Sinaloa vs CAF: The new battle

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

Subject Matter: Baja California Sur, Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel Arellano Felix
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

Reporter: Zeta investigations

On Monday the 1st of  February the struggle between cells of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Arellano Felix Organization ignited in Baja California Sur, after the assassination of Martin Anaya Gorosave "El Taliban".

On the divinding line between Baja California Sur and Baja California, another battle ignited between drug traffickers of the Sinaloa Cartel against the Arellano Felix Organization.

According to a member of the Group for Coordination of Public Security, the most recent struggle in Baja California Sur, after 125 days of apparent calm, was seen coming after the following indicators:

* The debilitating loss of territorial domination, since 2006 by the CAF in the South of the peninsular.

* The notorious advance, presence of, and fortifying of the Sinaloa Cartel in Los Cabos, La Paz, Comondu, Loreto and Mulege.

* The re-initiating of CAF operations in Baja California Sur, after establishing an alleged alliance with the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, who had put into action a plan to re-establish dominance of the territories and clear the region of the Sinaloa Cartel, after the persecution and re-capture of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Alejandro Hernandez Curiel "El Bebo"

The new dispute started on the 1st of February when, according to the last crime map of Federal and Military Authorities, the CAF capo with operations principally in the North of the State, Martin Anaya Gorosave, "El Taliban", was executed in this agricultural zone, in the company of his driver and his bodyguard Obed Esau Felix Camacho, and his Lieutenant, Alejandro Hernandez Curiel "El Bebo".

The criminal boss had started the process of regrouping the criminal cells in the North of the State, and had established logistics, and had re-started criminal activities in this zone on the part of the CAF, when he was tracked and hunted by an armed commando of the Sinaloa Cartel.

According to official investigations, the criminal boss had left a meeting after having presented "El Bebo" as the principal contact of this criminal organization in the Valle del Vizcaino, Villa Alberto Alvarado Aramburo, Diaz Ordaz and Guerrero Negro, when the Sinaloa hit men unleashed the triple execution.

The attack was registered at 03:45 am, there were no witnesses present and little graphical evidence, also there are no security cameras about Avenue General Lazaro Cardenas and Las Calles of 24th of August and Pino Suarez in this community.

Notwithstanding, the spent cartridge cases and the damage to the vehicle, experts of the PGJE deduced that "El Taliban" and his two accomplices were ambushed by an armed commando that were travelling aboard two vehicles, they used a .45 caliber pistol, and twelve bore shotgun and two AR15 rifles.

The Execution

According to Federal and Military intelligence, at this time, "El Taliban" was the principal contact of the ex leader of this organization, Francisco Javier Arellano Felix "El Tigrillo".

The criminal boss of this cell "Los Talibanes" was accompanied by his driver, bodyguard and Lieutenant, aboard a grey Toyota Tacoma after having arrived at Heroica Mulege in Valle de Vizcaino.

Because of an alleged betrayal, the Sicario's of the Sinaloa Cartel, knew that "El Taliban" could be found in Valle de Vizcaino and had specific information of the color and model of vehicle. With this information they patrolled the area, and when they observed him they immediately launched the ambush.

The Sinaloa hit men chased "El Taliban" for four blocks. The driver and bodyguard of "El Taliban" were observing the attackers and picked up speed, which left tyre tracks on the pavement, initiating the chase.

The Sicario's opened fire at the moving vehicle, when the driver of "El Taliban" was hit their vehicle slowed down and were rammed by the killers and boxed in.

Two of the alleged Sinaloa Sicarios involved in the attack remain unidentified

According to a hypothesis of the PGJE, one of  the Sicario's vehicles overtook the van of "El Taliban", who presumably was in the passenger front seat, and through the left passenger window and door shot at him.

Meanwhile the driver had changed to the right hand side of the vehicle, when the other occupants exited the vehicle to repel the aggression, while the other Sicario vehicle stopped behind and the occupants opened fire, catching "El Taliban's" men in a crossfire.

There wasn't even enough time for him to draw his .357 magnum pistol which the authorities found still in the waistband of the trousers of "El Taliban" when they recovered the bodies.

According to the scene of the crime, Obed Esau Felix Camacho was killed inside the vehicle, meanwhile "El Bebo", who was travelling in the rear of the cabin had ducked down when the rear of the vehicle was fired on suffering several bullet impacts. Only "El Taliban" managed to escape the vehicle,  and whose body was found eighty meters from the vehicle outside the main door of the Hotel LOF.

At the scene of the crime, experts of the PGJE found 40 spent cartridge of .223 caliber, 4 spent twelve bore shotgun cartridges, eight .45 acp cartridges. In total 52 cartridges around the victims.

The Investigations

According to the primary investigations of the PGJE agents, the armed attack has generated a new war between drug dealers of the Sinaloa Cartel and the CAF for control of Mulege, which could expand to the rest of the Southern Californian towns.

The aggression had been planned and carried out by following command criminals of the Gente Nueva of the Sinaloa Cartel:

* Eduardo Villacivencio Arce "El Lalo" or "El Lalito", a cellular criminal and principal contact in the North Zone of the State for the Sinaloa Cartel.

* Damien Villavicencio Arce "El Sombrerudo", brother of "El Lalo", and plaza boss of Valle de Vizcaino.

* Alberto Villavicencio Arce "El Junior", brother of "El Lalito" and "El Sombrerudo", and plaza boss of Guerrero Negro.

* Luis Alberto Echeverria Valdes "El Luisillo", who took under his criminal control, Alberto Alvarado Aramburo, Diaz Ordaz and all of the Pacific Zone.

According to a member of the Group for Coordination of Public Security, the criminal organization of Los Villavicencio, have since 2010, been constantly fighting for control of Mulege,  until they arrived at an agreement and pact with their principal adversaries and heirs of the criminal power of Los Beltran, Luis Alberto Echeverria Valdes "El Luisillo"; they had no choice than to distribute the zones and cool the plaza, in virtue of the red focus on this place.

The historical fight between these groups have cost the lives of :

*Adrian Villavincencio Arce "El Adrian" in 2010 and Ivan Villavincencio Arce "El Taquero" in 2013.

* Of Los Beltran, Guadalupe Beltran Beltran "El Lupillo" in 2013 and Juan Beltran Beltran "El Indio" in 2014.

Eduardo Villavicencio Arce "El Lalo" or "El Lalito"

In the fight for the North of the State, the two criminal groups over looked the control of the territories of San Ignacio, Santa Rosalia and Heroica Mulege, and which were taken by the following criminal cells of the CAF:

* Alberto Zamudio "El Flaco" in San Ignacio.

* Oscar Anaya Gutierrez "El Senor de los Cerros" in Santa Rosalia.

* Martin Anaya Gorosave "El Taliban".

With the exception of "El Senor de los Cerros", who was detained on the 23rd of January of 2014 and actually imprisoned in Santa Rosalia, "El Taliban" principally operated in the reorganization of the criminal cells of the North Zone and expected to take control of the plazas of Valle de Vizcaino, Villa Alberto Alvarado Aramburo, Diaz Ordaz and Guerrero Negro..


However he was executed, and the agents of the PGJE said it was going to re-heat the plaza and had no doubt that it would lead to a wave of violence in the next days and weeks.

Original article in Spanish at Zetatijuana