Acuña Heats Up as 10 killed in 2 Days, Another .50 Cal at the Scene

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat

Acuña:  a conflict on Monday resulted in a shootout between elements of GATES (State of Coahuila Special Forces) and “gunmen”.   The clash began at 3:20 PM on the street “15” and “Dos de Abril” in the colony Garmez Sumara, reports the Attorney Genral of Justice of the State.

According to his report, the elements were on patrol when as the approached the Street “15” they found themselves under gun attack by four gunmen aboard a red Ford Explorer.

The gunmen were on the losing end of the battle which resulted in all four of their deaths.

Confiscated in the aftermath were the vehicle, bearing Texas plates, and three AK47 aka Cuerno de Chivo (goat horn)

Today at around 10:30 AM commenced a second deadly confrontation.  Reports from the ground indicated that  as my source travelled from Combugas to Soriana, soldiers  were advancing towards the Macroplaza. 
 

As the source came to Jose Las Fuentes Rodriguez and  libramiento Emilio Mendoza he saw the soldiers once again heading north on Fuentes Rodriguez with guns positioned and lights flashing heading towards the fairgrounds.  He managed to get a couple of photos (see left).

 

He later emails me to advise that in the aftermath the body count was six.  All the dead were gunmen with no reported police causalities.   Subsequent information is all over the place with numbers of deaths, I will keep you posted. 

As of 5:30PM the conflicts continue.  Notable was a new PGJE report that at the scene not only were the AK-47s confiscated, but a .50 Cal Barrett.  A .50 Cal weapon was used to execute the state police chief of Nuevo Leon a week ago, and was the first confirmed use of a .50 caliber. 

 

Acuña, Coahuila is but an international bridge apart from Del Rio, Texas.  It is the site of the execution of Eduardo “Lalo” Moreira last October on the orders of Miguel Trevino leader of the Zetas. 

Lalo was the son of the former governor and National PRI Chairman Humberto Moreira.  The sitting governor of Coahuila is Humberto’s brother, Ruben.  The once close brothers have suffered a severe relationship split and Humberto makes it no secret he harbors blame for the execution of his son, and places that blame on Ruben’s shoulders.

The killing was retaliation for the death of Trevino’s nephew’s killing by GATES elements, assumedly an eye for an eye, a nephew for a nephew.

In the months prior to the killing of Lalo, and since then, Acuña has been tense and heated.  Many reports of killings and kidnappings have been reported by people on the ground, many that do not manage to find their way to publications.

I wrote a post about the night Lalo was killed.  A killing that involved the police chief, supervisor and other police. 

 That on the night of the murder four bodies were thrown on the Bravo side of the Rio Grande but one victim was not dead. 

He managed to reach the Del Rio side and picked up by US Border Patrol, taken for medical care, transferred to GEO and deported, over a few weeks. 
There was a small reference to the incident in the Del Rio Herald, but not one publication in Mexico ran the story.  Many incidents of murder go unreported.

 

I have reason to believe the person that survived the Bravo toss  was Victor Sifuentes, the police supervisor who “found the body”. 

He was listed as one of the wanted people suspected of the murder.  

A reliable source in Del Rio, confirmed to me, that the man in the river was Sifuentes, based on a first person identification and photo match.

After the deportation of the "man in Rio Bravo", Sifuentes was soon captured in Monclova.

Since the Zeta/CDG split, Acuña has been controlled by Los Zetas, with occasional strikes by CDG.  However for a town along the frontera it has been relatively quiet.  A game changer is two fold, one is the alliance between CDG and CDS.  CDS has wanted the NE and the alliance gave way to that possibility, a foot in the door so to speak. 

With CDS, CDG has gained strength for the time being, though once CDS acquires the target territory they desire look to the alliance to break as CDS will want complete control.  That assumes Zetas are defeated. 

The other element is the relationship between Zetas and the state government.  Widely spoken about was the working relationship between the governorship of Humberto and Zetas, a relationship that appeared to fracture as the "new" Moreira Governor stepped into office.  That was highlighted in the Lalo Moreira murder. 

Thank you to TexPatNMex for the on the ground reporting...... 

 

Woman Arrested in Eagle Pass Changed with Trafficking AK47's

Acuña, Coahuila. - The Border Patrol Del Rio Sector reported the seizure made ​​on the bridge of Eagle Pass, Texas,(adjacent to Piedras Negras,  fourteen AK 47 assault rifles, known as the "goat horn".  A Texas woman 52 years of age was arrested carrying the weapons in a hidden compartment of the pickup truck she was driving.

The report issued did not give an exact date of the arrest, but indicated there was a delay as the investigation proceeded.  The report was published today in Mexican newspapers.  No name was given, and the crime was handled with unusual secrecy. 

She was driving a Ford150, and chose an untimely day and time attempting to cross, as  customs and border patrol were in a joint operation in the inspection of vehicles, which resulted in the discovery of her clandestine cargo destined for Piedras Negras, Coahuila.

She was arrested and is being detained in the Val Verde County Detention Center awaiting prosecution for weapons trafficking with the intent to traffic them out of the country.