Free for $250 USD: "El 300" Leader of "Los Aztecas'' / Juarez Cartel

Translated by Yaqui for Borderland Beat from: El Heraldo

                                                       "El 300" Rene Gerardo Santana Garza
          Police Killer Freed after He pays 5, 000 Peso  / $250 USD Fine and Charges are Reduced

Dec 23, 2017
By: Ricardo Holguín

The State Attorney General's Office did not charge the offender with criminal charges and Santana Garza was only punished for illegally carrying a firearm and drugs, for which reason he was released and paid a fine, irregardless of the criminal background of the man and his constant attacks on security corporations.

The head of the criminal group called "Los Aztecas", linked to the Juarez Cartel, is considered by the state governor, Javier Corral Jurado, a highly dangerous criminal, after several participations in armed confrontations and he adjudicated the murder of the then head escort  of Mariano Contreras Rivera in Ciudad Juarez.

Santana Garza allegedly was carrying a 40-caliber pistol model JCP S & W, brand Hi-Point Firearms, with the serial number 711881 and a clipwith 10 shots, in addition to 100 packets of cocaine.

René Gerardo Santana Garza is currently 33 years old, he has large tattoos on his shoulders and chest, symbolizing loyalty to the criminal group of which he is considered a bloodthirsty leader; he had at his command about 250 people dedicated to commit extortion, drug sales and homicides in the state of Chihuahua on the US/ Mexico border.

Between 3:00 am on Friday, September 15, 2017, Santana Garza was arrested by the Attorney General's Office (PGR) and the State Police, in a special investigative operation; René Santana Garza was in the vicinity of a hotel located in the Omega Industrial Park.

Salazar Garza is presumed to have ordered the  murder of Journalist Miroslava Breach.

During the first reports, the detainee was placed at the disposal of the Attorney General's Office for crimes against health in the form of possession of drugs and illegal possession of firearms, as reported by the State Security Commissioner at the time, Oscar Aparicio Avendaño.

The State Security Coordinator gave an energetic comment when he pointed out that the judges leave the most dangerous criminals in the state free, and that this action has not taken place once, but several times; as they have granted the capos detained with freedom, despite the serious crimes they have committed.

"It is a reality that only in Mexico does this kind of thing happen, we are lamenting that after this arrest of an "Azteca" leader, our judges leave the criminals in freedom, it is a sadness and makes the work of all security corporations much more difficult, " Oscar Aparicio Avendano explained.

The head of State Security, indicated that they are ready to continue working and hope to continue facing the criminal cells, remembering that work will have to be redoubled due to the strengthening of the criminal groups after the release of their leaders.

Oscar Avendano recalled that a few months ago they also achieved a great arrest of a leader of "La Linea", José Luis González Montes aka "El 32", who after a few days in prison was released and at the same time he carried out several attacks on police and confrontations in the surrounding areas of wood.

"Los Aztecas", murderers for hire:

One of the most dangerous gangs in Mexico known as Los Aztecas or Barrio Azteca, which began their illicit activities in the late 80's in El Paso, Texas , where they began to expand to various places in the United States; such as New Mexico, Texas, Massachusetts , Pennsylvania and Ciudad Juárez.

Los Aztecas have at least 5, 000 members in Ciudad Juarez and at least another 3, 000 in the US; and in 2008, they formalized their alliance with La Línea, the armed wing of the Juarez Cartel, to begin the battle against the forces of the Sinaloa Cartel that tried to control the border area of ​​Mexico.

The control of the routes in Ciudad Juárez, known as the "Plaza Juarez," is vital for drug trafficking organizations since they are the main illegal conduit to the United States.

The DEA estimates that approximately 70% of the cocaine entering the United States flows through the area, which is the gang's main source of income, which comes from drug smuggling through the Mexican border into the United States. They are also responsible for the distribution and sale of narcotics inside and outside prisons. In addition to drug trafficking, they have been charged with several different crimes, extortion , kidnapping, charging piso , etc etc.

Members of the Barrio Azteca gang usually have US citizenship, which makes them ideal border killers that move back and forth across the US-Mexico border.

The gang has a militaristic structure and includes captains, lieutenants, sergeants and infantrymen with the sole purpose of maintaining territorial control and enriching its members and associates through drug trafficking, homicide, money laundering, extortion and intimidation.

