“HEARST” for Borderland Beat
A convoy of at least 20 Chapiza vehicles, full of hitmen, rolled into a small town on the border of Sonora and Baja California where El Ruso, the founder of the CDS – Mayo group Los Rusos, was visiting.
El Ruso was heavily guarded and Rusos were able to counter their attack, leading to a large-scale vehicle battle that involved up to 49 vehicles. The fight left at least 10 dead. El Ruso managed to survive but a lieutenant of his may have been kidnapped.
For all the background information you need, please see yesterday’s story, linked here.
El Ruso Visits Luis B. Sanchez
On the morning of December 3, 2022, a convoy of Chapiza hitmen known as “Comando X” rolled into the small town of Luis B. Sanchez, in Sonora. They arrived with the sole goal of executing the founder of Los Rusos, El Ruso, who was staying in a heavily guarded home owned by CDS-Mayo figure Gerardo Rueda Torres, alias “El Tochín”.
It’s notable to hear that El Ruso was in Sonora. He was believed to be in a state of semi-retirement, living primarily in the state of Sinaloa.
Many news outlets ran headlines saying that this attempted execution occurred in SLRC, which was surprising because SLRC is believed to be a hotly contested battle ground for the group – a location completely unsafe for a figure such as El Ruso to stay in.
These headlines were actually referring to the attempt taking place in the SLRC municipality, however, which the town of Luis B. Sanchez falls within. But a closer look at the map below reveals that Luis B. Sanchez is significantly south of SLRC the city and quite close to Sonora’s border with Baja California.
The news outlet Zeta Tijuana alleges that Rusos are locally known to actually have a stronghold over the region in between the three towns of Luis B. Sanchez, Guadalupe Guadalupe Victoria and Oviedo Mota, marked on the map below.
Zeta was able to report a large number of details about the battle due to footage taken by surveillance cameras owned by residents of the town. They write that the house where El Ruso was staying was quite heavily guarded by Rusos hitmen, with at least 20 Rusos vehicles parked nearby.
The Battle
At approximately 8:00 am, a convoy of at least 20 Chapitos – Comando X vehicles arrived at the main street of the town. Their vehicles were either pickup trucks or SUVs. The clip below is alleged to show the convoy arriving, seen in the background.
Zeta Tijuana alleges that these Comando X forces were being led by Samuel Ibarra Peralta, alias “El Pía”, and his son Jesús Aurelio Ibarra Ramiro, alias “El Aurelio”, both from Los Garibays. These men and their group are covered in more detail here, here, and here.
They were joined by hitmen who worked under men known by the aliases “El Durán” and “El Tachito”.
Zeta notes that all of their vehicles were marked with an X, signifying Comando X, on the windows and body of the vehicles. The marking of vehicles is primarily done to prevent incidents of friendly fire during the heat of a battle against another set of hitmen filled vehicles.
After entering the town, the Comando X vehicles split up and attacked multiple properties simultaneously.
Two of the properties which were attacked were located close to a middle school. Their initial attack left 4 people dead, one of which was a 7-year old boy. Zeta notes that the Sonora Attorney General’s Office has “declined to provide more information.”
A property located on Independencia Street, near an Oxxo convenience store was also hit.
A white pickup truck driven by Rusos, custom fitted with armored plating and shooting ports, happened to be driving near the middle school’s soccer field when Comando X began their attack. They were able to immediately respond.
Zeta writes that “it is presumed that El Ruso was in this vehicle and it was one of his advantages in repelling the surprise attack.”
Rusos hitmen responded swiftly, firing back and getting in their own vehicles, pursuing after Comando X vehicles. Rusos’ hitmen were said to be led by the aforementioned El Tochin, along with Israel Trigueros Muñoz, alias “El Isra”, during the battle.
El P1 is also said to have participated in Rusos’ efforts during the incident.
The battle spread throughout the streets of the town, leaving bullet holes in its wake on houses, telephone poles, and civilian vehicles parked on the street. The gunfire was incredibly loud and could be heard in every corner of Luis B. Sanchez.
Barret 50 cals were used, along with frag grenades during the fight, which lasted for at least 2 hours. Zeta said the bloodiest parts of the battle took place on Independencia Street and 5 de Mayo Street.
Eventually, the Comando X group retreated out of the town of Luis B. Sanchez, but the encounter was not yet over. Rusos hitmen reportedly chased after the retreating convoy as they drove north, shooting at them as they went, all the way back to SLRC city and to the Gulf of Santa Clara. Both locations are known to be controlled by Chapitos allies.
Rusos hitmen then, according to Zeta, attacked a number of houses in Santa Clara and SLRC. Law enforcement and personnel began to respond to the attacks and “the arrival of the security forces dispersed the confrontation.”
Baja state law enforcement patrolled the highways leading back to Mexicali as far as their jurisdiction allowed them. They were presumably trying to catch Rusos hitmen returning back – now that the battle had dispersed.
Zeta Tijuana noted, however, that Mexicali municipal police stopped patrolling the streets and requested all patrol cars return to police headquarters for the day.
Aftermath
At some later point, Sonora authorities moved into the town of Luis B. Sanchez and began processing the evidence left behind from the battle. They found four hitmen on the streets and arrested them on scene. Then, two more were found nearby.
Authorities began conducting a series of searches of properties involved in the conflict. Two more hitmen were found during the searches and subsequently arrested. In addition to the eight hitmen arrested, ten hitmen were found dead and ten were found wounded.
They also found, during these searches and on the town’s streets, a total of 49 vehicles or motorboats.
Authorities later found a Rusos hitman inside a Jeep that had crashed fully into a concrete wall. Just 50 meters in front of him, they found a Comando X hitman inside a red vehicle. Nearby, a black Chevrolet Suburban marked with an X was left empty.
Near the soccer field, the white pick up truck (which Zeta alleged El Ruso was in) was found abandoned.
The vehicle was completely shot up and the tires were flat, however, the interior of the vehicle had not been penetrated by any of the bullets. It is presumed that El Ruso survived the encounter and was moved into a different armored vehicle after hitmen pushed the Comando X attackers back.
Zeta Tijuana writes that “Authorities are currently in the process of confirming whether or not El Tochín was kidnapped during the battle. Despite their efforts, it has not yet been confirmed.”
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Sources: Zeta Tijuana, José Díaz, Zeta Tijuana, Alberto Sanchez, Radar BC, Notas Roja , N+ Sonora, Poder Noticias Radio SA, Radar Sonora, Poder MX, Radar BC, Rossy SonMx
Context footage of the town, taken by a vehicle driving through the area linked here