Footage of a Shooting in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco. CJNG Likely Involved

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 

A shooting involving seven hitmen was caught on camera in Tlaquepaque, in the city of Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco. 

The Shooting

At approximately 7:45 am on the morning of December 7, 2022, police received word that a shooting between gunmen was taking place on the streets of Tlaquepaque, in the Cerrito neighborhood, after multiple citizens called the emergency phone line. 

Tlaquepaque is a part of the greater metropolitan area of the major city of Guadalajara. It is located to the south of the city center, while other other parts like Zapopan lie to the west and Tonala to the east, as seen on the map below. 

The shooting reportedly took place at the intersection of Atlacomulco Street and Pablo Alemán Street. News reports differ on whether the gunmen were shooting at other men on the street, or if they were shooting into a home, where men were barricaded inside. 

According to El Universal newspaper, the state Attorney General’s Office (FGE) does not know if the confrontation was a direct attack on a house. The only information they “had for the moment was that approximately 60 shell casings were found” at the intersection. 

Informador writes that some of the gunmen escaped along Tamiahua street and managed to flee the area by the time police officers arrived on scene. The officers found a large number of bullet impacts on the exterior walls of a number of homes.  Whether there were any victims is currently unknown. 

The Video

The state Attorney General’s Office and the State Police have not released any further statements about the shooting as of the writing of this story, however a video taken by a resident of the area, shown below, gives us a closer look at what happened. 

Video Source: Juan Carlos Munguía

The footage shows one group of gunmen shooting farther into the distance, away from the direction of the camera. They appear to be ducking behind the corner of a building as if they are anticipating or receiving returning gunfire from their target.  

At least one white vehicle can be maneuvering with the gunmen, presumably driven by one of their accomplices. 

In the video shown below, Azucena Uresti, from Milenio News, presented their analysis of the footage.

Video Source: Azucena Uresti

They found that at least 7 gunmen were on seen on the side of the conflict closest to the person holding the camera.

Possible Motive

There are two possible reasons for the shooting. The first is that one of the two groups were hitmen from the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) who were fighting against a rival cartel group. 

Now, the CJNG is believed to be the criminal group who control the greater Guadalajara area. Previously, they were contested in areas of Guadaljara by the CJNG splinter group Cartel Nueva Plaza (CNP), which was formed around 2017. 

Between 2017 to 2021, the two groups fought over the pockets of territory CNP was contesting, located in areas like Tonala, Tlaquepaque, and Tlajomulco, with both sides trading losses. 

In February 2021, however, things changed. 

The CNP allegedly carried out a series of senseless shootings of civilian workers, such as bricklayers in Tonala who were waiting for their pay, in an attempt to heat up the plaza (increasing law enforcement pressure). 

This, however, actually resulted in a CJNG crackdown on the CNP in March 2021, resulting in the kidnapping of CNP’s Carlos Enrique Sánchez, alias “El Cholo”, one of the most prominent faces of the group. Cholo was interrogated on video, tortured, and then left in a gruesome public display days after he was abducted. 

For a more in depth look at the CNP vs CJNG war covering the alleged cause of the split, the important figures, and the timelines of events, please see this previous story. 

Ever since Cholo's death, little has been heard about the CNP when it comes to Guadalajara. Nowadays, we mainly hear about CNP, instead, in regions of far northern Jalisco, bordering the state of Zacatecas. 

They have an alliance with a Sinaloa Cartel - Mayo group up there that's led by figures like Mario Gonzále Martínez, the son of Mario González Gutiérrez. For more details on that group, please see this story. 

If there is a rival cartel group fighting against the CJNG in the shooting video, it's most likely to be remnants of the CNP. 

The second possible line of motive is that one of the parties involved is the CJNG and the other group is a non-cartel individual they are cracking down on, such as someone who refused to pay extortion fees, or a street dealer who stole product, or an influential person who has displeased the group. 

Just a few months ago, there were two high profile instances of this type of shooting in this same city.

In early October 2022, there was a shooting at an outdoor mall in Zapopan. The incident began when CJNG hitmen allegedly tried to kidnap a "businessman" when he was accompanied by his bodyguards. The body guards fought back and a shootout was captured on video. To read more about this, please see this previous story. 

Later that month a municipal politician, who was planning on running for governor, was killed inside a restaurant in Guadalajara. The politician allegedly received threats from the CJNG figure La Gallina prior to his murder. To read more about this incident, please read part one and part two here.

Sources: El Universal, Informador, La Silla Rota, Heraldo de Mexico, Azucena Uresti, Debate, Quiero TV, Milenio, El Occidental , Guardia Nocturna, Guardia Nocturna Video