Twelve Killed, Narco banners Left, after CSRL Attacks Across Salamanca, Guanajuato

By "El Huaso" for Borderland Beat

Twelve were killed in five separate events across Salamanca, Guanajuato last night, in what appears to be a Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima operation against their rivals. Narco banners left at some of the crime scenes explained that the killings were for supporting the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación.

Translated message 

This goes to all of the bitches who support the New Generation. Chill out or we will fuck you up. Lookouts, shopkeepers, fuel thieves, we have a list, bitches. And also to the fucking government who is supporting them and lying also for you something  humiliating is coming fucking slimy people the cleansing of the people of the lord of Guanajuato has arrived.

Cartel Santa Rosa de Lima

The message is fairly typical in content and style for the CSRL. The language and syntax are crude with a simple, threatening directive to the public and government: stop supporting the CJNG. This rudimentary messaging is the norm for CSRL propaganda.

Also typical of CSRL messages are the use of logos and graphics. The logos at the top of the banner show a skull and and a Mexican coat of arms with a hammer inside a triangle. This triangle is a reference to the "triangle of huachicol" a region in central Mexico crisscrossed by Pemex fuel pipelines, from which the CSRL siphon off gasoline to sell.

Image: CSRL logo found on pay stubs after a raid. SWJ

The hammer emoticons are a reference to the nickname of the founder of the CSRL, José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, called "El Marro" (the sledgehammer). While El Marro was captured and imprisoned in 2020, the CSRL have continued fighting against the CJNG for the past 8 years, a war which has made Guanajuato the nations most violent state by homicide count. 

The killings

Around 5:50 a.m., Two bodies were found dumped on top of a narco banner on the side of the Valle de Santiago exit from Salamanca, on the southern side of the city. Upon inspection, paramedics noticed that one of the two victims was still alive, and transported them to get medical help, according to AM Noticias.

Location link

At 6:00 a.m., another three bodies were strewn on the side of Hidalgo Boulevard in colonia Cruz of Salamanca, also accompanied by a narco banner.

Shortly after, the bodies of a couple were found on the eastern side of the city. It is uncertain if this was related to the other killings, as there was no narco banner left behind. There were no shell cases found at the scene, indicating that the bodies were dumped from another site.

Around 6:30 a.m., the dismembered bodies of one woman and one man were found in the central plaza of Cerro Gordo, Salamanca. Two banners were also found at the scene, with the man's severed head used to weigh one banner down.

Location link

Finally, the remaining four bodies, two men and two women, were found in the Los Lobos neighborhood, outside Valle de Santiago. All bodies had bullet wounds, but no banner was found.

Sources: Eco_1_LVM Twitter, @leon_susan59733 Twitter, Wendoline Adame Twitter, AM Noticias, Small Wars Journal