“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
Northern Zone activity linked to the Sinaloa Cartel continues to operate from Comondú to Guerrero Negro in Mulegé. It is a violent criminal group that has permeated enough to control the state with the protection of elements of the National Guard, municipal police and criminal investigation agents from the State Attorney General’s Office (PGJE), who serve as “point men” in the event of inter-institutional operations.
“Since the fall of ‘Chucky’, the Northern Zone group has restructured; when ‘Tiburón’ and his brother (Alacrán) regained control, they continued with the forced disappearance, but with the passing of the pandemic, they added the sale of cigars, beer and extortion of fishermen from Comondú to Mulegé. Based on fear, they maintain control with different cells distributed in the fishing communities,” explained one of the members of the State Board of Public Safety.
In the latest reports provided to ZETA, it is known that the increase in extortion, mainly the “right to operate”, is already present in Baja California Sur.
For example, in 2022, six reports were made to the Control, Command, Communications and Computing Center (C4) for these crimes. So far in 2023, the C4 of the State Public Security Secretariat has officially confirmed a total of 49 reports. In the last four years, a total of 69 cases of “extortion” have been reported, a high impact crime that has been increasing despite the refusal of the authorities in Baja California.
“If we talk about 2021 compared to the year 22 and 23, there is an increase of 40 percent in the filing of complaints. Certainly there is a black figure, which is what we are working on, especially in very specific areas, such as San Carlos, Puerto Chales, including San Ignacio, the North Pacific, which is where we have more focused in those regions some complaints that have been presented to us”, assured Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, Attorney General of Justice of the State.
“We have an extortion issue there, we have reinforced particularly in the fishing communities; specifically in the North Pacific area we have reinforced with personnel from the three levels of government: Navy personnel, Serena personnel, National Guard, State Police; we are also working there with Municipal Police from the municipality of Mulegé, they are working with intelligence, with deterrence and prevention patrols, with permanent contact with the fishing communities from Punta Abreojos East to Bahía Tortugas”, confirmed Luis Alfredo Cancino Vicente, Secretary of State Public Security.
The authorities have set up operations and constantly rotated personnel to avoid the generation of vices and illicit activities or protection of criminals, even with the strategic placement of civilians in the hands of the Navy.
Even so, criminal groups managed to undermine the strategy against organized crime. One example was the capture of Juan Manuel Franco Silva “Alacrán”, arrested on December 5, 2022 in the middle of an operation in Ciudad Constitución, municipality of Comondú. On the day of his arrest, the investigative agents of the Attorney General’s Office were shot at by bodyguards of the then director of Public Security, Preventive Police and Municipal Transit, Juan Heladio Clavel Nicolás, a Navy commander in the municipal agency, and one of his bodyguards died in the confrontation. The Navy commander himself collected the weapons from the aggressors on the day of the confrontation.
According to the Secretary of Public Security, in order to prevent criminal cells from gaining more power in the Northern Zone, security was reinforced to protect the fishing communities, where criminals are mostly involved in “extortion “.
“We are working, we currently have an operation underway, because it isn’t permanent; but we have reinforced the municipality of Comondú to clear the area of San Carlos, Puerto Chale, Puerto Cancun and we are waiting to have results; we urge the community to have confidence in the authorities, to make the corresponding complaint, to support us in the information they come to have and we will continue working to prevent this type of extortion,” said Cancino Vicente.
50 YEAR SENTENCE GIVEN TO EX-LEADER OF THE NORTHERN ZONE
Edson Giovanni Reyes Reyes, alias “Chucky” and/or “04” and/or “4 de la Baja” was captured on April 30, 2019 in Mexicali, Baja California; he was the mastermind of abducting and dismembering his opponents and drug dealers Hector Humberto Banda Solis and Marco Antonio Ibarra Gonzalez.
Máximo D and Agustín G arrested in the town of San Ignacio with an arsenal and tactical equipment.
