The war of "Los Pepillos"

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Zetatijuana article

[ Subject Matter: Los Pepillos, La Paz, BCS, Sinaloa Cartel
Recommendation: Read this article on divisions in the Fuerzas Especiales de Los Damaso]

In the dispute for control of the plaza of narco trafficking in La Paz, Jose Fernando Torres Montenegro or Jose Francisco Ojeda Torres "El Pepillo", is now responsible for the last armed attacks.

Reporter: ZETA Investigations and Cortesia

The primary investigations of the PGJE of Baja California Sur, after the re-igniting of armed attacks in the last four weeks, points to the Plaza Boss of the South Zone of La Paz, Jose Fernando Torres Montenegro alias Jose Francisco Ojeda Torres "El Pepillo" or "El Puma".

They justify that the criminal boss has opened another front in the battle between narco traffickers, and he has an armed wing under command of his nephew, Ivan Ojeda Montenegro "El Pollo" or "the chicken", who is presumably responsible in organizing and ordering the last attacks against the drug dealers that have been deserting the criminal organization.

The drug dealers that have been "switching flags" on "El Pepillo", and started to work in the sale, distribution and transit of drugs with the criminal cells of the brothers Jorge Alberto, Felipe Eduardo and Carlos Alberto Guajardo Garcia "Los 28", and of Luis Antonio Montoya Beltran "Don Carlos" or "El Artista", explained the investigator.

He said that he enjoyed the distraction in the persecution and capture of criminals from the bellicose groups of "Los Damaso" on the part of the Security Forces from the three levels of Government, the head of "Los Pepillos" has started to align with his old allies, but if they refuse to return to working for the criminal organization that he heads, he orders their kidnapping, and their killing.



In this way the investigators conclude that, the war between narco traffickers is contested by three cells from the Sinaloa Cartel:

1. Luis Antonio Montoya Beltran "Don Carlos" or "El Artista", successor to Rolando Gonzalez Moreno "El Compadron" and Plaza Boss of the North Zone of La Paz, who according to the last crim e map elaborated by Federal Authorities and the Military, is one of the principal operators of Capo Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in La Paz.

2. The brothers Jorge Alberto, Felipe Eduardo and Carlos Alberto Guajardo Garcia "Los 28", who since July of 2014 have been fighting to take the North and South Plazas of La Paz, they are linked to the Capo Damaso Lopez Serrano "El Mini Lic".

3. Jose Fernando Torres Montenegro alias Jose Francisco Ojeda Torres "El Pepillo", Plaza Boss of the South Zone of La Paz, and who is linked to the Capo Damaso Lopez Serrano "El Mini Lic".

The Agents indicated that the wave of assassinations of the last few weeks had been protagonized by "El Pepillo", who is attacking those criminal cells that once belonged to his organization and were operating at the frontier between the North and South Zones.

"The war of "El Pepillo" as the Agents call it be they State, Federal or Military, its because little by little he is losing control of his territory, just about all of the Colonias, Agua Escondida, 8th of October, Olas Atlas, El Mezquitito, Chametla and El Centenario, and has not been able to recover his domain in its entirety, derived in these zones where the operators "switched flags", and now operate protected by "Los 28" and "Don Carlos" or "El Artista".

In the last crime map, elaborated by Federal and Military Authorities, "El Pepillo" or "El Puma" has the following people as part of his criminal structure:

Alejandro Sanchez Trejo "El Frank", or "El Frane" or "El Peinado", in charge of finances for the criminal group.


Edgar Amilcar Acosta Reyes "El Rayo" as the armed wing commander, who has as head of Sicarios Ivan Ojeda Montenegro "El Pollo" or "the chicken".

The brothers Ranulfo , Wenceslao and Valerio, of the surname Lopez Portillo, with Jose Luis Gonzalez Portillo "El Barbas" and Ivan Trejo "El Police", who are in charge of logistics.

Martin Octavio Burgueno Reyes "El Viejon Pelon", responsible for recruiting Sicarios, who are headed by Eladio Quintero Manjarrez "El Tio", identified to be the Uncle of Abel Nahum Quintero Manjarrez "El Grande"; also Ruben Adrian Davila Quinonez "El Danny", Norberto Sanchez Melendez "El Beto", Jesus Alberto Quiroga Villareal, Aaron Eleuterio Gutierrez Sosa, German Reyes Ibarra "El German" and Jose Alberto Castro Barrera "El Alberto".

