The Narco-War in Mexicali: Sinaloa Cartel Infighting, Mass Killings, and Cross-Border Killers

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

Note to readers: This report uses several articles from the Baja California newspaper Zeta Tijuana that were published in March, April, and May 2021.

The Sinaloa Cartel faction in Mexicali, headed by lieutenants under Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada (far left) are competing against Los Chapitos (second from the left to right), Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, Ovidio Guzmán López, and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán.

The cell of Los Rusos, commanded by Jesús Alexander Sánchez Félix (alias "El Ruso") and Felipe Eduardo Barajas Lozano (alias "El Omega"), lieutenants under Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada on the border of Baja California and Sonora, are responsible for commanding the narco-war in the Mexicali Valley.

They are in the middle of a territorial war against two other Sinaloa Cartel factions, Los Salazar and Los Chapitos, headed by the sons of former drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo Guzman". In Mexicali, Los Chapitos is headed by Nestor Ernesto Perez Salas ('El Nini'), who receives support from the Sonora-based faction Los Salazar, headed by Crispin Salazar Zamorano.

The border area between Mexicali, Baja California and San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, has become an oasis for organized crime. Sicarios commit crimes in one state and flee to the other, taking advantage of the lack of communication and the disastrous coordination between the authorities of both states.

The police officers shift responsibility to their counterparts in the neighboring state, while accusing each other of corruption and mafia collusion. In the area, the reaction to high-impact crimes is poor or non-existent, which has allowed the cartels to take possession of roads and rural communities (ejidos), terrorizing ordinary citizens by turning them into witnesses and collateral victims of shootings. murders and kidnappings (levantones).

On the afternoon of Saturday, April 24, this lack of coordination and distancing resulted in an officers from the Baja California State Security and Investigation Guard (GESI) being shot: one officer was injured, as well as a paramedic from who arrived to attend the officers.

All were left in the middle of two shootings in which the local operators of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada assassinated Jorge Humberto Maya Siqueiros (alias "El Vampiro"), ring leader of Los Salazar.

Intelligence reports from state authorities say that those responsible for the attack worked under El Omega, who ordered the assassination of several subjects in recent weeks as part of a "cleanse of possible rivals in the Mexicali Valley (Valle de Mexicali) and the eastern zone of the city."

In response to these deadly events, the Baja California attorney general Guillermo Ruiz Hernández called a meeting with authorities from both states. Representatives of the three levels of government (municipal, state, and federal) participated, including the Attorney General of Justice of Sonora, Claudia Indira Contreras Córdova. They met to define a work plan to reduce drug-related violence in the area.

The situation has not been ignored by Mexicali's northern neighbor, the United States. US authorities have issued two security alerts due to the rise in drug cartel violence.

They Were After 'El Vampiro'

El Vampiro had a death sentenced looming over him. On the afternoon of Friday, April 23, while he was traveling on his motorcycle with a woman, he was attacked by gunmen who were manning a blue Dodge Journey truck. El Vampiro was crossing the Miguel Aleman Bridge, which connects the municipalities of Mexicali and San Luis Rio Colorado.

The criminals opened fire on El Vampiro, causing injuries to his body. At the crime scene there were also two state agents assigned to protect a prominent businessman who was in the area. Baja California agents were stationed close to the scene and responded to the shootout when they witness it unfold in front of them.

Jorge Humberto Maya Siqueiros, alias "El Vampiro", after he was shot

They engaged in a shootout with the suspects criminals. Felipe Valdez, one of the officers involved, was also wounded. Both him and El Vampiro were transferred to hospitals in San Luis Río Colorado.

The attackers fled to Mexicali, but made a U-turn and tried to cross to San Luis Rio Colorado under the bridge. The car got stuck in the sand, so they abandoned it and continued their escape on foot. Baja California and Sonora authorities were unable to find the gunmen.

Wounded, El Vampiro was taken into custody and transferred to San Luis Río Colorado to receive medical attention. The following day, doctors from San Luis considered that it was necessary to take him to the General Hospital of Mexicali so that he could have services that were not available in San Luis. An operation was mounted to carry out his transfer.

Several units of the Municipal Police of San Luis joined the operation and accompanied the white ambulance El Vampiro was in. The custody of the emergency unit extended to the booth dividing Sonora with Baja California. He entered the Baja California terrain without custody. He did not advance more than 100 meters when a Tahoe-type truck and a Honda vehicle began shooting at him.

The driver of the ambulance tried to escape from the aggressors who were chasing them on Federal Highway 2,  but the triggermen continued the pursuit until the main avenue, where gunfire finally reached him and caused him to lose control and stop. 

The sicarios focused their attack on the back of the emergency vehicle. They shot and killed El Vampiro. The body was left in the middle of the two front seats, which showed that El Vampiro tried to escape from the front part of the ambulance.

