The Hunt for CJNG's El Kike, The Kidnapper & Attempted Cop Killer

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat 

A man known as “El Kike”, a regional Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) leader in Aguascalientes and Zacatecas, was arrested a few days ago. 

Police had been hunting for the attempted cop-killer for months leading up to the arrest.

Who is El Kike? 

Enrique Yahabeth Guerrero led a CJNG kidnapping cell that was called "Los Pelones". The hitmen of the group was made up mainly of former Guatemalan soldiers, from the special operations group Kaibiles.

They mainly operated out of the municipality of Rincón de Romos, in the state of Aguascalientes, however they were said to have influence in the surrounding municipalities of San Francisco de los Romo and Pabellón de Arteaga.

The newspaper El Sol de Zacatecas alleges that Los Pelones were known to operate across the border, in Zacatecas, in the municipalities of Guadalupe, Ojocaliente, Luis Moya and Ciudad Cuauhtémoc.

One lone news source dared to cover the criminal activity of El Kike. 

Pendula Informativo wrote on June 11, 2022, that “the main operations center of the CJNG cell is located at the Bajio ranch in the Rincón de Romos. The ranch is owned by Carlos Abel Elías Ortega, alias ‘El Cochiloco del Bajío’. "

"It is a strategic point of operations for Enrique Yahabeth Guerrero, alias 'El Kike', one of the main leaders of the Jalisco cartel in Aguascalientes."

Beyond these details, little else is reported on the criminal activity Kike’s cell was conducting. 

The Ambush

Sept 30, 2022

On September 30, 2022, four municipal police officers in a white Nissan sedan drove into the Valle Real neighborhood, in the city of Rincón de Romos. 

All four officers were from the Anti-Kidnapping division and they had recently been assigned the case of Édgar Alfredo Quezada Muñoz. 

Édgar was a 29-year old man who had been kidnapped three days earlier. Witnesses told police that armed men arrived at Édgar’s home  in the San Jacinto neighborhood and forced him into their car at gunpoint at 2:00 pm, in broad daylight.

The investigation into Édgar’s abduction led the three officers to travel into the Valle Real neighborhood.

But the streets of Valle Real were watching them.

According to Hidrocalido Digital, “someone notified cartel hitmen about the presence of the investigating police officers.” 

As their car drove down 5 de Mayo Street, a truck of hitmen intercepted them, shooting into their windshield. The officers repelled the attack the best they could, returning fire. One of the hitmen in the truck was hit and flung from the truck. 

The injured hitman stumbled to a nearby house and tried to take cover inside but he was unable to get inside.

The shooting continued and all four of the officers were badly injured, but they managed to radio-ed up what had happened. Dozens of law enforcement and military personnel were sent to search the area where the officers were shot. 

Meanwhile, a State Police helicopter was being called in in order to airlift one of the officers due to the seriousness of his injuries. He had been hit in the chest and the arm. The bullet from his arm wound  had struck a bone, causing it to fragment.

Another two officers were considered to be in more stable condition, however, they had both sustained gunshot wounds - one was hit in the elbow, the other in the foot. They were rushed to a nearby clinic for medical care and the facility was guarded by other officers because there was concern that hitmen might be sent to the clinic to finish them off. 

The Search

Sept 30, 2022 

Military and police personnel began canvassing the area and questioning residents. They quickly learned that the truck of hitmen had returned to pick up the hitman who was shot. Witnesses say that he “was taken away from the scene of the shooting by his accomplices, dying.” 

As they continued to search they found two cartel safehouses, one in Valle Real and one in El Saucillo. Both had a few firearms, meth and cocaine inside but they found no person inside. The properties were seized along with the firearms. 

The truck, a white Toyota Tacoma with black stripes, was spotted hours later driving on Highway 45. The truck was pulled over but only one hitman remained inside. The hitman was arrested and the truck was seized. 

In the late afternoon, a search warrant was approved and ministerial agents stormed a property in the Chaveño neighborhood, where they found the alleged attackers, a group of six men from Los Pelones - a local CJNG kidnapping cell.

They arrested:  

Alex Catarino T.

Irvin Wilfredo S.

Juan M.

Walmaro M.

Belizario R. 

Juan S.

According to Heraldo.mx, the leader of Los Pelones was not found among this group of six men, however. 

Somehow the man who allegedly ordered the attack on the officers, Enrique Yahabeth, alias “El Kike”, had managed to escape. 

January 7, 2023 

The Arrest

Finally, on January 7, 2023, a secret operation to arrest El Kike was launched by authorities in Aguascalientes. 

Soldiers from the National Guard and the Army (SEDENA) raided a property in the Piedrera neighborhood where Kike was believed to be hiding. They found him, along with his second-in-command “El Memo”, and 6 of their personal guards. The men were successfully arrested but few other details about the raid have been disclosed. 

Later that day, Aguascalientes authorities announced his capture. They have not yet released the names of “El Memo” or any of the guards, nor have they released photos.

*Prior to the attack on the officers

Who is El Kike Sources: Pendula Informativo, Hidrocalido Digital, El Aguas, El Sol de Zacatecas

Sept 30 Sources: Hidrocalido Digital, El Aguas, Noticiero El Circo, Reporte Policiaco, Semenario Policiaco Article 1, Article 2, Newsweek

Jan 7th Arrest Sources: Heraldo.mx, Hidrocalido Digital, Aguas Digital, Lado.mx, El Sol de Zacatecas