By “El Huaso” and “Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
This article shows photos and videos of violence.
A man identified as a member of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) is interrogated and killed on video by several armed members of the Cártel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) near Celaya, Guanajuato.
This message is mostly illegible, save for the distinctive triangular logo of the CSRL, and the alias of former leader José Antonio Yépez Ortiz alias “El Marro” (The Sledgehammer”).
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| Body found on the Libramiento Celaya highway 4/10/23 |
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| Likely the same message left by a body in Celaya.4/9/23 |
Translation
The video translation by Sol Prendido is as follows:
My name is Pablo Abel Zarate Procel aka El Babas. I worked for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel under the orders of David Zarate. He was in charge of extorting, killing innocent civilians, and disrupting society. They’ve done so much dirt here. Case in point would be how civilians were killed in the Pedegrinos, the Muñecas, in various establishments here in the city of Celaya. The only thing these individuals came to do in Celaya was dirty work. They’re so unlike the local mob here. This local crew has better standards and better ways. So, it’s for the best that we support the state of Guanajuato friends. The New Generation Cartel is straight-up piggery. They kill and extort everyone. The guy known as El Ranchero would let me borrow a firearm to also do dumb shit and steal. I’m from Celaya and I know very well they things that they’ve done. Don Fidel, Emilio, and David Zarate. They’ve all committed an infinite amount of thuggery here. Innocent civilians were killed here for no justified reason. I want everyone to know that we all need to follow the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel here.
The Context
Since 2018, the state of Guanajuato has been the most violent state in Mexico due to an intense conflict between two criminal groups, the CSRL and newcomers the CJNG, as well as allies of both. These two groups and their allies fight for control of the state’s lucrative Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) pipelines, an expanding market of synthetic drug consumers, and control of trafficking routes.
Recently, government reports and narco messages have indicated that other criminal groups from other states have joined in the fight, further complicating the situation. Last month, six members of the Gulf Cartel faction “Los Escorpiones” were arrested in Guanajuato related to the kidnapping and murder of six women, reported La Silla Rota. All of the arrested men were from outside Guanajuato.
While violence in Guanajuato has been trending downwards since a peak of 5,083 in 2020, El Universal noted that homicide trends are up 21% in 2023, comparing the period of January to March year-to-year.
Sources: Borderland Beat Archives 4/10/23, La Silla Rota, El Universal
You can follow me on Twitter @HuasoBB.
I tweet about organized crime in Latin America and security in Mexico.