El 85 Presented Up and Centered

El 85 or otherwise known as Erick Valencia Salazar top leader of Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) was "presented" to the media in a press release by the Mexican military.

The Attorney General's Office (PGR) and the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) on Monday presented Valencia Erick Salazar, alias "85", the alleged leader of the Gártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación or New Generation Jalisco cartel who was arrested on March 9 2012.

Also presented at the headquarters of the Office of Special Investigations in to Organized Crime (SIEDO) were his alleged lieutenants Otoniel Mendoza, aka "Tony Montana" and Jose Luis Salazar Gutiérrez, "El Chelis" who along with Valencia Salazar directed drug trafficking operations in the Pacific corridor.

If you recall from previous post in Borderland Beat the arrest of Erick Valencia that occurred in Zapopan, Jalisco, caused several blockades in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara, carried out by CJNG and resulted in 12 sicarios arrested during the incidents.

At the press conference, the director of Social Communication of the Department of Defense, Ricardo Trevilla, announced that a federal judge who Specializes in criminal search warrants was asked to hold and restrict communications of "El 85" and two of his accomplices while they remain encarcerated.

The official said that the injunction was requested so that the Federal Public Ministry can continue the respective investigations and expects indictments against the men for various crimes.

The PGR is investigating all three suspects for the crimes of organized crime, possession of firearms only allowed for use by the Army, Navy and Air Force and also possession of ammunition also only allowed by the armed forces.

Ricardo Trevilla reported that Erick Valencia is identified as the leader of the criminal cell group known as "Los Mata Zetas," which allegedly executed 35 people in Veracruz on September 2011.

He said that the alleged offender became the successor of Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel and from July 2010 was devoted to consolidating the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel.

One of the main missions of this group was the control of drug trafficking in Jalisco, from South America across the Pacific route, as well as the port of Manzanillo, Colima, which is one of its strategic points for coordinating the distribution of cocaine from Colombia and ephedrine from China, the official said.

Trevilla went on to say that the group led by Salazar Valencia had struggled to maintain leadership from the organization known as "La Resistencia", for which at one point had formed an alliance with "Los Zetas."

He stressed that under the command of El 85 and in the period of his struggle, the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel managed to expand to Michoacán, Morelos, Guerrero and Veracruz.

At the press conference various weapons were presented that had been seized from the suspects, including 19 rifles AR-15 with grenade launcher attachment, six handguns, two machine guns, two rifles Barret, three fragmentation grenades, 119 magazines and 69,000 rounds of ammunition of different calibers.

Authorities also seized three silencers, communication equipment, tactical apparel, various pieces of documentation with pertinent information and two vehicles.

The Department of Defense spokesman said that at the time of their arrest, the three suspects resisted with gunfire, but the military forces managed to repelled the attack.

In the confrontation Valencia Salazar was wounded in his right hand due to the detonation of a grenade he tried to pitch against the military, while Otoniel Mendoza was hit by shrapnel in various parts of the body.

The detainees were taken to the hospital for medical care, in full respect of their human rights, said a spokesman for the Department of Defense.