Police Officers Caught Working for Los Rusos and Los Wonders in San Luis Rio, Sonora

"HEARST" and "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

A San Luis Río Colorado municipal police officer was arrested working alongside members of Los Rusos while in Mexicali and the Police Chief of San Luis Río Colorado is accused of using criminal organization Los Wonders to kidnap innocent civilians in Sonora. 

On August 30, 2021, a narcomanta (narco message sign) was placed on the US Mexico border wall in the city of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora. 

According to Sonora Informativo, shortly after it was placed it was removed by municipal police officers, but not before someone managed to get a photo of the banner which was subsequently uploaded to social media. The narcomanta read as follows, as translated by Sol Prendido:

Mr. Puntillas, 

You are being notified that we have come to do justice for the people. The same due process will be applied against the individuals that you’ve placed and sent to kidnap. 

You’ve collected ransoms from your victims and then killed them. Innocent civilians have been “disappeared” in San Luis Rio Colorado because of your actions. 

We know that you use the "Lacra Wonders" cell to do your dirty work. 

The man who the narcomanta is addressed to is likely Luis Manuel Lugo Durón, who is often called Commander "Puntillas". Luis Manuel Lugo Durón is the director of Public Safety Police for the city of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora. 

According to Tribuna de San Luis,  Lugo Durón took the position of police director in September 2019 after being appointed by the mayor. Prior to that he was an operational director of the State Investigative Police (PEI) from January to November 2014. He has been involved in law enforcement since as early as 1987, when he joined the State Judicial Police and has slowly risen through the ranks of various agencies over the course of his career.  

Luis Manuel Lugo Durón

The group that the narcomanta accuses the police director of working with “Lacras Wonders” is likely a mocking version of “Los Wonders”. The officer in charge of the San Luis Río’s Anti-Gang division, Exon Oropeza reported in 2019 that Los Wonders is a gang which primarily operates out of the Chula Vista 3 subdivision. 

He also identified it as one of the top three most violent gangs operating in San Luis Río. He said most often gangs in San Luis are made up of young people between the ages of 11 and 17. Most of these gangs operate in the East and South of the City, in the area known as "los fraccionamientos", or the subdivisions/neighborhoods. 

Los Wonders has an extensive history in the San Luis Río Colorado area. By as early as 2010, the US Department of Homeland Security named Los Wonders as part of their unsealed “Sonora-Based Threats to U.S. Border Security” report. Los Wonders was believed to primarily operate a human smuggling operation at the time. 

In 2016, US Border Patrol and Mexican law enforcement were carrying out a joint investigation into Los Wonder’s smuggling of undocumented people, especially Central American immigrants. "You have to stop them before they evolve and become a major problem, as happened in Ciudad Juárez with La Línea," said a high-level source from the investigation in a Contrasena 2016 article. But evidently Los Wonders was not successfully stopped as they still remain a prevalent threat within the city in 2021. 

At 11:30pm on the night of August 31, 2021, a white Chevrolet Camaro was caught speeding in the Lagos del Sol neighborhood, located in southern Mexicali city, Baja California. 

El Imparcial reports that when police officers pulled over the white 2014 Chevrolet Camaro with Sonora license plates, the three men inside were briefly questioned and “due to inconsistencies in their statements” the car was searched by officers. The officers found a 9mm firearm along with ammo so the three men were arrested

At the police station they were identified as Javier, 31 years old; Edgar Omar, 39 years old and Mario Humberto. All three men were later found to be residents of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora. 

Mario Humberto “N” in fact turned out to be not only a resident of San Luis Río, but also an active duty Municipal Police officer of San Luis Río Colorado. Shortly after their arrest, the police station was put on high alert and extra security forces were called in the guard the area of the police station. 

El Imparcial explains this high alert was triggered because it is presumed the the detainees identified themselves as belonging to a criminal group known as "Los Rusos" , and they would have asked for their freedom, or else there would be consequences

The director of Mexicali police told the press that the Mexicali police department were “Investigating something in addition to the behaviour demonstrated in this [specific] incident. A person claims to be an officer of San Luis Río Colorado. Apparently this is true and the corresponding investigations will be carried out.”

He continued “In our systems, we did not find any arrest orders against him, however, we have informed the competent authorities so that they can determine if there is anything pending through their investigations.”

Los Wonders Sources: Sonora Informativo, Tribuna de San Luis Article 1, Article 2, Contrasena 2016 Article, US Homeland Security Report 2010

Los Rusos Sources: El Imparcial, Sonora Informativo