The Investigation into the Murder of " Beto Cervantes "

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat   Zeta  Sept 17,  2015

By :  Saul Ramirez Esparza

That the death of Alberto Cervantes, leader of the group Explosion Norteña, had been preceded by a "kidnapping "is something the Deputy Justice of Playas de Rosarito has ruled out.  In addition, according to  Attorney Patricia Ortega, by descriptions by witnesses and others, it is possible to draw a "certain direction", that the case is not isolated and the information connects it to other crimes in Tijuana. 

But there is relevant data that the prosecution does not have in its possession, for example, Ballistics Bank report specifying whether the Super 38 weapon has been used in other crimes.

In addition, although the information dictates that prior to the execution there was a struggle, when he was found, the body of "Beto" had about 28 injuries, including scrapes and tears in the skin, a bullet wound in the left region of the neck and a projectile in the chest.

"We can not expose a particular line of research, what I can say is that we have interviewed several witnesses, we can only comment that the man was not pushed out of a vehicle, but was walking in the street", stated the assistant attorney of the Rosarito area of ​​Baja California.

Thursday morning, September 1st, the singer and writer of narcocorridos left a home in the neighborhood of Constitution in Rosarito, on Michoacan Street, and as if they were waiting, immediately a gold Chevrolet Suburban pickup truck pulled along side of Cervantes. According to witnesses, the car traveled with one to two people, and  it was the driver who got out and hit the musician forcefully, they struggled and shots were heard, although only one cartridge was found at the scene. 

Raydel Lopez

The man or men responsible advanced some meters south on the street Michoacan and made a  "U" turn to get back to where the wounded body of Cervantes laid and  stopped for a moment then fled. Everything indicates that the deceased was walking toward his home in that municipality. 

Authorities and medical services found Cervantes lifeless, dressed in shorts and T-shirt midriff, without cell phone, but with his wallet and identifications; wounds and bruises on various parts of the body with blotches of blood that came from the head, specifically the neck. 

The report of the Forensic Medical Service (SEMEFO) determined that he bled to death and that  the jugular vein was lacerated.

His widow has provided no relevant information on the case, nor mentioned previous incidents or conflicts. She only explained that since 2007 - a year after he was shot in the neighborhood of Guaycura in Tijuana "for a mess of skirts" - until 2015 he was imprisoned and put under arrest on several occasions. 

 The Attorney General of the State (PGJE) obtained from the Joint Unit Regional Intelligence ( UMIR) information on three internments in prison: 2007 in the penitentiary in Tijuana for ties to organized crime, the date when Cervantes was arrested during a meal with Raydel López Uriarte “El Muletas” ("The Crutches"), who managed to escape -; in 2008, in a prison in Mexico City; and in October 2014, also for ties to organized crime in the CEFERESO of El Salto, Jalisco.