Pájaros Sierra vs CJNG: Banner Signed By Mencho Himself Left in Mazamitla, Jalisco

"HEARST" and "Ivan" for Borderland Beat 

Banners were left in Mazamitla, Jalisco that were signed by Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho”.

The banners threaten Ernesto Mascorro, alias “El Chaparro”, who is the leader of Pájaros Sierra, a group which recently broke off of the CJNG and is now fighting against them on the border of Michoacán and Jalisco.

The Mazamitla Banners

Two narco banners were discovered in the early morning hours of May 6, 2022, in the town of Mazamitla, Jalisco. Very few photos of the banners are available online, with only two having appeared so far and only one of those two has a decent resolution.

The message read as follows, as translated by Ivan: 

To all the general population of Mazamitla and its surroundings, 

We are Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación. 

Through this means we are acknowledging that we are here and that our fight is not against innocent civilians and the government. 

We are looking for Ernesto Mascorro, alias “El Chaparro” and all his son of bitches that are called “Pájaros Sierra”, a bunch of lowlifes. And we will not permit rats and vulgars. One by one, they will fall, son of bitches, traitors.

And also, to law enforcement authorities that support them, you better get out of the way. If not we will fuck you up. For a Mazamitla free of rats 

Sincerely, 

Mencho

The message is signed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho” himself, in his first public communication since the widespread rumors of his possible death.

Overview of the CJNG vs Pájaros Sierra Conflict 

Evidently, the Mazamitla conflict is so important to the CJNG organization that it merits the focus of Mencho’s first post-"death" public statement. 

So what's been going on in Mazamitla? Who is Chaparro and what are Pájaros Sierra? Here is a brief overview of what we know so far:

On July 17, 2014, CJNG regional chief Alejandro García Bautista, alias “El Pelón”, was arrested by officers of the Mazamitla municipal police. El Pelón was the  plaza boss for the municipalities of Tizapán El Alto, La Manzanilla de la Paz, and Mazamitla (marked in light gray on the map below).

Pelón was tried on charges of drug trafficking and sent to prison. While Pelón was serving his time inside, a cartel emissary arrived at the jail and informed him that his longtime friend, Abel Alcántar Vallejo, alias “El Toro” or "Sierra 8", had taken control of his territory in the wake of his absence.

According to newspaper Mural, El Toro and El Pelón had been friends for over 12 years, having started out as La Familia Michoacana members together and meeting when Toro was just starting out in the cartel world and only 18 years old. 

Later, they both joined the CJNG during the time between 2013-2014, when the CJNG was pushing to gain more ground in the area and began franchising existing local cartel groups to become a part of their larger organization. Prior to becoming a CJNG leader, El Pelón had been a Caballeros Templario, La Familia Michoacana and Zetas member. 

In prison, the emissary told El Pelón that El Toro had also expanded to control not only his old territories but also the municipality across the state border, Marcos Castellanos (marked in dark gray on the map above), which contained the town of San José de Gracia, where all Pelón’s relatives lived. El Pelón was told by the emissary, on behalf of El Toro, that he was no longer allowed to step foot in San José de Gracia. 

And as a way of exerting his new power, in 2018, El Pelon’s brother Ricardo N, alias “Chocorrol” was abducted after a bar fight and murdered by El Toro’s hitmen. 

In 2019, El Pelón, having left prison,  shifted to working with another group within the CJNG and became involved in conflicts in Colima and Zapopan. His rank within the organization grew and in December 2021, Pelón took a risk and had El Toro's younger brother José N, aliases “El Chepe” or "Sierra-2" killed, banking on the belief that his grown influence enough to get away with the murder. Evidently, he was correct and Pelón continued as a CJNG operative, with both men having lost a brother and a score settled. 

Then, El Pelón’s mother, Elisa Bautista Pulido died in 2022 and her funeral was set to be hosted in San José de Gracia.

El Pelón arrived at the funeral with approximately 15 bodyguards. Some of his relatives asked if it was safe for him to be there because they were aware of El Toro's ultimatum. Pelón told them that he had asked and been given "permission" from CJNG commanders to attend the wake despite it being in San José de Gracia. 

