Blog dedicated to reporting on Mexican drug cartels
on the border line between the US and Mexico
.

Monday, February 24, 2025

Barrio Azteca Gang Leader "Tablas" Extradited to US, Linked to Killing of US Consulate Employee Families

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat


Authorities in Mexico extradited a man who had been one of the key leaders of the Barrio Azteca gang and was on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted list. Another BA gang member, Enrique Guajardo Lopez, also known as Kiki, was extradited as well.

Ravelo is accused of being responsible for the planning and killing of three U.S. citizens in 2010. Killed were pregnant US consular employee Lesley A. Enriquez Redelfs, 35, and her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, 34. Their baby daughter was in the back seat and was unharmed. Also killed was the husband of another consulate employee in a separate targeted shooting.

Former BLO/H-2 Cartel Leader 'H3' Extradited to the US, Connected to General Cienfuegos Case

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat


Jesus Ricardo Patron Sanchez, also known as “H-3,” “Diabolic,” “Vela,” “James Bond” and “Xmen,” was arraigned on February 22, 2025 at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on an indictment charging him with leading a continuing criminal enterprise, participating in a large-scale narcotics distribution conspiracy and using one or more firearms in connection with narcotic offenses.

Thoughts on the "Terrorist" Cartels

 By Itzli 


One of, if not the biggest story of last week was the United States government declaring multiple Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and even though there has already been a few articles about it on Borderland Beat there’s some things I want to cover which will serve as a launching point for another article/project to come.


Words matter when it comes to the United States government as once something is labeled it can trigger how the government treats it as can be seen on the State Department’s website. I don’t want to get into any politics around this but it should be pointed out the vast majority of FTOs have been Islamic groups and up until now there has only been a handful of groups in the Americas that have been designated. It looks like all of those groups are seen as communist/Marxist revolutionaries with the only ones with some drug connections being the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia and two Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) groups prior to this.


The term cartel started as a passing reference to the way that Pablo Escobar and his associates from Medellín dominated the cocaine market in the 1980s and since then drug cartels have become defined by the Depart of Justice as “large, highly sophisticated organizations composed of multiple DTOs and cells with specific assignments such as drug transportation, security/enforcement, or money laundering. Drug cartel command-and-control structures are based outside the United States; however, they produce, transport, and distribute illicit drugs domestically with the assistance of DTOs that are either a part of or in an alliance with the cartel.” DTOs stand for drug trafficking organizations, which are defined as “complex organizations with highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs.”


In my own personal writing and research I take this a step further by coming up with five roles that a Mexican cartels may be involved in when it comes to drugs:


  1. Cultivation- this involves growing and harvesting marijuana and/or opium poppy in certain parts of Mexico where they can be grown.

  2. Importation- this involves direct involvement in smuggling or receiving drugs from other countries, including the above, cocaine, and precursor chemicals used to make other drugs.

  3. Production- while marijuana doesn’t have to be processed in the same manner as other drugs and transforming coca leaves into cocaine generally takes place in South America, drug production involves taking the raw ingredients and transforming them into usable drugs, for instance opium poppy into heroin and precursor chemicals into manufactured drugs such as methamphetamines and fentanyl. 

  4. Distribution- this involves the straightforward process of selling drugs at a retail level to local drug markets in Mexico.

  5. Exportation- this involves the most recognized role of drug cartels, smuggling drugs from Mexico into the United States. 


The press release doesn’t have much information on the six Mexican drug cartels that were labeled as FTOs but all were listed as transnational organizations, in other words organizations that operate in multiple countries, specifically Mexico and the United States. The phrase “drug trafficking, kidnapping, (and) extortion” is used to describe the CDN, LNFM, and CDG while the Cártel de Sinaloa lacks reference to extortion and CJNG lacks kidnapping. The CU is unique, with only its “violent activities which have resulted in numerous civilian, military, and law enforcement casualties.” being mentioned.


