Deaths & Disappearances Plague Towns Near Celaya, Guanajuato

 "Itzli" for Borderland Beat 

The small towns of Juan Martín and San José el Nuevo in the municipality of Celaya, Guanajuato have been plagued this week with deaths and disappearances, including a musical group, a teenage boy, and a candidate for town representative. 

Fighting between the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (CSRL) and the New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG) continues in the CSRL bastions of Celaya and Apaseo el Grande, both in the state of Guanajuato, as reported over the past week on Borderland Beat here and here.

This week, the small towns of Juan Martín and San José el Nuevo, southeast of Celaya proper and within the Celaya municipality, have been rocked by a number of possibly interconnected deaths and disappearances.

The Missing Candidate

With a population of 3,086, Juan Martín, Guanajuato is too small to have a mayor, but does have a “delegado”, a town representative, to which 55 year old Teresita Torres Miranda is a candidate. She has been reported missing and was last seen on Sunday, March 20, 2022.

The Disfigured Woman

Shortly after 9:00 AM on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 the body of a woman, approximately 50-55 years old, was found in Juan Martín.

The cause of death has yet to be released but from her disfigured face it is speculated that some sort of acid was thrown on her.

The Missing Musical Group

The town of Juan Martín was home to members of a local musical group, Los Chuparrecio, who played at parties and events in the area over the past 15 years. 

On the afternoon of Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the band left town along with 15 year old Juan Diego Pérez Maldonado, who they paid to help set up their equipment. Their destination was the Rancho Seco neighborhood of Celaya, where they were hired to play at a party and they were expected to be back home around 9:00 PM.

After they failed to return home that evening and relatives were unable to contact any of them via cellphone they were reported missing and an Amber Alert was released for Juan Diego.

The next day, Wednesday, March 23, 2022, their vehicle was found abandoned on Chihuahua street in Rancho Seco, although none of their instruments were there.

Seven Burned Bodies

Around 11:00 PM on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, a burning vehicle was reported on the side of A San Juan Bautista, a “highway” connecting the town of 1,211 people with Rincón de Tamayo to the south.

The vehicle turned out to be a red 1987 Ford F-150 pickup truck that had been previously reported stolen in Michoacán. In the bed of the pickup were the bodies of seven individuals with their hands tied up.

Based on pictures circulating on social media, family members indicate that two of the bodies corresponded to members of Los Chuparrecio based upon the clothes they were wearing.

A Body and a Message

The following day, Wednesday, March 23, 2022, around 7:00 AM, the body of a man and a message on a poster board were found a few yards away from where the burn pickup was.

It is unclear if the body was there and overlooked the night before or if it was left thereafter.

Sources: AM (1), AM (2), AM (3), AM (4), Periodico Correo, El Universal, Informativo Agora, AM (5)