Images taken from slides presented at presidential morning press conference on March 1, 2022. 

Shortly after Pelón arrived, El Toro’s hitmen arrived at the wake. The hitmen held Pelón’s bodyguards some of whom were inside the tent which hosted the wake and some of whom were near their vehicles on the street, at gunpoint. 

The hitmen demanded the bodyguards drop their weapons and leave the tent hosting the wake. Pelón told his bodyguards to comply and the bodyguards were escorted to the outside gate. Toro’s hitmen searched the various vehicles which belonged to Pelón men, looking for any more firearms, as reported by El Economista. 

Pelón's bodyguards are seen on right, complying with Toro hitmen's orders.

Having complied with their demands, Pelón asked the Toro hitmen to leave the tent and not to bother the civilians at the wake who were uninvolved. Pelón began a phone call, presumably with CJNG higher ups, when Toro stepped out of the crowd of his hitmen and addressed Pelón directly, man to man. It is unknown what words were exchanged, only that it was brief, as Toro then personally shot Pelón, who still had his cellphone in hand.

As soon as Pelón hitmen the ground all hell broke loose, with Toro’s hitmen shooting up the bodyguards who were scrambling to get their hands on guns. Plenty of family members were caught in the crossfire. The shooting reportedly killed 17 people. One of those killed was El Pelón. Link to the full story here and here.

The newspaper La Voz de Jalisco would later allege that the CJNG subgroup Pájaros Sierra (as it is currently known) were the perpetrators of the shooting. This presumably means El Toro is a Pájaros Sierra lieutenant. 

El Toro possibly got permission to attack the wake, despite Pelón’s approval from CJNG higher ups, from the leader of the Pájaros Sierra, Ernesto Mascorro Martínez, alias “El Chaparro”. It is believed that Chaparro must have in some way allowed the shooting to occur because much of the CJNG’s ire in later communication is directed at Chaparro.

Whether Pájaros Sierra had chosen to split with the CJNG organization prior to the shooting or if the shooting caused them to be kicked out of the CJNG is unclear. Pájaros Sierra may have formerly been known as Grupo Sierra, but this is unconfirmed. 

The CJNG subgroup Mencho’s Special Forces (Fuerzas Especiales Mencho, FEM) released a video in which they tell the civilians of Mazamitla that they are not there to hurt them, they are only in town to go after the “traitorous El Chaparro” because of shooting at the wake in San José de Gracia, which they say he ordered. 

They specifically name the following: “Negro, Palillo, Pajaro, Chuy, Toro, Porfirio, Pecas” as people who they are coming after because they are working under Chaparro. Link to the full story. 

At a presidential morning press conference, Undersecretary Ricardo Mejía Berdeja announced that 13 men who are believed to be Pájaros Sierra members and involved in the wake shooting were arrested from four towns in the general Mazamitla region. These men were arrested by federal soldiers in a series of operations that took place between April 14 - 20. Link to the full story here.

At around 2:00 pm, the emergency phone line received reports of shootouts that were occuring in the town of La Estacada, within the municipality of Mazamitla. The gunfights were allegedly between CJNG hitmen and Pájaros Sierra hitmen. A set of road blockades, made from burning trucks, were created in order to block security forces from interfering in the confrontation. The battle between the two groups lasted around two hours, concluding at around 4:00 pm. 

The Security Secretariat confirmed they located only 3 dead bodies in the area following the battle. It is likely the death toll was higher and the bodies were removed by cartel hitmen before law enforcement could reach the area. Link to the full story. 

Undersecretary Ricardo Mejía Berdeja announced that between May 2 - 4, soldiers had located a camp of hitmen in Mazamitla and arrested 8 alleged cartel members. Link to the full story.

Sources: Mural, Excelsior, El Economista, No Más Delincuencia, Notiirealidad Urbana, Inseguridad Jalisco, GHOST DEVIIL, Jalisco Rojo, Mexico Daily Post