CJNG Grupo Elite Violence In Small Guanajuato Town: 4 Killed In Street Executions. 2 More Burned Inside Car.

"HEARST" and "Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat 

Four men were ambushed and executed on a street in the town of Rincón de Tamayo, a suburb of Celaya, Guanajuato.

Strangely, a vehicle with one to two people inside was burned in this same small town just seven days before; marking an unprecedented amount of violence for such a small population. A narco message sign left helps us unravel the larger cartel forces behind the sudden outbreak of violence.

At approximately 8:00 pm on the night of November 18, 2021, the 911 emergency phone line received reports of gunfire occurring on Juan Gómez Street, near the intersection of Justo Sierra Street, in the town of Rincón de Tamayo. 

Rincón de Tamayo is a small suburb of Celaya and it is located south of the city. It has a rough population size of about 11,026 people with a total of 2332 homes.

The four victims were reportedly hanging out, chatting and drinking alcoholic beverages on Justo Sierra street. Tribuna reports the men were all a part of a nearby social gathering. Witnesses later told law enforcement that they observed a vehicle pull up next to the men. The vehicle allegedly had at least three armed men inside. 

Two of the passengers stepped out of their vehicle. No words were exchanged between the four men and the men inside the vehicle. The armed men were said to have simply started shooting at their targets. 

The men were shot in various parts of the head, legs and back. They were left lying on the sidewalk and street. After all four men fell to the ground, the vehicle with the perpetrators was seen speeding away from the scene in an unknown direction. 

Police officers were dispatched to respond to the reports. When they arrived at the location they found four men lying on the sidewalk and street area. All four men appeared to have suffered gunshot wounds. The officers attempted to give the men first aid while paramedics were called to the scene.

By the time the paramedics arrived, two of the men on the street no longer showed vital signs so medical attention was focused on the other two men who were fighting for their lives. They were able to stabilize them and transport both men to a nearby hospital. Both of their health conditions were reported as critical and both men later succumbed to their injuries. 

Police cordoned off the area of the shooting from the general public and evidence such as a bicycle and pieces of clothing were processed by forensic exports from the Attorney General’s office. Several bullet shell casings were located on the ground, near where the injured men were found. The shells came from both short barrel and long barrel firearms. 

Witnesses report that family of some of the deceased arrived on scene. They were said to be in a state of shock and “could not believe what had happened”, according to El Sol de Irapuato. For the moment the identities of the victims have not been officially reported.

Warning: Graphic photos below this point. 

This was not the first instance of violence for the small town of Rincón de Tamayo, as just 7 days earlier the charred bodies of two people were found inside a vehicle that was set on fire in the street.

On the evening of November 11, 2021, at approximately 5:45 pm, the emergency line received a report of a burning vehicle located on Paseo del Sol Avenue, near the entrance to the town. Police and firefighters were sent to attend to the report. 

On scene, first responders found a black sedan-type vehicle, that had been doused with flammable liquid, was consumed with fire. The vehicle was parked on the side of the road.  After firefighter successfully put out the flames, the police were able to approach and see that the interior of the vehicle was empty. 

When they opened the trunk of the vehicle however, they found the charred remains of two individuals according to Zona Franca, although some news reports say there were only one set of remains inside the trunk. Whether the people were already deceased prior to the start of the fire is unknown and unreported at this time. 

Regardless, police interviewed witnesses and pieced together that armed men were seen exiting the vehicle, dousing it with liquid and then setting it on fire. The armed men then left a narco message sign near the vehicle but out of the reach of the flames. The men were then seen fleeing the area in an unknown direction. 

Photos of what is alleged to be the narco message sign left in the area have emerged online. The sign in question read as follows, as translated by Sol Prendido: 

Here lies your trash, you fags. This will be the fate of everyone who supports this gang of cowards. The state of Guanajuato already has an owner and that is the Lord of the Roosters.  

Sincerely, CJNG Grupo Elite

 

It is always possible that the vehicle burning which was claimed by Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) is unrelated to the shooting of the four men that occurred a week later.  But it should be acknowledged that within the state of Guanajuato, the two primary cartel forces are believed to be the CJNG and the Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL). 

As previously reported on Borderland Beat, just a few days before the vehicle burning, on November 9, 2021, there was a major shootout in Celaya.

The incident began when alleged CJNG members executed a man on the street. Some have speculated this man was targeted due to being a member of CSRL. Following the execution, the CJNG members  who had just perpetrated the homicide got into a series of shootings and chases with police officers throughout the streets of the city, as they tried to flee the area. The end result left three alleged CJNG members dead.

Celaya shooting crime scene from November 9, 2021. 

The CJNG subgroup who is most often referenced in the general area of Celaya is “Grupo Elite”. At one time, Grupo Elite appeared to primarily operate in the state of Michoacán however in recent years they have made appearances most frequently in the state of Guanajuato (according to which CJNG narco messages they choose to sign, at least). 

Grupo Elite is reportedly led by “El R2”. The identity of “El R2” is primarily thought to be Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, however some locals have argued that “El R2” could also be the alias of Rafael Álvarez Ayala, who used to go by that alias before being captured, alleging he was quietly released from prison and retook the title of “R2”. 

Meanwhile the CSRL, a smaller cartel entity, is thought to be led by “M1”, which Borderland Beat writers have previously posited is not actually an alias for a single person, but currently acts as a title. The idea being that the “M1” title is passed onto whoever is leading the CSRL at the time.

The most recently captured “M1” was thought to be Carlos ‘N.’, who was captured on October 12, 2021. The current identity of a possible new M1 remains unclear in most news sources. 

Street Executions Sources: El Sol de Irapuato, El Otro Enfoque, Informativo Ágora, Tribuna, AM, Fernand

Car Burning Sources: AM, Vanguardia, Celaya News, Zona Franca, Pagina Central, Codigo Negro MX