Carlos Ojeda Montenegro "El Chaly", responsible for the narco trafficking Plaza of Todos Santos.

Humberto Ojeda Montenegro "El Tito", in charge of narco trafficking in La Paz CEFERESO.

The attacks

In this new war front, where the majority of the fallen are from "Los 28" and "Los Mayitos", the investigating Agents from the PGJE confirm 8 armed attacked in La Paz between 13th of June to the 5th of July:

On June 13th Valeria Lizbeth Armenta Castillo "La Morena" was kidnapped, she is the wife of the narco trafficker Eduardo Martin Alvarado "El Kumi". She was shot in the morning, in the 8th of October Colonia, in a breach of the Boulevard Santa Rosa in the Las Pithayas Colonia, close to the San Rafael Ranch.

The woman, 33 years of age, was shot twice with a 9mm pistol, one in the face and and the other in the back, which killed her.

On the 13th of June, Jesus Ignacio Mendoza "El Nachito" and Hugo Alberto Lara Almaraz, were shot  during the night and were found in a domicile in Calle Palo Colorado between Cardon and Calle Dos, in the Agua Escondida Colonia.

The first of them died while he was being transferred to hospital "Juan Maria de Salvatierra", and the second had a gunshot wound on the right side of the abdomen, with entrance and exit wounds from a 9mm pistol.

On June 22nd, Jaime Ramon Navarro Hernandez "El Jaimito" was shot in Calle Victor Manuel Ferron, between Mar Bermejo and San Juan de la Costa, in the 8th of October Colonia. The 31 year old man was killed with a .40 calibre pistol.

On the 30th of June, the narco trafficker Jesus Arturo Baez Garcia "El Chuy" was executed, he was found on the patio of a domicile of Palo del Arco, between Lomboy and Palo Colorado, in the Agua Escondida Colonia.

Witnesses explained that the victim of 24 years was on the front patio of the domicile when a brown Toyota Corolla pulled up. A man got out of the car carrying an assault rifle.

He fired and "El Chuy" ran inside the domicile. At the crime scene, the PGJE found on the patio 7 spent cartridges of 7.62 x 39 ( type used by AK47 (cuerno de chivo) and its derivatives), and 4 more inside the property.

On the 1st of July an alleged drug dealer was kidnapped, his identity, at the close of this edition is unknown. The man was circulating about Calle Sierra de las Virgenes, between Sierra San Javier and Sierra La Giganta, in the 8th of October Colonia.

The witnesses reported hearing firearm detonations and when security forces arrived, they found an abandoned motorcycle an Italika FT-125, red colored, and six spent cartridge cases of 9mm calibre, also a wrap of crystal on the floor.

A few metres further, on the patio of another domicile, they found a motorcycle helmet, yellow colored with black Italika markings, and another 8 wraps of crystal and pools of blood on the floor. The authorities blocked off the zone, but found no more evidence.

Also on the 1st of July, Saulo Thomas Duenas Ramirez "El Jalisquillo", was attacked with gunfire on Calle Puerto Manzanillo and Puerto Coatzacoalcos, in the Olas Atlas Colonia.

The victim, 21 years of age, was outside his domicile when two subject aboard a black motorcycle arrived, one got off the motorcycle and called out the victims name. He then fired shots and fled on the motorcycle to an unknown destination.

On July the 2nd Angel de Jesus Barriga Castro, a drug trafficker, was attacked on Calle Armonia, between Geologica and Avenida Tecnologico, in the Solidaridad Mezquito Colonia, in the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur.

The youngster aged 24, was travelling in his red Toyota Tercel, when he was attacked with a 9mm pistol, the attacker ran back into the University, who deployed a strong operation to locate him, which began in the courtyard and extended into the halls.

The injured party was transferred to the Hospital Juan Maria de Salvatierra, without doubt he died in the road, from the three gun shot wounds present on his body.

