CJNG’s “El Piolin” Dead in Prison, Facts Still A Mystery

Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: Zeta y Milenio

              Juan José Pérez Vargas, "El Piolín", "El Jp", "El Amarillo", "El R7", "El Juanillo"

The Hidden death of "El Piolin" in prison;  Judicial authorities were just notified of the his death in May.

More than two weeks after the death of Juan José Pérez Vargas "El Piolín" or "El JP", inmate of the Preventive Prison of Guadalajara, the authorities keep silence about the event and the way it happened.

After ZETA tried to corroborate the information that anonymously came to the newsroom in mid-May and to receive the refusal of authorities of the state of Jalisco to tell the truth of the death of Pérez Vargas, in the courts his death was confirmed .

When questioned about the matter, Jalisco Prosecutor Gerardo Octavio Solís Gómez said he did not know about the case. Sources consulted by Milenio pointed out that " El Piolín " committed suicide, another version indicates that he was murdered.

Were it not for the fact that in various courts made an attempt to notify the defendant within the establishment where he was staying and the prison authorities therefore had to report the death of the inmate, the matter would remain hidden from public opinion.

"El Piolín" was the leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) in the Plaza de Tijuana until he was arrested in October 2017 when, with some collaborators, he decided to visit the Perla Tapatía. (Guadalajara, Jalisco) His capture occurred at the junction of the avenues of López Mateos and Lázaro Cárdenas.

His death occurred on May 15, however, Milenio sources learned of the fact after the First District Court of Amparo in Criminal Matters of the State of Jalisco tried to notify him of the resolution of the trial of guarantees 360/2019, against an extradition order against him.

Personnel of the Commissariat of Preventive Prison of the State of Jalisco confirmed the death to the notifier so that this in turn will alert the judge in order that the trial of amparo cause dismissal.

When questioned about the matter, the Jalisco Prosecutor, Gerardo Octavio Solís Gómez, said he did not know about the case. Sources consulted by Milenio pointed out that "El Piolín" committed suicide, another version indicates that he was murdered.

Juan José Pérez Vargas was arrested in October 2017 on Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas and López Mateos, in Guadalajara , when he was traveling in a luxury van. "El Piolín, JP or R7", had an extradition order to the United States for various crimes.

His criminal life began under the orders of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, later defected to swell the ranks of the Tijuana Nueva Generación cartel, ie TJNG.

Juan Pérez Vargas  was one of the main responsible for drug trafficking on the border with the United States. He began to collaborate with the  Sinaloa Cartel , under the orders of  Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Later he defected to join the ranks of the  CJNG , headed by  Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, "El Mencho" , who has a reward of $10 million US dollars on his head.

In January 2017, a US jury filed charges against "El Piolín" for conspiracy to distribute and import controlled substances.

"El Piolín"  had also been indicated as responsible for ordering the murder of alleged members of  the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana , who were competing for the illicit drug market with the  CJNG .

The rivalry between the cartels caused the increase of intentional homicides in the border city, which this year alone amount to around 2,000.

At the time of his arrest, "El Piolín" had gone to visit his mother, according to the Mexican government. He had firearm cartridges and cash in his possession.

Police authorities in Jalisco filled out an arrest warrant against Pérez Vargas for the crime of rape and an arrest warrant was also issued for international extradition to the United States for crimes against health.

Apparently the alleged drug trafficker escaped accusations of sexual abuse, but recently lost an amparo trial against extradition. In addition, a new criminal process arose due to several kidnappings that occurred a decade ago in Jalisco.

During the first year of jail, Juan José was imprisoned in the State Metropolitan Prison with maximum security features, but after a few months he was relocated to the Preventive Prison of Guadalajara, where he finally met his death.

On the day that ZETA learned of the alleged death of "El Piolín", an anonymous telephone call was received to the newsroom briefly informing a reporter that the alleged criminal was "killed in the Puente Grande prison". In the search for information, the authorities assured ZETA that they did not have any information about it.

Two weeks later, the First District Court of Amparo in Criminal Matters in the State of Jalisco tried to notify the plaintiff of an agreement in the trial of guarantees 360/2019 against extradition order, but "it  was confirmed by surveillance and custody personnel of the Commissariat of Preventive Prison of the State of Jalisco, that said inmate had died in those facilities on May 15 of the current year ".

On Monday, the same court issued another agreement that says: "... Now, as can be seen from the reference records, the complainant Juan José Pérez Vargas, died at the premises of the Preventive Prison Station where he was an inmate, therefore, as there is no will on the part of the person who damages the act claimed, based on the Amparo Law, the dismissal in the present amparo proceeding is decreed outside the constitutional hearing, with respect to the aforementioned complainant ".

For its part, the Seventh District Judge of the Federal Criminal Proceedings of Jalisco, which was pursuing a criminal case against "El Piolín" for several kidnappings, sent the 3542 document to the First Unitary Court of the Third Circuit, where the now decedent processed the trial of guarantees 46/2018, to notify you of the following:

"The death of the implicated, Víctor Manuel Sigala Hernández or Juan José Pérez Vargas or Alberto Rodríguez Vargas or Omar Alejandro Cuevas, and once the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences submits the death certificate, it will be sent to this jurisdictional body, as well as the determination that the officiating court decides in this regard. "

The causes of death of Juan José Pérez Vargas are still a mystery. The notified judges by the prison institution do not know them either. They have not received any death certificate or certificate of any kind.

Unofficial sources in the prison confirmed the event, but little is known about the dynamics. "The only thing I can tell you is that it is thought that the prisoner " committed suicide ". I can not talk about anything else, " said one of the public servants, fearing some kind of reprisal.

The state prisons of Puente Grande, where "El Piolín" died, are factually controlled by the Jalisco Cartel Nueva Generación (CJNG) and for a couple of years there has been a chilling secrecy of what happens inside these prisons.

In the case of the Preventive Prison or Preventive Prison Commissariat of the State of Jalisco, where this was recorded, are the brothers Arnulfo and Ulises González Valencia, members of the family of "Los Cuinis", the financial arm of the criminal organization directs Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes "El Mencho".

Despite the fact that each week, the state authority holds a press conference to discuss security and law enforcement issues, the lack of transparency  of facts and results of investigations is evident.

The current Criminal Justice System became a pretext for not revealing information about names of people and matters of interest to society, which has even made it difficult to identify corpses. At best biased global statistics of some crimes are provided monthly.