Inside and outside the prison, from gang murders to car shootings, Barrio Azteca disciplines its own members and rivals.

The "vital blood" of the gang is the sale of drugs, which they buy at low cost due to their alliance with the Juarez Cartel and the profits from their own importation into the United States. They also impose a fee on independent drug traffickers in El Salvador, El Paso, Texas and in other parts of West Texas and in the eastern part of New Mexico.

Once the money is collected, the members of Barrio Azteca deposit it in bank accounts of the imprisoned leaders of their own organization, often using false names and female associates by bank transfer.

Aztecs vs Mexicles:

For years, bands known as "Los Aztecas" and "Mexicles" have maintained a confrontation after each of them allied with organized crime gangs such as the Juarez Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, who use gang members as assassins and distributors of drugs in different sectors of the country.

On September 26 of this year, "Los Aztecas" attacked the rehabilitation center "Uniendo Familias, Clínica para Vivir Mejor" in Chihuahua, which left 14 dead and 8 injured, according to the head of the CES, Óscar Aparicio.

The state official reported that among the dead are members of the gang "Los Mexicles", who were the target of this attack, however, in this same rehabilitation center were relatives of the inmates who also paid for the fees for their family members to stay at the center. 

The head of Public Safety said that after the arrest of René Gerardo Santana Garza, alias "El 300", leader of the cartel "La Línea", captured on September 15, he expected a reaction from this criminal group.

Police reports indicate that the attackers descended from a compact car and with their faces covered and entered the rehabilitation center called "Uniting Families, Clinic to Live Better," located in the Rosario neighborhood and opened fire on all those present.

The manner in which the gang that "El 300" runs is characterized by not having a specific place, they are mobilized where the adjustment of accounts is necessary; they are gang members without identity who have sought a family of their own in the gang.

Users in Rehab at the Uniendo Familias Clinic

In general they come from dysfunctional or single-member families (father or mother) and have taken refuge in what they consider their biggest family, and therefore, do not ever forgive a betrayal.

According to reports from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) : "Los Aztecas" is a "transnational gang that operates in both Mexican and American territory with a degree of sophistication rarely seen in groups of this nature."

The high capacities of Barrio Azteca are due, to a large extent, to the financial and logistical support it receives from the Juarez Cartel, as recognized by the US authorities themselves. The organization of Barrio Azteca is such that, in order to avoid the interception of its messages, it developed secret codes based on numerology and phrases written in Nahuatl.

With more than 100 shots "El 300" ordered the killing of the head of escorts in Juárez;

Mariano Contreras Rivera, 30 years old, chief of escorts of the Investigative Police commander, was brutally assassinated on September 6 of this year, when he was in Colonia Álvaro Obregón, where according to the investigations he was hit by at least 100 shots of gunfire.

At the intersection of Santa Elena Island and Calle Isla Caledonia where Mariano Contreras Rivera was patrolling the area when suddenly several armed men arrived in two vehicles, who unloaded their firearms against of the agent who was killed immediately.

This homicide was attributed to René Gerardo Santana Garza, "El 300", who ordered his men to assassinate him, without knowing the reason why he turned this order against the head of escorts, until now.

At that time the paramedics arrived at the scene tried to provide first aid, but the efforts were in vain, after the multiple injuries he received he died in a matter of seconds, since at the crime scene they were able to count around of 100 perforated bushings, among which were the caliber 9 mm, .40 and .223 caliber rounds from an AR15.

After the assault, the different security corporations began tracking the murderers, who have failed to stop anyone and only located one of the vehicles used in this attack, a Ford F150 2000 yr model sand color with license plates ZUE 1975 .

Agent Contreras Rivera was 6 years in the corporation, five in the department of Orders of Apprehension and one year as head of the escorts of the first commander.

History of Attacks of the Aztecs:

- Massacre in the Ciudad Juárez Prison, March 5, 2009
- Second CJ Prison massacre, July 26, 2011

- Massacre of Villas de Salvárcar, January 31, 2010

- Assassinations in the Consulate of the United States, March 13, 2010

- Massacre of Horizontes del Sur, October 23, 2010