One thing that isn’t obvious based upon the information in the press release is the issue of scale, in other words where exactly these drug cartels operate in Mexico. Let’s take a look at what the press release mentions and flesh it out with the Milenio report that incorporates Mexican government information.


Cártel de Sinaloa is said to be “based in Sinaloa” and that’s it. Milenio reports it as the dominant cartel in 12 states (Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo) and having a presence in 6 others (Nuevo Leon, Nayarit, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Veracruz, Oaxaca).


CJNG is said to have “a presence in nearly every part of Mexico”. Milenio reports it as the dominant cartel in 13 states (Jalisco, Nayarit, Aguascalientes, Colima, Michoacan, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Guerrero, Estado de Mexico, Morelos, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Veracruz) and a presence in 10 others (Baja California Norte, Sonora, Zacatecas, Tamaulipas, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo).


CDN is said to be “based in northeastern Mexico”. Milenio reports it as dominating Tamaulipas with a presence in 4 states (Nuevo Leon, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Tabasco), although this information is quite questionable.


LNFM is said to operate in “Guerrero, Morelos, and Mexico”. This matches the 3 states that Milenio reports.


CDG is said to be “based in northeast Mexico” and Milenio reports it having a presence in Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi.


CU is said to be in Michoacán, with it specified that it as “an alliance of multiple cartels and other groups”. This matches the reporting of Milenio, which further states that the most notable criminal groups that are part of it are La Familia Michoacana, Los Caballeros Templarios, Los Viagras, and Los Pájaro Sierra.


We’ll leave it at that for now and build off of this information next time. I’m sure at least one reader will want to say that this is once again “full of misinformation, missing actual facts, full of speculation, boring and too long” but the simple fact is it doesn’t matter if I put hours, days, weeks, or months into an article, it’s never good enough for certain individuals. Doesn’t matter though, we’re back to the old school forum Itzli, we’ll start getting to stuff quicker and try to foster good discussion moving forward. La Plata, Bjeff, or anyone that wants to reach out to me outside of comments, you can reach me at itzli.borderland.beat@gmail.com.

Citrus Growers Union Temporarily Closes Offices in Apatzingán, Michoacán after Threats

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

A citrus growers union has announced they are closing their offices in Apatzingán, Michoacán for a week after receiving numerous threats from armed groups. Despite reports, security forces have been unable to stop extortion of citrus farmers in the region.


Saturday, February 22, 2025

Information Warfare Conducted By Armed Groups In Mexico

 "Enojon", "Pernicious Propaganda" and "Char" for Borderland Beat 

Photograph By VendettaTamaul1 on Twitter (Banner placed by 'Los Chapitos' of the Sinaloa Cartel Threatening National Guard personnel)

Friday, February 21, 2025

Kevin Alonso Gil Acosta, "El 200" Or "El Cabo" Los Chapitos Trusted Operator And Secretary Of Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar Captured By Military In Culiacancito, Sinaloa. El 200 Gave Orders To El Gavilan And La Chapiza Cartel Members In Culiacan.

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This information was posted by Los NOTICIEIRISTAS

02/20/2025


Culiacán, Sin.- Apart from the important capture of José Ángel Canobbio, alias “El Güerito,” federal forces arrested this Wednesday, February 19, Kevin Alonso Gil Acosta, nicknamed “El 200,” who is also a key piece in the organization of the Sinaloa Cartel.

According to the information, the alleged criminal was arrested by elements of the National Guard in coordination with the Army at nightfall yesterday Wednesday in Culiacancito


At the time of his arrest he was wearing a green shirt, a navy blue jacket, jeans and white tennis shoes.



Who is “El 200”?
Kevin Alonso Gil Acosta, alias “El 200”, is 34 years old and is known to be the head of security in the “Los Chapitos” faction, specifically under the orders of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán.

On a date like today, February 19, Mexican Army Day, but in 2014, Kevin Karim Elias Gil Acosta, alias “El 300,” was arrested in the Burócrata neighborhood in Culiacán, in possession of a long weapon, a fragmentation grenade, 11 handguns, 35 magazines of different calibers, 17 communication devices, four vehicles and drugs hidden in vegetables (plastic bananas and cucumbers), the federal government reported in a statement at the time. It is unknown when and why he was released.

