Altar, Sonora: Military Helicopter Operation to Capture Mystery CDS Leader

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New videos have emerged online which show the military hunting down a Sinaloa Cartel leader, whose identity is unknown, in Altar, Sonora. 

Quick History Review

Altar is a municipality located in the northwestern region of the state of Sonora. The municipality sits along the US-Mexico border. 

Historically, this municipality has been known to be controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel subgroup “Gente Nueva de Altar”, who are associated with the los Chapitos and the Salazar crime family. 

Gente Nueva de Altar used to be led by Jesús Humberto Limón López, alias “El Cazador”. Cazador’s second-in-command was José Bibiano Cabrera, alias “El Durango”. 

El Durango led a small subgroup of hitmen within Gente Nueva de Altar called “Grupo Delta”. 

In April 2021, El Durango was arrested by federal authorities. Just two months later, in June 2021, El Cazador was arrested. With both of its major leaders arrested, Gente Nueva de Altar appeared to become less prominent in the Sonora cartel landscape. A year went by without any major news about the group emerging. 

Durango’s brother, Francisco Jesús Torres Carranza, alias “El Duranguillo”, allegedly took over leading Grupo Delta in his brother’s absence.  Rumors spread of there being internal strife within Gente Nueva de Altar, with various relatives of Durango and Cazador attempting to seize power from each other. 

Then, in July 2022, a major Army (SEDENA) operation was launched in Altar and El Duranguillo was arrested after a series of heavy fire fights and attempts at street negotiations by Sinaloa Cartel hitmen. 

Someone is presumed to have taken over leadership of Grupo Delta after the arrest of Duranguillo, but the identity of the new leader has been largely unclear. 

Videos of Army Soldiers in Altar

A local social media page called Sonora Informativo reported that on Thursday, March 30, 2023, a military operation which aimed to capture a cartel leader was spotted in Altar, Sonora. Other accounts soon followed suit.

Video - Helicopter Landing 

Source: SVOVE76

In the first video, a military helicopter can be seen landing in what looks like a baseball field.

Video - Soldiers Seen Exiting Helicopter

Source: Sonora Informativo

In the footage above, soldiers are seen moving out of the landing zone after getting out of a military helicopter, presumably moving towards their target, on foot. A children’s playground can be seen in the foreground of the footage. The exact location in Altar is unknown.

A military helicopter can be seen flying quite low to the ground, it appears to be following a silver or white colored SUV, which takes a quick turn at an intersection.

Video - Man Seen Running to a White SUV

Source: Rafaelle Pineda

The video above begins with soldiers moving along a street. Then, footage of a man dressed in blank pants, a black shirt and a black cap who is running towards a light colored SUV parked on the street.

At one point he looks down at his hands, as if selecting his car key from a keyring. A military helicopter can be seen flying quite low to the ground. The helicopter appears to be following a silver or white colored SUV.

Video - Low-Flying Helicopter Follows SUV

Source: Sonora Informativo

Another clip of the helicopter following the light colored SUV which takes a quick turn at an intersection.

Not all of the streets in the small town of Altar have been mapped through the Google Street View car, so determining the exact location for all of these videos is impossible. But the video above is one of the few times where it's possible to identify where it took place. 

The SUV the helicopter is following takes a turn at the intersection of Godinez Street and Highway 43, in Altar, Sonora.

Video - SUV Makes a Turn

Source: Sonora Informativo

In the video above, a white SUV is seen taking a sharp right hand turn on an unpaved road in Altar. This is presumably the same white SUV seen in earlier footage.

Video - White SUV Being Seized by Soldiers 

Source: SVOVE76

Another clip of the helicopter flying low overhead. Then there is footage of Army soldiers cordoning off a parking lot from civilians as the white SUV is loaded up to be towed. This presumably means that at the very least, the target’s white SUV was seized. 

And then comes the frustrating part. As of the writing of this story, there have been no press releases from the federal or state government agencies which acknowledges this operation. Whether the target of the operation was arrested, killed, or managed to slip away is unclear.  The identity of their target is, likewise, unclear. 

Local news and national news agencies have not covered the alleged operation which casts doubt upon the event itself. 

The cartel news Twitter account Calvarie Locus claims that the Altar military operation captured the leader of Grupo Delta, without giving a name or alias. Another Twitter account, SVOVE76, claims the operation arrested “El Delta”. 

Earlier this month, on March 18, there were social media posts, reposted by Andres Pinillo which allegedly showed Gente Nueva Grupo Delta hitmen roaming the rural area of Altar inside pickup trucks. Of note, their trucks were designed to imitate vehicles driven by the Mexican Marines.

These posts, at least, confirm the continued existence of Grupo Delta in the Altar area.

Sources: Sonora Informativo, Calvarie Locus, SVOVE76, Rafaelle Pineda, ANDRES PINILLO

Further Reading

April 2021 - El Durango’s Arrest

June 2021 - El Cazador’s Arrest 

July 2022 - El Duranguillo’s Arrest 

July 2022 - Announcement that Duranguillo Will Stand Trial

September 2022 - A Corrido For the Soldier Killed During the Arrest of Duranguillo