Nathaniel Janowitz, a journalist for Vice News, released exclusive footage at 10:00am on September 13, 2021 of Gulf Cartel's Los Metros member El Calamardo being broken out of custody back in July 2021.
Accompanying the new footage is an article that makes allegations of current Mexican Armed Forces members being involved in the operation that freed José Alfredo Hernández Campos, alias "El Calamardo" or "M27".
For more details on the operation that broke El Calamardo out of custody on July 13, 2021, please see this article written by MX and Sol Prendido.
The following is the direct text of an article that was originally written by Vice News by journalist Nathaniel Janowitz.
If the gunmen in the video are in fact active members of the UNOPES, it may be the most visually damning evidence of state corruption since President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office in December 2018. López Obrador has given increasing powers to Mexico's armed forces in his nearly three years as president. The Mexican Navy did not respond to questions regarding whether the gunmen were active or former members.
José Alfredo Hernández Campos, alias El Calamardo or Metro 27, was broken out of the Attorney General's Office in Reynosa, Tamaulipas—across the border from McAllen, Texas, on July 13. He was allegedly a high-ranking member of the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel.
Video of the incident obtained exclusively by VICE World News shows the gunmen entering the building with no resistance from local cops. They go in and out of unlocked doors, and eventually lead an officer to the cell of the waiting Hernández Campos. The local cop unlocks the door, and after allowing the alleged narco to leave, he walks nonchalantly back down the hall.
In the aftermath of the escape, members of the Gulf Cartel set up blockades throughout the city to stop police from recapturing Hernández Campos, leading to clashes with gunmen throughout Reynosa. One gunman was arrested wearing camouflage and a UNOPES vest, along with Defense Department identification. There have been conflicting reports on whether he is an active or former member of the Mexican armed forces.
Breitbart Texas cited U.S. law enforcement sources working in Mexico who claimed that the raid was conducted by a mixture of current and former members of the Mexican armed forces. The law enforcement sources alleged that Hernández Campos had claimed during his initial arrest the day prior that he was already paying protection fees to Mexican armed forces.
While various news outlets reported on the jailbreak at the time, the video footage has not been publicly available until now.
Hernández Campos is alleged to have been one of the top lieutenants of the Metros faction of the Gulf Cartel controlled by César Morfín, alias El Primito, and his younger brother, Alvaro Noe Morfín, aka R8. The two brothers were listed as some of the Tamaulipas State Government’s Top-10 most wanted in January 2021.
A source connected to a faction of the Gulf Cartel alleged to VICE World News that the Metros under the control of the Morfín brothers have forged an alliance with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG for its Spanish acronym), and have used the money raised from human trafficking and drug smuggling in Tamaulipas to help fund an ongoing war in the southwestern state of Michoacan. The Morfín brothers are allegedly the stepsons of a high-ranking CJNG member leading the dispute in Michoacan. VICE World News could not independently verify that theory.
The northeastern border state of Tamaulipas has long been the bastion of the Gulf Cartel, which has a history of working with state security forces. The group famously recruited Mexican military deserters to form a special armed unit known as the Zetas in the late 90s. The Zetas would later break away from the Gulf Cartel and form their own group, which waged war against their former bosses causing Tamaulipas to consistently rank as one of the most violent states in Mexico. The Zetas’ use of military-grade weapons detonated an arms race amongst Mexico’s criminal groups, and are widely perceived to have upped the ante in terms of the quantity and nature of the violence used by organized crime that persists today.
In recent years, the Gulf Cartel has been plagued by continued infighting between numerous groups like the Metros, the Rojos, and the Scorpions after the arrests and murders of numerous top leaders in the past decade. The city of Reynosa has been ground zero for much of the recent conflict.
In June, gunmen attacked around the city in an onslaught that left at least 18 dead. Shootouts have become commonplace as groups have waged battles for control of the profitable trafficking plaza which is the final frontier between Mexico and the U.S. After the recent spate of violence, three of the principal Gulf Cartel splinter groups allegedly formed a truce in late July after unfurling banners around the city signed by the aforementioned factions that said “long live peace,” along with a picture of a dove.
But the man at the center of the July jailhouse breakout—Hernández Campos aka El Calamardo—would not survive the supposed peace. His body was discovered on the side of the road in the nearby town of Díaz Ordaz earlier this month.
The underworld source claimed that Hernández Campos had turned on the Morfín brothers after his liberation, and was executed by the same UNOPES forces that had helped him escape.
Source: Nathaniel Janowitz for Vice News
Unbelievable that Cartel has the Military backing them up.
ReplyDeleteThat's power
ReplyDeleteFor anyone who belives those men are wearing legitimate military clothings obvioudly doesnt know that UNOPES is not issued vest that have UNOPES written on then in any way shape or form and MUCH LESS any writing with the mexican flag colors in it. No military branch issues that type of uniform either. The wounded kid they tried to break out after he got caught assisting M27 but recaptured was wearing Airsoft clothing purchased on Amazon the Camo pattern was that of the US Marines only with slight differense in the Polyseter end of it. That Blue truck is cloned. The tires are far too smal to be from a real one even the size of the vehicle itself is not right. Look at this other vehicle they link to M27. It is a Smaller version of the Military vehicle Sedena uses
ReplyDeleteLook at THIS cloned truck that they said belonged to M27 the guy they broke out. It was stashed near where the shootout occured where he died or where he was found dead
https://twitter.com/JArmitos/status/1437526841057857538?s=19
Great information on the vehicles and uniforms, Sosa. Thank you for the link.
DeleteSeems to me like there is two questions with this story:
1. Were they wearing legitimate military vests/gear/vehicles?
And I think the answer is clearly no, they were not.
2. Were any of the guys active (not former) Mexican military who were paid by a cartel to break him out? Whether that's SEMAR/ UNOPES, what have you. And just wearing/using fake gear for this break out operation.
And the article's only claim in that regard is a sentence about Breitbart Texas speaking to US law enforcement sources who say they were a mix of "current and former members of the Mexican armed forces".
I think claims like this need more evidence then one publication claiming they heard it through their sources. But that's just my personal opinion.
Petty criminals who are fortunate enough to be neighbors to the largest drug consumer base in the world. They are not mapping the human genome. The USA military could easily show them real power . Why the USA continues to choose to respect Mexicans sovereignty, and not send in the deadliest military in the world proves these cartel scumfucks are the dea and cia bitches. They are allowed to serial kill and rape with impunity! The USA government and Mexican gun control advocates hands are permanently soaked in the blood of innocents on both sides!
ReplyDeleteDa Whitey Coyote
DeleteI will take 3 tacos de carne asada, with Ted chili and jugo de tarmird.