On July the 5th, the drug dealer Silvestre Carlon Navarrete alias Silvestre Carmona Navarrete "El Silvestre", was attacked with firearms, while he accompanied his family on the Playa del poblado "El Comitan", in the North of La Paz.

The count until now is four killed, three wounded and on disappeared.

The contact

Of the last assassinations, the execution of "El Silvestre" is probably the most relevant, he was responsible for the distribution of drugs for Chametla and El Centenario, and a principal point of supply and deliveries of arms, drugs, and Sicarios.

The primary investigations reveal that the criminal boss had around 15 years operating in drug sales, distribution and transit of drugs, firstly in the service of Adelaido Soto Aguilar or Eduardo Salas Martinez "El Guero Layo", and after with Jose Fernando Torres Montenegro "El Pepillo".

In the time that he had operating in the zone, according to the investigations, "El Silvestre" had been converted into an untouchable criminal, he had achieved the corroboration of Commanders and Police at all three levels of Government that deployed security in Chametla and El Centenario.

He created a network of criminal links that was very solid, so that it permitted him to operate and move with impunity, without fear of molestation much less being detained, and all knew who he was and where he lived and what were his criminal activities.

The nickname of "El Silvestre" emerged for the first time in official records in the crime of Everado Garcia Silva "El 20", "El Gordo" or "El Gevi", assassinated in the middle of a battle on the morning of 5th of May 2015 in Calle Venustiano Carranza number 2717, between 5th of February and Antonio Navarro, in the Los Olivos Colonia of La Paz.

The only survivor of the armed attack was identified as a Lieutenant of Felipe Eduardo Guajardo Garcia "El 28", testified that "El Silvestre" was responsible for logistics of weapons, drugs, and Sicarios sent as replacements for Las Fuerzas Especiales de Los Damaso, from Sinaloa travelling to La Paz, Baja California Sur, who had as a docking point near a beach located next to the Residential Marina Sur, an area known as "Cola de la Ballena", " tail of the whale".

A witness named Santiago, said that he had been hired by two men identified by the nicknames "El Chavalo" and "El Tirita", of which after being recruited, they sent him with "El 20" and "El Negro" in a boat headed by two speed boats.

The youngster of 17 years indicated that they arrived at night, and they were waiting for three people aboard a red van, a Jeep Cherokee, and they drove to a house.

Even though he assure that the didn't realise who the people where, he went with them to a safe house, he heard a man speaking about "Silvestre", the man who drove us to the safe house in Chametla, he was fat and bald.

We stayed at this safe house for ten days, we then moved to another house and after two or three days, we went and attacked him with rifles.

The investigating Agents of the PGJE showed a photo of "El Silvestre" to the witness, who responded: " yes that's the asshole", and he added that he knew that "he was the Plaza Boss of Chametla and El Centenario because "El 20" had told him, when he asked who he was, he replied that the worked for "El Pepillo", and in his time, was a contact of "Los 28" for receiving arms, drugs, and Sicarios, who were sent from Sinaloa for the war against "Los Mayos".

According to the investigating Agents in the case of "El Silvestre" he was split between his alliance with "Los Pepillos" and "Los 28", who divided and left for the other side, the first that left was the criminal boss.

The investigators consider that "El Silvestre" was assassinated by "Los Pepillos", for have switched flags and gone with "Los 28", with whom he had a criminal alliance, taking advantage of his influence in the zone of embarking and disembarking.

In the Agents data base it had El Silvestre logged as an operator with "Los 28", after which the two groups split.

The execution of Humberto Juarez Leon "Don Maleno" occurred on the 16 of January inside his house, on the Calle Bernardo Maldonado between Luis Barajas and Enrique Von Borstel, in the Revolution colonia of La Paz.

The rupture was confirmed almost immediately by the drug dealer Eduardo Martin Alvarado "El Kumi", who after the execution of "Don Maleno" was detained and charged with possession of marijuana and crystal meth.

In his statement, the criminal ended with the confession that those responsible for the crime were Sicarios in the service of "El Pepillo", who had been planning to kidnap the sons of the 54 year old victim, because they didn't want to align with "Los Pepillos" after having spent a long time with this criminal cell, and they were buying drugs from "Los 28" because he was selling cheaper and better quality.

Original article in Spanish at Zetatijuana