CJNG Now Manufacturing Their Own Mortars, Some Mortars Seized in Mazamitla, Jalisco

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat

Four non-professionally manufactured mortars were discovered by Army soldiers at a Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generation site they happened upon during a routine patrol.

Army (SEDENA) soldiers reported that they located a Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generation site where multiple vehicles and four “homemade” mortars were being stored. This discovery is said to have come during a routine surveillance tour near the town of Mazamitla, in Jalisco. 

The authorities detailed that the four mortars were positioned on the ground and next to them were their associated mortar rounds. A few meters ahead of the mortars they located various ammo of different caliber, tactical equipment and six vehicles. All items were seized and sent to the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR). 

Bizarrely, the items seized were later filmed by elements of the military from an overhead drone angle. This style of recording what items were seized from criminals seems a little bizarre. 

Video Source: Ahtziri Cardenas

Considering the recent prevalence of cartel organizations showing off their homemade armored “monstruo” vehicles and arms through a very similar style of overhead drone footage, with armed men posing nearby, the military’s footage strikes a decidedly odd tone.

The modern mortar is a muzzle-loaded weapon which consists of a tube into which the gunners drop a mortar round. When the round reaches the base of the tube it hits a fixed firing pin that then fires the round. Some mortars have a moving firing pin, operated by a lanyard or trigger mechanism. 

One of the available photos shows a pretty decent view of the mortar barrel, but it does not look down inside the barrel which would have given clue as to the firing pin system.  

Most modern mortar systems consist of four main components: a barrel, a base plate, a bipod and a sight. At first glance it appears that the welding work did not create apparatuses in order to adjust deflection or account for windage. The legs of the bipod don’t appear to have any threading system to adjust the mortar’s elevation. The lack of a sight goes without saying.

So, how does the CJNG's improvised mortar compare to recent well known examples of improvised mortars?

In 2014-2015, improvised mortars were heavily discussed due to their prevalent use in the Syrian Civil war. The most commonly seen improvised mortar in the Syrian war was referred to as a “hell cannon”.

Hell cannons were originally built by the Ahrar al-Shamal Brigade, a part of the Free Syrian Army and later developed into multiple different subtypes such as the Bureij, Jahim, or the quad hell cannon. Unexploded artillery was scavenged by soldiers, then cracked open and the contents poured into hand-lathed mortar shells. These shells were then loaded into a hell cannon, whose trajectory, similar to the Howitzer, actually sat somewhere in between that of a traditional artillery gun (flatter trajectory) and a mortar (higher angle trajectory).

In comparison to a Syrian hell cannon, the CJNG mortar can be seen to have a higher intended trajectory and function more like a traditional mortar than a hell cannon, although it should be noted that most mortars have a physical limit on the possible angles the tube can be adjusted to, therefore there is a ranger of trajectories. The CJNG mortar appears to take much smaller caliber ammunition then the average hell cannon, as well. 

Modern mortars normally range in caliber from 60 mm to 120 mm. However, both larger and smaller mortars have been produced. The shells seen in photos of the CJNG seizure appear to be possibly 50mm or 47mm, although it really can’t be determined through the available photographs. But it does make it likely that the CJNG's mortar capacity is smaller than what is traditionally thought for a modern mortar. 

The larger implications of cartel organizations being capable of mortar fire will undoubtedly be discussed by many different people, for many different motives. Whether mortar fire will ever actually be utilized in a cartel conflict (with authorities or rival organizations) when one considers the logistics necessary is unknown at this time.

Source: Quadratin, Infobae, Debate, Noventa Grados, Libertad Bajo Palabra

Background Sources: Bellingcat, 9news, Military History Visualized, New York Times At War, Defense Tech Aluminum Blank Video