SEMAR Raid of Kidnappers' Safe House Leads to Arrest of Six in Guaymas, Sonora

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 

José Arturo Cedano Bueno, 24 years old, who played norteño music, was kidnapped and half a day later found dead in the municipality of Guaymas, Sonora. A SEMAR led raid of a home after gunfire was heard led to the arrest of six of his kidnappers.

The Abduction

At some point before 6:00 pm on Saturday September 24, 2022, José Arturo Cedano Bueno was abducted from his home in the small town of Petrolera, located in the outskirts of the coastal city of Guaymas, in the state of Sonora. This area is believed to be controlled by the Caborca Cartel subgroup La Plaza but is regularly contested by the Sinaloa Cartel. 

José Arturo Cedano Bueno

Multiple people witnessed a group of armed men who arrived outside the home. The men entered the house and abducted José. They also took his vehicle, which was a red Volkswagen Derby sedan, from the property.  

The armed men fled the area with Jose in tow, one of them driving the red sedan close behind their own vehicle. At 6:05 pm, José’s relatives called the emergency line and reported that he had gone missing. An investigation into his disappearance began, led by the state Attorney General’s Office (FGE). 

José Arturo Cedano Bueno was a 24 year old musician. José was the accordion player for the norteño band called “Grupo Exigente”, produced by Turbo Gold Music. The band is led by Benjamin Cota, "El de la G", the lead singer. He can be seen playing in the video below. 

Video Source: Benjamin Cota on Instagram

Last year, the band was one of the invited musical guests who performed in Guadalajara at the inauguration of "San Onofre Tejuino". 

José graduated from the Technological University of Guaymas (UTG) a year and half ago with an engineering degree. He used his degree to help out his father, who is a businessman involved in the installation of glass and aluminum panels in houses. 

Please note, the official FGE press release identifies him as José Arturo but social media posts from his family members identify him as José Antonio. 

The day after his disappearance, his sister Valeria began organizing a search and demonstration on social media.  She wrote: 

“Tomorrow we are going to hold a peaceful march in search of my brother JOSE ANTONIO CEDANO BUENO since he has not been found yet and we need everyone's help!

The people who know him know that he is a hard working and honest boy. An injustice is being done to him because he must have been mistaken for someone else.  

We need the help of all the people who are fed up with all these injustices and all the ugly things that are happening in Guaymas that will not stop if we don't do something. 

The march will take place at 9 AM AT THE CITY HALL.  

Please help us, we just want my brother back and we want this whole mess that is happening in our city to stop.”

The Siege, The Arrests, & The Body

At around 10:00 am, there was a report of “shots fired” which came in from Tabachines del Álamo Street in Guaymas. Soldiers from the Navy and state police were sent to the area of the reports. Eventually, at around 11:30 am, personnel found the location “where those who had fired the shots had hidden.”

FGE investigators (AMIC) and Navy soldiers were seen surrounding a home in the Loma Dorada neighborhood. According to Radar Sonora, “for several hours they kept the area under siege.” 

A video of a soldier speaking to a woman about what was going on was posted on social media.

Video Source: Bichori News

Finally, personnel managed to raid the safe house and found six armed people inside. These six, who were arrested on scene, are suspected of being involved in Jose’s abduction. A number of firearms were found in their possession. Photos of their firearms, as published by the FGE can be seen below. 

The FGE press release states that multiple eyewitnesses to the abduction positively identified two of the six detainees as the people they saw take Jose.  

The officially released FGE photo of the detainees, in all its stretch text glory. 

The detainees are Jesús Edwin "N.", 25, José Antonio "N.", 41, José Eduardo “N.”, 48, Óscar Eduardo “N.”, 26, José Eleazar “N.”, 24, and Carmen “N.”, 23.

On the property a drone, a motorcycle and two vehicles were found and later seized by investigators. One of the two vehicles was Jose’s stolen red Volkswagen Derby sedan. The vehicle’s registration card was found lying on the passenger seat. His captors appear to have begun a process of stripping his vehicle for auto parts easy to sell, as the car’s stereo and battery were missing. 

Around 3:11 pm on the afternoon of September 25, 2022, just hours after his sister posted her message mentioned earlier, the dead body of José was discovered in Loma Linda, which is within Loma Dorada, the same area as the safehouse. Whether it was found on their property or at a separate location has not been reported. 

With the removed vehicle parts in mind, the motive for Jose’s abduction may have been as simple as theft. 

Mundo Now writes that “the Sonora State Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating, has not disclosed the motive for the crime against the 24-year-old singer. It is believed that it had to do with ‘settling accounts’, though nothing official has yet been reported by the authorities involved in the case.” No other articles allege this is settling of scores motive. 

Meanwhile locals, such as his sister, allege that this was a case of mistaken identity. 

Additional Photos of the Detainees

Sources: FGE Statement with Photos, FGE Press Release, El Imparcial, Radar Sonora, Article 2, Opinion Sonora, Article 2, Bichori News, Dallas News, El Sol de Hermosillo, Reforma, Mundo Now, Animal Politico, El Universal