CJNG Attacks San Juan Nuevo For Killing El Rayas, Michoacán

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Left: Aftermath of CJNG attack June 30 2021, Right: Deceased man alleged to be El Rayas, photo from June 27 2021.  

A ten minute long shootout between alleged Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) members and Municipal Police within the town of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Michoacán left two municipal officers wounded, and various homes shot up. The head of the Michoacán Police says this new CJNG attack may be in retaliation for the killing of alleged CJNG plaza boss "El Rayas" a few days before.

On the morning of Wednesday, June 30 2021, residents of the Michoacán town of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro made calls to the emergency line to report an active shooting they could hear occurring nearby. 

The sound the residents were hearing was that of a gun battle going on between Municipal police officers and armed men. Multiple news sources state that the armed men were members of the CJNG. Noventa Grados reports that the armed men arrived in town in a 20 vehicle convoy.*

The shootings were taking place across multiple different areas. The unknown armed men and police officers could be seen to be chasing each other through the streets. The high-powered gunfire exchanges could be heard for approximately ten minutes, according to later witness accounts. 

Three houses were shot at by the unknown armed men but no one within those houses were injured as a result. Noventa Grados reports one of these houses was the Security Council for Peace’s main base. Two municipal police officers were wounded. One of the officers sustained his injuries from falling out of a moving police patrol vehicle. Another officer sustained his injuries due to being partially run over by a police patrol vehicle. 

CB Television reports that the police officers were overwhelmed and decided to withdraw from the immediate area in order to avoid any casualties. The unknown armed men at some point fled the area. In the aftermath, patrol cars and civilian cars were found to have been riddled with bullets. 

Photo taken by resident of San Juan Nuevo showing the aftermath.

State and Military forces arrived in the area and the two injured officers were taken to receive medical treatment. State forces report that checkpoints have now been set up and various patrols have been undertaken to prevent further violence. There have been no arrests in relation to this shooting as of the writing of this story. 

As previously covered on Borderland Beat, on June 26 2021, alleged members of the CJNG got into a skirmish with members of the “Council for Peace of San Juan Nuevo” which led to the death of one Council of Peace member and two CJNG members, one of whom was identified as a regional plaza boss who went by the alias “El Rayas”.

The head of the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP), Israel Patrón Reyes was later asked for a comment on this second shooting in Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro. Reyes said he presumed that the attack could have been a reaction against the municipal police by members of criminal groups. 

Israel Patrón Reyes commenting on the Nuevo San Juan attacks. 

"What is known is that it could be a reaction to the previous event where three men were killed and in that sense it is presumed that perhaps some allies of this criminal cell generated some aggression against elements of the police," he said.

Reyes also gave an update on the current status of the two officers injured in the attack, commenting that although they are both in serious condition, they do not believe either is at risk of dying from their injuries. 

Photo taken by resident of San Juan Nuevo showing the aftermath.

Photo taken by resident of San Juan Nuevo showing the aftermath.

Photo taken by resident of San Juan Nuevo showing the aftermath.

Sources: La Voz, El Sol de Zamora,  Noventa Grados, Red 113, CB Television, MiMorelia, Article 2

*Note: Of all the news sources consulted for this story, only Noventa Grados gives an estimate for the number of vehicles in the convoy.