Paramedic Marcelino Monreal Ayala, 46, was transferred and treated by San Luis authorities. His injuries were critical to the point that local media reports mistakenly said he was dead. This version was later corrected by authorities. No attackers were not found.

Interviewed at different times, Attorney General Guillermo Ruiz Hernández and Mexicali Municipal Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Alejandro Lora Torres, agreed that they were unaware that the transfer posed serious risks. 

Investigators established that the two vehicles that perpetrated the crime were following the police convoy from Sonora and only waited for the moment to carry out the attack once the ambulance made it into Baja California without custody.

In fact, the investigators in Baja California expressed suspicions regarding the operation because they were not warned of the transfer and the attack occurred immediately after the ambulance crossed from Sonora to Baja California.

El Vampiro had no charges against him, but the intelligence reports had identified him as allegedly responsible for several homicides, mainly in San Luis Río Colorado, where he was linked to the December 2019 murders of agents Raúl Ramos and Ricardo Castro.

Two years ago, he was linked to José Eduardo Pérez Jiménez alias “El Charal”, a hitman belonging to the cell of Vicente Martínez González “El Guilo”. Both were exiled from Mexicali after the murder of municipal agent Ignacio Villagómez Robles, perpetrated in April 2019.

Jose Eduardo Perez Jimenez, alias "El Charal" (left) and Vicente Martinez Gonzalez, alias "El Guilo" (right)

In that year, the various state corporations focused their attention on "El Guilo", so they fled the state and took refuge in Aguascalientes, while "El Charal" and "El Vampiro" sought refuge in San Luis Río Colorado. They continued to operate with criminal cells of the Sinaloa Cartel under Los Salazar, mainly committing homicides in the area.

In Mexicali, El Vampiro was also reportedly involved in armed robberies. In 2017, his name came to light after a triple homicide was committed at a home in Ciudad Morelos, in the Mexicali Valley, where an armed group murdered three people. Only two victims were identified: Alberto Rodríguez Martínez and Cristina Padilla Chávez.

The murderers had been instructed to also kill El Vampiro, who was in the house. However, he heard the gunmen when they arrived and hid in the closet. According to authorities, the attack was in revenge because they had robbed a person involved with a local cartel.

A week after evading the homicide, El Vampiro was arrested for violent theft of a vehicle. Once he was released, he became a murderer at the hands of El Charal.

In Mexicali, the authorities presume that he participated in the murder of the former San Luis Río Colorado policeman, Marco Polo Márquez Tamayo, killed in May 2020. His 3-year-old boy was also murdered.

Márquez Tamayo had been threatened by Los Salazar, and as a result of this incident, El Vampiro was linked to this criminal group.

'El Omega', The Mastermind of the Homicide

As part of Los Rusos, Felipe Eduardo Barajas Lozano, alias "El Omega" is the main suspect in the crime perpetrated against El Vampiro.

The criminal group headed by "El Omega" is based in Sonora, but they have been the authors of several attacks and murders in the southern area of ​​the Mexicali Valley during the months of March and April. According to reports from the authorities, in recent weeks the cell withdrew its forces to fight in the Mexicali Valley and "clean up" the area  by killing rivals.

Felipe Eduardo Barajas Lozano, alias "El Omega"

At the same time, Los Salazar intensified their actions to enter Baja California. Investigators said that they increased efforts in Tijuana and decreased their advancement in Mexicali.

The intention of the operators of "El Mayo" in assassinating "El Vampiro" was to kill off rival gang members. As part of this criminal mission, previously, on April 8, Jesus Ramon Velázquez Contreras, known as "El H", was assassinated in the Puebla Valley.

Velazquez Contreras was the brother of an agent of the Municipal Police of Mexicali known as "El 50", who died - apparently - by suicide. The agent was singled out and investigated for supplying narcotics inside bars and nightclubs in Mexicali.

El H had a close relationship with Miguel Ángel Beltrán Munguía, alias "El Indio", a lieutenant of the Sinaloa Cartel assassinated in January 2021, as reported by Borderland Beat. On that occasion the authorities also pointed to El Omega, with whom the victim had clashed for an alleged drug theft deal.

For years, El Indio was the middle-man between the high-level lieutenants of the Sinaloa Cartel in the area, but after his conflicts with El Omega and El Ruso, he was assassinated.

On the day of his death, cartel members also kileld two people in Ejido Sinaloa and Ciudad Morelos, in the Mexicali Valley. In both cases, El Omega's alias shined as the main suspect. A white Volkswagen Jetta vehicle was clearly identified in at least two of the crimes.

Authorities carried out arrests against Los Salazar in recent days. on April 26, they arrested Raúl Aguilera Sepúlveda (alias "El Tortas"), who tried to escape to San Luis Río Colorado during his arrest. But, unlike on other occasions, law enforcement communication flowed and they managed to stop him a few streets after crossing the booth.

Identified as a member of a rival group of El Omega, Aguilera Sepulveda was arrested on an illegal possession of military-exclusive firearm charge.

