Chihuahua’s New Governor Told By Narcos To Remove Certain Officials Or They Will Execute Cops

"HEARST" and "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

A new video emerged on social media on September 9, 2021, in which a cartel group tells the new governor of Chihuahua to withdraw certain public officials they claim are working for a rival cartel organization or else the state government will face their wrath. 

They make it clear that if these officials are not withdrawn from public office then they will begin to kill policemen and commanders, mentioning how they have done this in the past with the execution of officer Ramón Flores Avitia in February 2021.

The message read in the video, as translated by Sol Prendido, goes as follows:

This is a message for Javier Corral. Pay close attention. You have absolute scumbags within your jails. Not to mention the Prosecutor's Office and Secretary of Public Security. Along with Commanders Serrano, Salcido and Miranda.  

 

Within the prisons Soto Silva and Leonardo Olivas have killed people while helping La Empresa or La Línea. They make and break order from the inside. Just remember how they let Lalo operate from Cereso 3 in Juárez. Ordering extortions, and executions of our people. 

These commanders, Realivázquez and Nava, had some narco messages hung up here recently. Because they think one of those two is going to take their positions.  

 

Pay attention Maru Campos, we know that these commanders are already negotiating with your people to stay. You will work fairly. Or we'll start killing cops and guards if this continues.  

We have already killed two of your commanders, among them was Ramon Flores. Olivas and Serranos we’re coming after you, you’re next.  

This war of ours isn’t against the government. But these scumbags are not government. They work for a cartel. And if guys don’t correct this matter, innocent people will die

Analysis 

The following is a brief analysis of who is likely being referred to in the video message seen above and what their government role is. 

“Javier Corral” refers to the former Governor of Chihuahua Javier Corral Jurado, who only left office two days prior, passing off the position to the new Governor Maru Campos. Sol recently covered a local protestor who burned a pinata version of Governor Corral to commemorate the end of his governorship. 

Governor Javier Corral Jurado served as governor from 2016 to 2021 for the PAN political party.  La Jornada newspaper reports that between October 2016 and January 2021 there were 10,042 homicides, of which 95% have gone unpunished, according to the Attorney General's Office (FGE) and the State Judiciary. Juárez is the most violent of the 67 municipalities in Chihuahua, with around 5,500 homicides perpetrated during his tenure, of which the majority were attributed to organized crime.

“Commander Serrano” refers to the director of the State Investigation Agency (AEI) who is Álvaro Cuauhtémoc Serrano Escobedo. 

Recently a federal document implicated Director Serrano for having participated in the 2015 Tanhuato massacre during Serrano’s time in the (now defunct) law enforcement agency the Federal Police. 

The Tanhuato massacre is a controversial event in which 42 men belonging to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generation were killed by members of the Federal Police on El Sol de Tanhuato ranch in the state of Michoacan. The event has long suffered accusations of impropriety and extrajudicial homicide on the part of the Federal Police.

Due to the federal documents revealing Director Serrano’s alleged involvement, the director can no longer be located and is believed to be living on the lam as a fugitive from justice. 

Commanders Salcido and Miranda are a bit less clear as the last names are quite common.

“Soto Silva” refers to the general director of Chihuahua’s state prisons (Ceresos) Jesús Francisco Soto Silva. He has a record of working under Eduardo Guerrero Durán, the former Chihuahua prison chief who has also been threatened in narco signs for allegedly colluding with cartel organizations during his tenure.

“Leonardo Olivas” refers to Leonardo Olivas Sánchez who is the director Cereso 3 (prison 3), located in Juárez city.

"Realivázquez" refers to a regional director of the State Security Commission, Ricardo Realivázquez Domínguez. Whereas “Nava” refers to state prosecutor Jorge Arnaldo Nava Lopez according to an Entrea Lineas article. 

The group who is speaking evidently does not want Realivázquez and Nava to keep their positions in government and hopes narco banners decrying their corruption would interfere with them keeping their positions.

Then the accusation moves onto “Maru Campos”, which is how the Governor of Chihuahua María Eugenia Campos Galván is more commonly referred to. Governor Maru Campos only assumed the office of governor two days ago, on September 8, 2021 after winning the position in the 2021 Mexican gubernatorial elections for the PAN political party. 

Ramón Flores Avitia died in an attack in February 2021 perpetrated by cartel members. He was gunned down inside his vehicle, causing the vehicle to erupt into flames. At the time, Flores Avitia’s job was as a bodyguard for the aforementioned director of the State Cereso Jesús Soto Silva however Soto Silva was not with him at the time of the attack, so the Attorney General said it was likely that Flores Avitia was the intended target of the cartel hit. 

Again, the Olivas and Serrano referred to by the man in the video are likely AEI Director Álvaro Serrano Escobedo and CERESO 3 prison director Leonardo Olivas respectively.

Which cartel group is speaking?

From the recording it is not possible to determine with precision the date on which it was filmed, nor can it be determined to which criminal group the individuals who appear belong. Who likely sent this message though? 

Based on the content of the message centering around Chihuahua officials, it is fair to assume that this video was produced by a group with an active operation in the Chihuahua area. The group accuses Soto Silva and Leonardo Olivas of colluding with La Linea and La Empresa, therefore those two organizations can be ruled out as possible senders of this message. 

The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generation (CJNG) has an active alliance with La Linea, therefore they are unlikely to be the senders. 

This leaves us with the message likely coming from either a Chihuahua-based Sinaloa Cartel group or a smaller Juarez city organization. 

Special thank you to Borderland Beat commenter El Chino for the link to the story.

Sources: La Parada Digital, La Opción, Entrea Lineas

Background Sources: El Universal,  La Jornada, El Diario de Chihuahua Article 1, Article 2, Norte Digital, El Monitor de Parral, Omnia, El Heraldo de Chihuahua