Both with a record for crimes against health and alleged hitmen of rival groups, whom “Chucky” in the company of Luis Santana Peña Nájera “Luisillo” and/or “Luisito” abducted. Their heads were abandoned on a blanket on the road stretch that goes from Loreto to Santa Rosalía at kilometer 66 last April 7, 2018.
Nearing the sixth year of the murder, the State Attorney General’s Office was able to hand out the sentence against the leader of the plaza and one of the participants in the murder and torture of both men, one or possibly two more suspects who may have also been involved weren’t prosecuted.
“The principle of presumption of innocence was overcome and the responsibility of Edson Giovanni ‘N’ and Luis ‘N’ for the crime of homicide using torture, to the detriment of two men was accredited, for which the Unitary Trial Court decreed two prison sentences of 50 years in prison for both culprits. Along with the payment of damages of 894,202 pesos and the loss of political rights”, confirmed the Attorney General’s Office.
The case had been delayed due to a series of injunctions requested by “Chucky’s” defense, which delayed justice, however, this double homicide would be added to a series of forced disappearances in which “Chucky” himself confessed after negotiating for better treatment and protection inside the Social Reinsertion Center (CERESO) of La Paz.
The case of “Chucky” has already made lots of progress, lots of progress. In addition to the Loreto case, we have other investigation files that are in the data collection stage, very advanced and that will surely have favorable results”, said Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, Attorney General of Justice in the State.
The decapitated bodies and other evidence within the criminal case J14/2019, were crucial for the indictment and later the sentence against the leader of the hitmen of the Northern Zone.
As confirmed by the State Criminal Investigation Agency, both “Chucky” and “Luisillo” have an investigation file for the crime of kidnapping, and both are being prosecuted for the crime of forced disappearances.
“This person had requested an injunction, in which he allegedly had not received dignified treatment at the time of his arrest and the reading of his rights, the matter was resolved. Afterwards the homicide charges were settled. And their sentence was confirmed,” explained an agent of the State Security Bureau.
The Northern Zone is characterized by the abduction and disappearance of victims without authorities intervening
POLICE PRESENCE IN THE NORTHERN ZONE
A new blow to the Northern Zone was dealt by the Public Security Bureau of Baja California Sur, when intelligence groups closely followed alleged plaza leaders in the area of San Ignacio in the municipality of Mulegé, following complaints from residents about armed groups in the region.
“This was one of the areas, as well as Bahía Tortugas, where the hired killers would enter businesses with guns; they would walk around calmly carrying their high caliber rifles without anyone being able to say anything to them, the complaints were a constant to the state authorities. The complaint had to reach the FGR for them to push an inter-institutional operation and capture two of the strongest suspects in control of the plaza,” said the agent from the Mesa de Seguridad.
Elements of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), with an intelligence team from the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) had to intervene to stop, search and secure a white 4-door Cheyenne vehicle; inside they found the following:
*Three assault rifles.
*Three handguns.
*Eight magazines.
*452 rounds.
*Two handcuffs.
*Three tactical vests.
“An instruction was given to the commanders, to eradicate all criminal groups, not only instigators of violence, but also those who are destroying the well being of the inhabitants; their way of life is unsustainable. Nobody could do anything without the control groups being notified; exits and entrances are accounted for, especially in those regions such as San Ignacio, Bahía Tortugas and Punta Abreojos; the inhabitants are already afraid and the authority in those areas are so impeded because that is where they live,” refers an intelligence element of the Sedena.
At the site, the alleged hitmen and leaders of the plaza, named Máximo “D” and Agustín “G”, were arrested in the town of San Ignacio. There they were secured along with an arsenal, which resulted in the Specialized Judge in the Accusatory Criminal System. In the end they were sentenced to six years for violating the Federal Firearms and Explosives Law. Both were wearing black pants and tennis shoes of the same color; in addition, one was wearing a black tank top and the other a gray and black t-shirt. Both were sentenced for possession of the firearms. They were fined more than nine thousand pesos and their belongings were forfeited.
“We have just arrested a person in Pacífico Norte, who was turned over to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the criminal procedure has been completed; we are also working in the area of Puerto Chale”, said Daniel de la Rosa.