"El Zabe", Competing for the Mexicali Valley

The control of El Omega in the Mexicali Valley spread rapidly under the backing of El Ruso, who relegated other cartel bosses like Vicente Martínez González (alias "El Guilo") and the criminal cell of Los Garibay, the latter headed by Manuel Garibay Espinoza (alias "Don Manuel") and his nephew Luis Alfredo Garibay Félix (alias "El Wicho").

From Sonoyta, Eduardo Molina Flores (alias "El Zabe", "El Zevas", and/or "El Sabino"), is the head of Los Salazar's hitmen, who, in alliance with Los Garibay, face "El Ruso" and "El Omega" in the Mexicali Valley.

Eduardo Molina Flores, alias "El Zabe"

Originally from Aguaprieta, Sonora and a former municipal agent of that community, he was recruited by Los Salazar to fight for the plaza. "El Zabe" is in charge of collecting drug dealing and extortion fees, and ordering killings from Sonoyta to San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora.

El Zabe was head of regional boss (jefe de plaza) in Huatabampo, Sonora, a community located 345 kilometers south of Hermosillo, Sonora. He was arrested in 2012 by the Mexican Army at a military checkpoint located on the highway between Ciudad Obregón and Benito Juárez in Sonora. At that time, he was already wanted for three murders committed against two policemen identified as Trinidad Guadalupe Montiel Jiménez and Jesús Horacio Pacheco Moroyoqui; and a communicator named Pablo Aurelio Ruelas Barraza, all perpetrated in 2011.

El Zabe regained his freedom and was sent by Los Salazars to Sonoyta. At his command are two individuals identified by the nicknames "El Oakland" and "El Joker Marcelo". Investigators in Baja California consider that it was precisely the armed group of "El Oakland" that entered the southern part of the Mexicali Valley to commit the murders mentioned above.

"El Wicho", "El Rene" and "El Many", Identified

Luis Alfredo Garibay Félix (alias "El Wicho") and René Ledezma Jáuregui, are two members of the Los Garibay cell, are believed to be responsible for the crime that occurred on February 23, 2021, when Enrique Martínez Camacho was attacked at a home in Ejido Chiapas I along with his wife Araceli Muñoz Aguilera. Three of the victim's siblings, Alonso, Aarón and Ángel, were reportedly kidnapped and have not been found.

Manuel Garibay Espinoza ('Don Manuel', left) and Luis Alfredo Garibay Felix ('El Wicho', right) are the two leaders of Los Garibay. They were arrested in 2010 and 2018, respectively, but both were released.

Afer the killing, they fled to Ejido Colima to assassinate José Fidencio Granados; his son, named José Yael, aged 6, was injured. The central prosecutor of Baja California, Hiram Sánchez Zamora, commented that arrest warrants were issued for these criminal acts, but he did not specify names or how many were implicated.

However, reporters managed to verify that two warrants were issued against El Wicho and Ledezma Jáuregui, leaving one more pending against El Many, who has only been identified by nickname.

Investigators believe that El Zabe cannot undertake a direct campaign to take control of the turf, especially because he is not from the area and his center of operations is far from Mexicali. That is why they sought support from Los Garibay.

Los Garibay initially tried to frame El Omega's faction for the mass killing in an effort to heat up their turf (calentar la plaza). 

Both El Wicho and Ledezma Jauregui fled Sonora and it is presumed that they could be hiding in Sinaloa or Durango with the intention of "cooling off" law enforcement efforts against them.

Days later, El Omega's faction kidnapped David Jimenez Herrera (alias "El Bicholo"), who worked for Los Garibay. It is presumed that El Omega ordered the kidnapping in response to Los Garibay's killings in the area.

"El P1" and/or "Ponchito de la Lima"

As a measure to contain the advancement of Los Salazar, El Ruso requested the support of one of his most trusted armed men to reinforce operations in and around Mexicali.

The rise in kidnappings and murders can also be attributed to the arrival of this man.

He is nicknamed "El P1" or "El Ponchito de la Lima". His real name has not been fully verified. Sources say it could be Alfonso Peralta or Alfonso Amaya.

"El P1" and/or "Ponchito de la Lima"

So far, investigating authorities have not been able to specifically identify this character despite the fact that he has been working in El Ruso's criminal structure for many years.

Narcorridos (drug ballads) say that Ponchito was part of the "school" of Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza (alias "Macho Prieto"), who reportedly died in a shooting in Puerto Penasco, Sonora in 2013. His body was never recovered.

Conclusion

As reported by Borderland Beat, the Sinaloa Cartel moved drugs through Baja California without much problem for many years. But Los Chapitos began to make their own decisions without approval from other factions in 2016, after the last recapture of their father.

In 2019, they fought against cells of El Mayo in parts of Sinaloa, causing greater friction within the cartel. Such confrontations escalated in 2020 and in 2021.

Sources: Zeta Tijuana (1); (2); (3); Borderland Beat archives