El Bandam, Guerreros Unidos Leader Linked To Missing 43 In Ayotzinapa, Is Executed In Parking Lot

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Moisés Brito Bautista, alias “El Bandam”, a leadership figure in the cartel group Guerreros Unidos, who has personally been linked to the disappearance of the 43 normalista students from Ayotzinapa, was murdered on Monday night in Cuernavaca, Morelos.

The Shooting

On August 2 2021, according to witnesses, El Bandam and his significant other went to a parking lot of a convenience store in a black Mercedes Benz SUV. There they made contact with three unknown individuals. They were seen conversing with the three individuals, but only a few minutes into talking, “one of them took out a firearm that was then fired several times towards the victims,” said the Attorney General of Morelos, Uriel Carmona. 

The sound of the gunfire in the well-known and busy shopping plaza “generated a lot of panic in people who were close“, according to Carmona. The three attackers then fled the scene aboard a car.

The State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) stated that at approximately 10:00 PM, law enforcement received a report of gunshots having been fired and that two people were injured in the parking lot of a convenience store located on Diana Avenue in Cuernavaca. 

Agents of the State Public Safety Commission (CES) were dispatched to the reported location where they  found the man’s lifeless body lying on the asphalt of the parking lot. They also found a woman who was still alive but suffering from multiple serious gunshot injuries. She was placed into an ambulance and was taken in critical condition to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. 

At first, police only confirmed to the press that unknown assailants shot at a couple in the Delicias neighborhood and that in the attack the man died and the woman was wounded. Later that night State Attorney General Uriel Carmona arrived on scene to personally view the body of the man, and based on the facial similarities, Carmona preliminarily identified the deceased as El Bandam, although further testing will be used to verify this identification.

Carmona detailed to the press that "Elements of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) and the Coordination of Forensic Services went to the place where they performed the legal removal of the dead body of the person identified as Moises ‘N’, 33 years old, from the state of Guerrero, and ballistic evidence of 9mm caliber was secured in the place."

State Attorney General Uriel Carmona speaking to reporters on scene.

“The information we have so far, to corroborate legally, is that it was a direct attack with a 9 mm pistol. We do not know yet if it is an assault or an execution. This second hypothesis is the one we will follow and, well, the security video footage will help corroborate the facts," said Uriel Carmona.

Who was El Bandam?

Moisés Brito Bautista, alias “El Bandam”, was 33 years old at the time of his death. He began his career by joining the Army where he served in the 27th Infantry Battalion. In 2012, Bandam deserted his Army post in favor of a life of crime, joining a cartel group. In the state of Guerrero he had an arrest warrant in force for the crime of aggravated homicide.

According to the police files, at the time of his death Bandam was serving as a lieutenant of Juan Carlos Flores Ascencio, alias “La Beba”, leader of the Guerreros Unidos cartel until Beba died in January 2021. Guerrero authorities locate Brito Bautista as the head of Guerreros Unidos hitmen and also as the person responsible for organizing kidnappings.

By the time of his death, Bandam was a regional leader of Guerreros Unidos. The region he controlled on their behalf was located in Guerrero. He owned and lived in a home in the city of Iguala, Guerrero. The Guerreros Unidos safehouses he was responsible for were also located in the city of Iguala. 

El Bandam, is one of the few active members who directly reported to Juan Carlos Flores Ascencio, alias "La Beba". La Beba is one of the only Guerreros Unidos leaders from around the time of the 43 student teachers Ayotzinapa case that authorities have not arrested. 

Who is La Beba? Where is he now?

One of the key players in the case of the disappearance of the 43 normalistas from Ayotzinapa was Juan Carlos Flores Ascencio, “La Beba” , an alleged leader of Guerreros Unidos in the municipality of Teloloapan. 

In September 2020, tarps printed with text appeared in the municipalities of Chilpancingo, Zumpango and Cocula, in Guerrero state. They asked Governor Hector Astudillo Flores and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to arrest  "La Beba”, among other, for the 43 Ayotzinapa case. The tarps were signed by "Ayotzinapa Gro."

La Beba was thought to have maintained control of the Capela mine during the time of the case. Capela Mine is operated by the Peñoles group in the town of Tehuixtla. Río Doce newspaper reports that Capela mine has also been linked to mayors and politicians from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) ever since Ángel Aguirre Rivero’s term. 

La Beba was found executed on January 17, 2021 in the municipality of Teloloapan, in Guerrero state.  His remains were found wrapped in sheets, living inside a living room during a search by State Police. His body had multiple bullet wounds to the head. His brother was located on the property and arrested. 

Reports differ on whether the State Police killed La Beba during their search of the property where he was found and then his death was covered up. Other reports claim that the leaders of Guerreros Unidos (GU) had splintered in Teloloapan. One group stayed loyal to La Beba, while the armed wing that had previously served his GU cell called the “La Tecampanera Community Police” broke ties and waged war against Beba. La Tecampanera Community Police is believed to be led by Luis Alberto Ramos Pioquinto and Juan Carlos Ramos Pioquinto, who are brothers and they are supposedly the ones who organized the execution of Beba, with the State Police merely discovering the body after.

Sources: Milenio, El Universal, El Sol de Cuernavaca, Central de Noticias, Then 24, Market Research Telecast, Debate, Proceso (Background on Beba)