Los Salazars vs Los Gigios: Threats to New Police Director of Nogales, Sonora

"HEARST" and "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

UPDATE 10/1/2021: Online, it is emerging that the El 05 being referenced might instead be Cristóbal Canastillo Santamaría, a Sinaloa Cartel figure associated with both Nogales and the Los Salazar faction. 

Cristóbal allegedly pictured on right.

Cristóbal is noted as being the one who likely killed Chapito 13 and JJ. Info Cajeme, says Cristóbal was arrested in 2008 in Cananea, Sonora alongside six other cartel members. 

Then in 2011, Cristóbal was arrested again, this time alongside Julio César Espinoza Ramírez in Nogales, Sonora. At the time Cristóbal was said to be 33 years old, which would make him 43 years old today, in 2021. 

Update Sources: Info Cajeme, El Zeta 1000

Recently, an audio clip was uploaded online in which the new director of Municipal Police is threatened by members of Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Salazar in Nogales, Sonora.

In the audio clip, the following can be heard, as translated by Sol Prendido: 

Sicario #1: This message goes out to “El 1” on behalf of the Lord. He can go fuck his whoring mother. If “El 5” doesn’t want anything to do with him then he can also go fuck his mom. The same goes for all those united with him as well. We don’t have a problem with anyone else. From here on out he can go fuck himself. If he doesn’t want to fall into formation. We’ll make him fall into fucking formation. That’s how it’s going to be. And we don’t want shit else to do with him. 

Sicario #2: This message goes out to the director, it goes out to the director. He can go fuck his mother the whore. If he doesn’t want to fall into formation then we will make him fall into fucking formation. You will fall into formation. Otherwise, we will fucking make you fall into formation. 

The Police Commissioner

It is being reported online that “the director” being referred to in the audio is the General Commissioner of Municipal Public Security, Francisco Martínez Zubieta. Commissioner Francisco Martínez Zubieta is brand new to the position, having held it for less than a week. 

He was appointed to the position by the new mayor of Nogales, Juan Francisco Gim, along with Eliseo Estrada Muñiz as Head of the Traffic Department and Sergio García Arredondo, as Chief Commissioner. 

On September 17, 2021, the newly elected mayor met with members of the General Public Security Police Station. At the meeting he expressed his appreciation for the daily work they do and his commitment, along with the commitment of all of his appointees, to strengthen the police department. 

The September 17, 2021 meeting with the Mayor and General Commissioner.

Expreso reports Mayor Juan Gim said "We are going to create the necessary conditions for each of you to feel good in your work and together we will face this great challenge so that Nogales is recognized and becomes an example to follow." 

The mayor then handed off the mic to Commissioner Francisco Martínez Zubieta, who said his priorities for the department would be the prevention of crimes and turning the department into an institution with a social proximity aspect to it. He then went on to commit to do everything in his power so that his fellow police officers have the tools to do their job in the correct way.

The Hidden Cartel Aspect

On the surface, it may appear that Commissioner Martínez Zubieta received these threats purely due to his commitment to strengthening the police force, which would naturally hinder the activities of organized crime in the area. 

However it is believed that Nogales is the cartel stronghold of one of El Mayo’s top lieutenants, Felipe de Jesús Sosa Canizales (or Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela, more on that in an upcoming story) who is known by the aliases “El Gigio” or “El Yiyo”. He leads the Sinaloa Cartel group Los Gigios, sometimes called Los Yiyos. 

Los Gigios have had some recent schisms with another Sinaloa Cartel group Los Salazar, or Los Salazar’s armed wing Los Cazadores, who are loyal to the sons of Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, “El Chapo”. These sons are commonly referred to as “Los Chapitos”. 

Why is this new Commissioner being targeted by threats currently? When he has held the position for only one week, hardly enough time to have sided with either Los Salazar or Los Gigios? 

Well the timing may come down to an important upcoming duty that Commissioner Francisco Martínez Zubieta has to fulfill: the appointment of the heads of police delegations. 

During the aforementioned September 17, 2021, meeting between the Mayor, the Commissioner and the group of police officers, Francisco Martínez Zubieta said that “little by little” he will announce the appointments of those who will be in charge of the police delegations, as well as those responsible for shifts. He said he will carefully select the best elements to fill those positions. 

The decisions Commissioner Martínez Zubieta ultimately makes to fill these key positions may give either Los Salazar or Los Gigio advantages in the battle for control over Nogales, as having a police officer who is on their cartel payroll elevated to a position of more power enables their illicit activities only further.

José Dolores Palma Morquecho, El 05

The sicarios say that “if El 5 doesn’t want anything to do with him, then he can also go fuck his mom,” which denotes a kind of deference and loyalty to whatever El 5 feels about the person in question, making him appear as a kind of boss like figure to the sicarios speaking.

It is believed that the “El 5” who is being referred to in the audio clip is José Dolores Palma Morquecho, alias “El 05”. El 05 is believed to be the former plaza boss of Nogales and Hermosillo for Los Salazar, prior to Los Gigios developing complete control of Nogales, pushing El 05 out of the plaza. 

Threatening government figures and agencies is nothing unexpected from El 05, as he is most recently known for having signed a Los Salazar banner in August 2019 which threatened the governor of Sonora at the time, Claudia Pavlovich, for not having respected “the arrangement”. 

That August 2019 narcomanta reads as follows, as translated by Sol Prendido: 

Madam Governor,

You didn’t respect the agreement. We know where your family is, as well as the families of the Municipal, State and AMIC corporations. They did not respect our pact and that is paid for with blood. They are going to pay dearly for all the blood they spilled for not respecting our arrangements.

From,

José Dolores Palma Morquecho, El 05 and Napoleón and my brother Macario 

 

You will pay us for having killed “Panza de Lodo”. We are the absolute Gente Nueva mob of Los Salazares. 

This banner notably appeared right after fellow Los Salazar member Sergio Alberto del Villar Suárez, alias "El Napoléon", a well-known plaza chief, was executed on August 8, 2019. Panza de Lodo likely refers to the alias of Pedro Gutierrez. 

Based on the available facts of the situation, it may appear that Los Salazars are trying to position their former Nogales plaza boss El 05 to retake control of Nogales from the hands of Los Gigios. Evidently they are trying to win key allies in the new leadership of the Nogales Municipal Police department through the heavy use of intimidation and threats. 

This strategy is not out of the norm for Los Salazars in general, as previously covered on Borderland Beat, Los Salazar’s Cazadores are employing a very similar strategy of heavy threats against the police department heads in another area of Sonora: in Pitiquito. This was seen in their narcomanta left threatening the police chief placed in August 2021. 

Only time will tell whether this strategy will be successful or not in winning the favor of the police leadership or in loosening El Gigio’s control over Nogales.  

Sources: Valor Por Tamaulipas, Reynosa Código Rojo, Expreso Article 1, Expreso Article 2, Libertad Bajo Palabra, Proceso 

Further Reading: 

Notable Figures: Los Salazar (Old, not in great shape)

Notable Figures: Caborca Cartel, Los Gigios