blogger and a German tourist were killed in a similar shootout in the beach town of Tulum. WebUpdated at 10 a.m. Several shootings have occurred near schools. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. 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. 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 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. 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 sits halfway up Mexicos Pacific coast, sandwiched between Sinaloa to the north and Jalisco to the south, while its mountainous interior also borders Durango and Zacatecas. But a resident from the same area had a different hope for peace: that one cartel wins soon. We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. i guess it was less corruption back then i do not know, all i know is it is a shame to see Mexico in this situation, people just dont give a damn about anybody else, and they are leaving a trail of people who wont give a damn about others either..terribly sad. Cartel map of Mexico. 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. In November, a shootout on the beach of Puerto Morelos left two suspected drug dealers dead. Nor were skirmishes between rival traffickers, and the killing of state officials on the orders of organized crime, unheard of in the state. [5] Authors own fieldnotes from the Sierra de Nayarit. 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. On Tuesday, he gave a passionate televised address to the nation calling on Mexicans to join in the fight against organized crime. Thanks for everything. They were members of the police force of the neighboring state of San Luis Potosi who had been reported missing hours earlier. The legacy of this political history and the facts of geography together define Nayarits place in the modern Mexican drug trade. hide caption. Zacatecas sits between the drugs production and its consumers. Click here to receive our twice-monthly newsletter. The north-central Mexican state holds strategic importance for drugs being shipped to the United States. After the brutal murder of his family ordered by his boss Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo, Palma engaged in a string of vicious crimes to 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. Jose Garcia works at the taxi stand out front, hailing cabs and helping people with their shopping bags. Nayarit rarely makes the headlines in Mexico, far less in the rest of the world. But there is more to the story. Hector Parra/AP Soon Veytia expanded into trafficking drugs himself. ..i dont understand all of these killings and no end to it. 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. All 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. See state summaries and advisory levels below for information on your specific travel destination. Bullets ripped through the children's play area at the adjacent Burger King. He used his power to amass enormous landholdings and expand his own personal ranching operations. Montes de Oca said one of the men targeted in the attack fled into one of the hotels before dying. And all this he accomplished, it is alleged, through embezzlement of state funds, extorsion of businesses, overseeing kidnapping for ransom and seizures of land and property, and, of course, close collaboration with drug traffickers. to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about 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. 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. Veytias arrest led the Mexican Federal prosecutors office and lawmakers in Nayarit to open a joint investigation into Sandoval in mid-2017. 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. Far from a law enforcement hero, however, Edgar Veytia was in fact the very picture of a miscreant. If this was the case, we can only imagine what Veytia who thanked Sandoval for his intercession with a gift of Spanish horses worth a million dollars and 300 hectares of recently-seized peasant lands gave to the Secretary of Defense in exchange for his support. Goodness me, why people killed each other in world. A detective who apparently was investigating the shootout and was pulled out of Valparaso for his safety was later killed. Ultimately, Veytias incomplete attempt to deliver the state directly into the hands of the CJNG unleashed a new wave of local violence. Nayarits coast is a tropical zone fringed by mangrove swamps, where fishing and commercial agriculture are the lifeblood of the local economy. All the businesses locked their doors, Garcia says. It was this indictment that led to the Cienfuegos arrest in the United States and revealed his place in the Nayarit corruption story. 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. Others just stayed inside. He says people heard the shots and started running. 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.