Kevin alias “El 200” and his brother “El 300” are attributed with the kidnapping and murder of Hugo Castellanos Jimenez, a beauty pageant judge killed in 2016 in Culiacán, when Melissa Carolina Lizárraga, the “underdog,” won the Miss World Sinaloa pageant.


He did not fall alone
It was reported that, along with him, there are two other detainees, which are: Gustavo Acosta López, 56 years old, and José Alonso Acosta López, whose age was not disclosed. Both are relatives of “El 200”, José Alonso is his uncle.

The three were transferred under a strong security device to the Military Air Base at the Culiacán International Airport.


MY THOUGHTS- BY: CHAR


The Capture of Kevin Alonso Gil Acosta, alias "El 200" or "El Cabo," is a blow to the criminal organization of Los Chapitos, Los Menores, or La Chapiza, led by Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, sons of JGL. El 200 was Ivan Archivaldo's voice in Culiacan and swiftly carried out his orders. El 200 is believed to have led the attacks including making threats on families of military members on the first Culiacanazo on orders of Ivan Archivaldo, leading to Ovidio Guzman Lopez being freed after being captured. Ivan and Alfredo have lost two key trusted operators in one week. The government has warned that raids will continue against criminal groups in Sinaloa until violence reduces between rival criminal groups.  




Thursday, February 20, 2025

Canada Designates Cartel Groups as Terrorists, Except for CDN/Los Zetas

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat



Canada has listed seven transnational criminal organizations as terrorist entities, the public safety minister said on Thursday.

The list includes Mara Salvatrucha, Cartel de Sinaloa and Tren de Aragua.

The announcement comes a day after the United States designated Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and other drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Proposes Constitutional Reforms Following Cartel Terrorist Designations

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

From an AP News Article


Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday she will propose constitutional reforms aimed at protecting Mexico’s sovereignty after U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration designated six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.

The U.S. designations have stirred worry in Mexico that it could be a preliminary step toward U.S. military intervention on Mexican territory in pursuit of the cartels, something Mexico sharply rejects.

“The Mexican people will not accept under any circumstances interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that could be harmful to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the nation,” Sheinbaum said.

The Terrorist Acts Committed By Each Designated Cartel, According to the US State Department

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat


On February 20, the announcement was officially made to designate two transnational gangs and 6 Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups. The list is the same as we have reported on before, but each group was described in more detail. The US State Department outlined the territory in which each group operates, their criminal activity and level of violence, political influence, assassinations and terrorist type acts to qualify them to be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Live Thread: José Ángel Canobbio Inzunza 'El Güerito' Captured in Culiacan, Sinaloa

 Borderland Beat Contributors 

Photograph By Omar Hamid García Harfuch on X (Post capture photograph of Inzunza)

Elon Musk Posts That Cartels Are Eligible for Drone Strikes

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


Elon Musk suggested that the new FTO designations of Mexican drug cartels means using drones to attack the drug cartels on Wednesday. The tech businessman has been at the center of controversy recently due to his strong role within Donald Trump's government as part of DOGE.

Why Cárteles Unidos Was Included on the US Foreign Terrorist Organizations List

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

From an Infobae Article Interviewing Security Expert David Saucedo


Not surprisingly, the Mexican criminal groups included in the list are the main exporters of fentanyl to the United States (CDS and CJNG); the two cartels with the largest presence on the Texas border (CDG and CDN); and the cartel (LNFM) recently included in the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list for manufacturing and shipping fentanyl across the Tamaulipas border.

The designation that surprised many was that of the United Cartels or Carteles Unidos, a criminal alliance that has its center of operations in the Tierra Caliente of Michoacán and includes among its ranks Los Viagras, Los Blancos de Troya, the Tepalcatepec Cartel, the Zicuirán Cartel, among other cells that once belonged to La Familia Michoacana and the Knights Templar.

