Abduction and Killing follows Los Chuparrecio Funeral

"Itzli" for Borderland Beat

Amidst reports Los Chuparrecio were killed and burnt due to mistaken identity, two men attending their funeral in Juan Martín, Guanajuato are kidnapped and a CSRL message against CJNG is left with their bodies.

The Death of Los Chuparrecio

As previously reported on Borderland Beat, the local musical group from Juan Martín, Guanajuato, Los Chuparrecio, and a 15 year old boy who was hired to help set up their equipment and aspired to join the group went missing on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. That evening a burning pickup truck was spotted and after the fire was put out seven burned bodies were found in the bed of the truck.

It was later reported by Borderland Beat in a separate article that the bodies were officially identified as being the members of Los Chuparrecio. 

Since then, sources with knowledge of the investigation state that Los Chuparrecio were abducted by individuals belonging to a cartel group that thought they were members of a rival cartel group and refused to believe they were actually a musical group.

Another possibility that is not being reported is that one specific member of the group, Armando Pérez Altamirano, was the target, as he was reported in passing to have served as a vigilante in Juan Martín.

Wakes & Funeral

During the evening of Friday, March 25, 2022 the bodies of Los Chuparrecio were taken to Juan Martín, where wakes began and continued through Saturday.

The previously mentioned Armando Pérez Altamirano, who had been a musician for over 30 years, was held across the street from three members of the band who were all brothers: José Juan, Francisco Javier, and Luis Miguel.

On the other side of town the 51 year old brother of Armando, Javier Pérez Altamirano, and Javier’s 21 year old son, Francisco Javier, were held together and about 50 yards from there was the home of 15 year old Juan Diego Pérez Maldonado, where his body was held in wake.

Around 2:30 PM on Sunday, March 27 a joint funeral mass was held for all these individuals at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church in Juan Martín. Those attending the service numbered in the hundreds, with the crowd flowing outside the building itself into the courtyard in front and possibly the town plaza across the street.

Two Men Abducted 

At some point that Sunday, two attendees of the funeral mass were abducted by armed men who were in a gray automobile. The timing and exact location of this abduction is unclear, as there are at least three different reports. 

In one version, they were abducted outside the church during the mass itself, despite the presence of National Guard and State Police officers who were providing security in the community.

Another version states that they had attended the mass and were abducted at an unspecified point at the town plaza, across the street from the church. 

A third version can be pieced together from posts on a community Facebook page, with the first one at 6:01 PM stating that someone had just been abducted at the town plaza and five minutes later stating that it was a gray automobile involved. 

It was later reported that the two individuals were a 53 year old man named Israel and a man named Francisco, both farmers from Juan Martín.

Bodies Located

Around 7:00 AM the following day, Monday, March 28, 2022, two bodies were found behind the El Viejorro Carwash in the small town of La Cruz, which is located 10 minutes west of Juan Martín and straight south of Celaya.

Reports indicate that their hands and feet were tied up and they had been shot to death. In addition, a message on a poster board was left by their body. 

The following is circulating online and is said to be from the scene:

“This happened to me for fucking around selling white and acting as lookout for the bitches who are innocent people killing skinny dogs. The cleaning continues, whores. Sincerely: MV. C.S.R.L.”

It should be noted that in the war between the Cartel de Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) and New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG) the color of methamphetamines indicates the drug’s origin, with white meth associated with the CJNG.

Family members arriving at the scene indicated that the bodies were those of Israel and Francisco.

Sources: AM (1), AM (2), AM (3), Juan Martin Gtoo, AM (4), AM (5), Excelsior, Agora GTO, InfoRoja_Mx