The Essense of Chimaltitán-Fear and Death

Borderland Beat

Chimaltitán, JAL. - The war between drug cartels for control of the border of Zacatecas and Jalisco, breathes loneliness from death and fear to the deserted towns 

During the last three years the population of the municipal seat of Chimaltitán, north of Jalisco, diminished to 1,600 inhabitants. Christmas is coming and ornaments adorn some farms, alternated by abandoned houses dressed with black ribbons .

At the entrance of this location, just under 200 miles from Guadalajara, two halcones/hawks welcome strangers, they are the same who photograph and betray through cell phone calls and messages.

This area, considered a stop in the transfer of marijuana to northern cities is disputed by two criminal gangs, Los Zetas and  those called "Chapos" or "Chapitos", who are the result of an alliance between members of the Pacific Cartel, led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and the Gulf Cartel.

On Saturday afternoon there are no snack carts or merchant stalls open and few people are enjoying the square, only empty benches and planters without children playing, some 20 meters from the police station stands the frame of a distributor of bootleg videos and tapes for the criminal group that controls the plaza  Each cover is marked...

'No return'

A 60 year old woman tells how the people are scared to death. "Just look around the plaza and count the bows. I have a lot of business here and we have not paid rent for three years. The owner doesn't want to come to collect, and does not want to settle because he says it's too dangerous and someone might notice. He is afraid, that's here. He will not return.

A chat with a 70 year old man who warns  a bad omen in the air for those who are not Chimaltitán and who become identified by those who know and control the plaza.

When he left, the woman slowly related that this man's son was murdered a few months ago. The murderer rented a room for two weeks two houses away from the home of the victim (the man's son). The day of the murder the offender waited for the man to be at  the farm made him go out in the street and killed him.

Municipal and state authorities report that in the north of Jalisco bordering Zacatecas, there were 30 murders apparently linked to organized crime in 2012. In Chimaltitán, 16 deaths occurred, and 13 cases were multi homicides.

The death of two brothers identified as Bartolo "N" and Delfino "N" and a former municipal city official recognized as Juan de Dios "N", and former director of the local Public Security, whose bodies were found with bullet holes were cast away on the side of a  dirt road on the border with Zacatecas in early November, the crime is still spoken of in the village as if it happened yesterday.

After warning that "Chimal" is a very sad situation, a woman interrupts her routine of weaving tablecloths to tell a secret, "They say they went to remove members from Community Board in San Juan de los Potreros. They say that they had been threatened. They didn't wait for them to come out, they went for them,"says the housewife of 37 years with amazement. 

The mother of three concludes the story: "Woe to the mother of the brothers, imagine that they have five children already dead. They were eight and they're killing them. It must be awful to know that this is going to happen to my son. "

After a short silence, she confesses that her second son, aged 17, in August had to migrate to another city for his safety.

"A year and a half ago there was a chamaquillo, about the age of my son, and you see he already started to come together with the bad people. They invited him to be a hawk. He assumed that the money he earned was going to be good, but one day the black came  (Jalisco state police) and he heard that they were coming for him and his brother. They say the other had nothing to do with it. Imagine, if something happens to my son, " It is justified.

Lawless Region

400 people have left Chimaltitán, Jalisco, from the narco harassment.Vigilantes from Pacific cartel  and halcones for "Los Zetas"  are photographing strangers. It is an area of ​​transfer of marijuana to the north of the country.

Suspended  Political Campaigns

Chimaltitán, JAL.- Among those who know local politics say that Chimaltitán was the only municipality in Jalisco where campaigns were suspended before the time set by the electoral calendar.

The cause was the heavily publicized armed assault against a group of PRI militants that left two dead.

"It was two days before the election, there was not much time left, but it is significant that we call it democracy, that crime forced us to cancel political acts of PRI and PAN, in order to save the election," says one administration official, which began on October 1.

On June 24, in an area known as La Rumorosa, a group of four people traveling in a van were ambushed by an armed group.

Aboard  the vehicle, the PRI militants killed were identified as Jose Gutierrez, 60 years old, and  Mario Pozos Flores, 40. A woman and another man were injured.

As they walked through the empty streets, villagers told other stories that prompted so many to leave the community.

"Here, near the town hall, two years ago, in 2010, Los Zetas tried to extort money from a man. He rented machinery. They took him. Charged almost a million pesos and then they threw him bagged off the bridge, "says a 35 year old woman. She says that others who refused to pay ransom  died. There were also those who after being freed, fled.

Source: Vanguardia