State Department Notice Officially Designates 8 Cartels/Gangs as Terrorist Groups

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat


The United States State Department designated the gangs MS-13, Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel among several other drug cartels as global terrorist organizations, according to a Federal Register notice.

The notice issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the groups pose a risk to U.S. national security, foreign policy and economic interests.

The notice was drafted on February 6, prior to the NYT leak about the designations list and made public today. According to the notice...the Cartel Terrorist Designations go into effect upon the publishing of the letter. February 20, 2025.

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

The Tamaulipas Border in 2025

By Itzli


Taking a look at the current state of affairs along the Tamaulipas border with the United States.


Heads up, this article is old school Nabble forum Itzli style so expect informal first person tone without taking the time to reference everything I say. Don’t like that? Click elsewhere and I’ll refund you the $0 you paid to read this, I’ll even throw in the whole $0 I earn spending my time to write this all down. Luckily there’s still cool people here that’ll make it worth my time.


Anyways, it seems like what I can show with my writing and research over the past few months is about as good as George R. R. Martin and The Winds of Winter so rather than trying to get to this point with what I have in the works let’s just dive right into what’s going on in the world of CDG along the Tamaulipas border with Texas/United States. This is important because the Trump administration has started declaring cartels terrorist organizations. By the way, no politics in the comments, I don’t care if your MAGA, woke, or anything in between, go somewhere else besides the comment section if you want to talk about who in the United States government is the good guys and who’s the bad guys, we’d probably get more productive discussion about Kendrick Lamar versus Drake so no politics from me and no politics from you.



Back to the point, been seeing the above map on Twitter and then @LosBloqueados2 had a really good post which motivated me to write. We see this plane circling across from Nuevo Laredo, CDN territory. This cartel is interesting, of course there’s still the rumors that 40 runs it from prison but for the longest Huevo Treviño was in charge. He gets arrested and his cousin Juanito Treviño aka La Sombra is said to be running things. I got bogged down in a Los Treviño/CDN leadership history article that I’ll finish one day but for now the point I want to make is that things may not be all good in the CDN. Maybe it’s just me, but ever since 42 got arrested it seems like there’s a power play going on between Anabel Treviño and her kids on one end and Francisco Treviño and sons on the other which involves Huevo, Juanito, La Bola, etc.


The plane does another loop along a stretch that includes Ciudad Mier, Los Guerra, Miguel Aleman and Camargo which continues to be an interesting area. As @LosBloqueados2 point out, Ciudad Mier continues to be controlled by the CDN, specifically El Chamuko and El H. Apparently “El Chamuko” is a regional leader, there’s some stuff being said about him on Twitter lately. Los Guerra still seems to be the dividing line of control with Los Metros under Primito controlling to the east of there. For Los Metros you have La Galleta in Miguel Aleman, El Pirata in Diaz Ordaz,  and El Gafe in Camargo, not quite sure if he means that El Rockero is his other alias or if it’s a different dude. El Gafe has nothing to do with the famous old CDG leader that used that alias, nor does he seem to be military or anything, he’s just some young guy that’s come to power.


So CDN for the longest has been attacking from the west trying to get Miguel Aleman, like I said, Los Guerra seems to be the dividing line so you get a lot of fighting back and forth over that town. Seems that CDN figured that out and had been conducting what I called the campaign for Camargo, just forget about Miguel Aleman and hitting from the southwest rural area to attack Camargo which makes the town of Comales suddenly strategic. El Barbas is running things there. Tied into this is the whole northeast Nuevo Leon area including Doctor Coss where a lot of the recent fighting has been taking place. This is territory controlled by El Chapparro, one of the few old school Metros that worked with M3 still around. So anytime you hear about fighting in Doctor Coss, General Bravo or areas nearby it’s fighting between CDN and him.


