Luis Rivera Rocha "R8" Updates, Shootout Between Guano Hitmen and the Military in San José del Llano, Sinaloa

"HEARST" for Borderland Beat

On Monday, July 8, a shootout between the Mexican military and Sinaloa Cartel broke out in San José del Llano, near La Tuna, Sinaloa.

Unconfirmed reports cited by los Noticieristas allege that the shooting is related to one of Guano’s sons who is known by the alias “El Gringo”. The incident ultimately resulted in the arrest of “R8”, who is said to be Guano’s head of security, and three other Sinaloa Cartel - Guano hitmen.

Details of the Shootout

The shooting reportedly began at around 11:00 am. Videos of vehicles left badly damaged from the fighting have been published online. 

Video Source: All Source News

Locals report that intermittent gun fire has been heard throughout the afternoon and at around 3:00 pm, cell phone and internet service went down. 

Photos that are allegedly related to the shootout depict what looks to be a dirt road near some kind of construction project. Soldiers can be seen standing near the curve of the road and the grassy hills surrounding it. The aforementioned video depicts a vehicle crashed into a heavy equipment vehicle, possibly a loader.

Ernesto Martinez, from Los Noticieristas, writes that four people have been killed in the conflict so far, according to unofficial sources. Radio Formula added that it's unclear if the four deceased were soldiers or hitmen. 

Meanwhile the news outlet Debate writes that at least five have been arrested. They also report that a military vehicle has been found burned between the towns of La Palma and La Tuna. Proceso reports that the conflict continued and extended into El Durazno, in Durango, and los Frailes, in Chihuahua.

Three military helicopters can be seen flying near the shootout location in a video published by Noroeste .

Video Source: Noroeste 

Milenio newspaper is reporting that the shooting may be connected to a dead body with a threatening narco message that was found just hours before the shooting started.  

Earlier today, in Otatillos, Sinaloa, a 67-year old man named Emigdio was found shot to death. Whether this is the same dead body that Milenio is referring to is currently unclear.

Context of the Region and El Guano

It's worth noting that the most recent notable cartel activity in the area of San José del Llano was related to Chapo’s brother Aureliano Guzman Loera, alias “El Guano”. 

Back in March 2024, a dead body and a narco message were found and the message read: 

“This is what will happen to any of the assholes who try to find Guano. 

- GDG [Gente del Guano]” 

 

Back in August of last year and in February of this year, this same region was searched by the military as part of an operation which aimed to capture Guano.

The prevailing but completely unconfirmed rumor online is that the shootout relates to one of Guano's sons who goes by the alias “El Gringo”, as mentioned by Los Noticieristas.

Guano is known to have a son named Elián Guzmán, alias “El Chico”, and another son named Aureliano Guzmán Araujo, alias “El Gabacho” or “El Guanito”.

Chico is best known for a video of him attending a baptism in Culiacan. He can be seen standing next to Sinaloa Cartel member Jose Bryan Salgueiro Zepada, alias "El 90", who is detained by federal authorities in the middle of the ceremony. 

Meanwhile his brother Guanito is known for a video (which you can view here) of him pulling out a firearm during an argument at a bar. 

However, it's been clarified by journalist Antonio Nieto that Guanito is not the man with the gun, who wears a brown sweater. He is the man wearing a black Hugo Boss shirt and he is actually seen only very briefly.

Guano likely has more sons than just Chico and Guanito but up to this point they have been harder to identify. 

Chapo's Siblings

It never hurts to review Chapo’s siblings, like Guano. Chapo is the son of Emilio Guzmán Bustillos and María Consuelo Loera Pérez.  

He has two sisters named: 

Armida Guzmán Loera 

Bernarda Guzmán Loera 

He has four brothers, who are named: 

Miguel Ángel Guzmán Loera, alias “El Mudo” 

Aureliano Guzmán Loera, alias “El Guano”

Arturo Guzmán Loera, alias “El Pollo” 

Emiliano Guzmán Loera 

He had a half brother named Ernesto Guzmán Hidalgo but he was killed in April 2015. 

Arturo Guzmán Loera, alias “El Pollo”, reportedly temporarily took over Chapo’s role in drug trafficking after Chapo’s 2001 arrest. He worked closely with Mayo and Vicentillo during this period. 

Pollo was arrested and subsequently murdered inside Altiplano prison at the end of 2004. Anabel Hernandez attributed the murder to “Osiel Cardenas, Benjamin Arellano, and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes.”

Meanwhile Chapo’s brother Miguel Angel, alias “El Mudo”, was arrested in June 2005. He was sentenced to 13 years for money laundering, but later he got it reduced to 11 years, and he was released from prison in April 2017.

Their half brother Ernesto Guzmán Hidalgo was killed in 2015 - allegedly on the orders of El Guano. The news outlet Riodoce reports that Chapo strongly disapproved of Guano’s murder of Ernesto.

After Chapo’s arrest in 2016, Chapo’s sister Bernarda took part in a PR campaign pushed by his lawyers which aimed to soften his image and prevent his extradition to the US. The campaign, however, was not successful.

Update 07/09/2024 7:00AM CST: 

Linea Directa Portal, NMAs, and Debate are currently reporting that a man named Luis “N”, alias “R8”, was arrested in the operations near San José del Llano last night. 

NMAs describes R8 as Guano’s head of security. It is worth noting that Debate’s initial reports estimated that five had been detained but only four seem to have been brought in.

It also isn’t beyond the realm of possibilities that a hitman is being propped up as being higher ranking and a “head of security” in order to justify why such a large operation, which utilized three military helicopters, resulted in no major arrest of a cartel figure. 

Video Source: Azucena Uresti

Update 07/09/2024 3:11AM CST: 

The cartel news Twitter account Calvariae_Locus has just posted the government’s detention notice for Luis “N”. 

The real name of R8 is Luis Rivera Rocha. Their post was accompanied by two photos which presumably show R8.

They added that R8 “is also tied to the murder of several men whose bodies were found decapitated and he is tied to the attempted murder of three Chapitos.”

Sources: Los Noticieristas, All Source News, Debate, Radio Formula, Milenio, Tribuna, Noroeste, Eco1_LVM, Linea Directa Portal, Debate, NMAs, Azucena Uresti, TV Azteca, Proceso, Antonio Nieto, Riodoce, Calvariae_Locus