CJNG Grupo Elite Leaves Chopped Up Bodies With Narco Messages In Irapuato, Guanajuato

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

In four events on the same night, chopped up bodies and severed heads in coolers were left around the city of Irapuato, Guanajuato. The grisly scenes were accompanied by different copies of the same narco message, allegedly signed by the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).

On Friday night, AM Noticias reported the messages and bodies were left in three distinct spots.

Three headless chopped up bodies were found with a message by the Centro de Rehabilitación Infantil Teletón (CRIT), a rehab center for children. A severed head in a cooler along with a message were found by the Office of the Public Defender and another near the 12th Region Military base.

This morning, Twitter nota roja account @InfSinCensuraMx reported that a fourth spectacle was discovered: a severed head inside a cooler, explaining why only two of three heads from the three bodies outside the children's rehab center were found last night.

On their Facebook page, the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Irapuato issued a statement attempting to provide the public with an assurance that they were undertaking the investigation, saying that units had responded to the crime scenes. 

The Message

Photo from @InfSinCensuraMx

The message translates as:

This will happen to anyone who goes around killing innocent people and selling material (drugs) without the right. We make it clear that the CJNG does not forgive acts of cowardice and we only go after the objective, we respect women, children, and the elderly, and you already know that all of Guanajuato is under the command of Señor Mencho.

Sincerely, Grupo Elite

The Guanajuato Context 

This violent messaging occurs at a time when violence in the already violent state of Guanajuato, and the city Irapuato are experiencing a spike. So far this year Guanajuato has recorded 2,471 homicides, about 10% of the nation's total, according to government data. In the last seven days however, of the 552 murders committed in Mexico, 83 occurred in Guanajuato, representing 15% of the nation's total. 

Just last week, an armed group entered and fired on partygoers and employees at a bar in Irapuato. A total of 12 people died, and furthermore, so far no criminal has been arrested for the attack, as reported by Borderland Beat.

This carnage is related to the years long brutal conflict between a local organized crime group, the Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL), and the CJN, which has made Guanajuato the most violent state in Mexico by homicide count since 2018. 

Much of the violence is fueled by the fight between these two groups and their allies for control of the state's lucrative Petroleros Mexicanos (PEMEX) pipelines and an expanding market of synthetic drug consumers. 

Warning: Graphic photos of bodies below this point.

Sources: WhatsApp communication with local security expert David Saucedo, AM Noticias, Borderland Beat Archives, @InfSinCensuraMx, INEGI Homicide data via TreResearch 'La Guerra en Numeros 10/22/22', SSC 10/21 Statement