Another loop of the airplane covers Reynosa and Rio Bravo. Reynosa has always been the crown jewel of Los Metros and continues to be controlled by El Mono M36 who used to be the bodyguard of Panochitas. Not everyone thinks this but I feel like there is still somewhat a division within Los Metros, not necessarily rivals but just the way things cluster that goes back to when the Ribereña Metros fought the Reynosa Metros so you have Primito’s crew in Miguel Aleman, Camargo, and Diaz Ordaz while Mono and Chaparro are in with more old school guys. We’ll get back to Reynosa in a bit.


The final loop is across from Matamoros, home of the Matamoros faction of the CDG. El Contador is back directly in charge, having ran things from prison for a while. Yeah he has an ankle monitor and/or has to check in with prison once a week but no one really thinks that’s stopping him from doing anything. Uncle Osiel was out but got sent to Mexico and is in prison, things are quiet on that front and it doesn’t seem like he’s really doing anything. 


It’s funny though, people were complaining some much about Ciego doing all sorts of dirt while Contador was in prison and then Contador kills him and now it’s all Contador kills his own people and can’t be trusted. From my perspective here’s the elephant in the room, all cartels are evil but bias isn’t universal, there’s a lot of framing Contador in the worst possible light. I touched on this before but it really seems that there are some accounts that are aligned with M1 Cardenas and his son Beto that focus on burning Contador. Plus Los Metros have always been big on social media and I get where some people say some of the major accounts are aligned with them, maybe not directly but there’s bias no doubt. Again, I’m not being a Contador apologist, just saying you have to take a step back on some information.


@LosBloqueados2 didn’t mention this but El Casco aka El Joker is in control of Rio Bravo, no more Miguelito it seems as he was arrested, of course you never know when someone gets quietly released. Here’s where we get back to cartel bias. I really don’t care who’s winning or losing but what people say at times matters less than what the evidence points to. I’m talking about SDR reports, that’s a good way of telling where fighting is taking place. 


When the truce between Metros and CDG Matamoros fell apart when the war between San Fernando (Sierras and ZVE) and Matamoros broke out last year things got really hot in Rio Bravo. Things have died down in Rio Bravo proper it seems and from the SDR reports it seems to me that Los Metros can’t get past Palo Blanco anymore. It also seems that Matamoros is heating up the east side of Reynosa, especially the Pharr bridge area. I see stuff about them using Ubers and public vehicles to sneak people in plus the GE being on their payroll. Similar strategy they’ve pulled before trying to heat up the plaza. Sorry it may sound like I’m being a Matamoros cheerleader but just calling it how I see it, the SDR reports point to things being hot in Reynosa, even hear about mutilated bodies but pictures never seem to come out. No one wants to be the next Minu3t.


Ultimately I think this all ties into the whole rumors of a new truce taking place which hit hard for a day and then seems to have gone by the wayside. Declaring cartels terrorist organizations and the whole threat of drone strikes destabilize the whole situation plus wars are always bad for cartel business. It makes sense to want to come up with a ceasefire and the governor would definitely be pushing for that to happen. The impression I get though is that Los Metros don’t trust Contador and I’m sure Matamoros will want concessions. Control of Rio Bravo has been mentioned as part of a potential agreement but like I said, it seems that’s already happened. My guess is that Matamoros won’t sign off unless they get access to Pharr, just not sure if they would insist on complete control or if they would settle for open access.

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Arrested El Paso CBP Officer Was Allegedly a La Linea Cartel Member

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat
From an El Paso Times Article by Daniel Borunda


The U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer allegedly involved in migrant smuggling on the El Paso border was allegedly a member of a Mexican drug cartel, a federal agent testified.

A federal magistrate judge ordered CBP Officer Manuel Perez Jr., 32, of El Paso, to remain jailed without bond at a detention hearing Thursday, Feb. 13, in federal court in Downtown El Paso. Perez is allegedly a member of the La Linea drug cartel.

Perez was fired from CBP after his arrest on federal human and drug smuggling charges on Feb. 8 by the FBI El Paso West Texas Border Corruption Task Force following a multi-agency investigation, court officials said. If convicted, he could face 10 years up to life in prison.