A continuation of events surrounding the drug war and related social issues of Baja California and Mexico. Keeping an eye on Seig Heil Trump. We are still trying to restore all blogs from 2006 which were hacked by Linton Robinson and his team, famous for supporting the Baja Trump Towers on one of his real estate sites. Highlights of Paris-Simone's favorite music !!
Mike just went into town to pick up some mole, restaurant was closing down due to big fire to the east, behind Colonia Constitucion. Half the restaurantes are shut down and most of the business are shut down, thick smoke in Rosarito, people on the street are wearing face masks. He could see flames.
So, be careful out there you guys, guess we're going to have leftovers yuck, I was looking forward to the chicken soup with special chile mix and lime, oh well. Here, winds were very high all morning since 6:00am with a brief respite for a couple of hours now they are building high again, dirt and dust everywhere. Also, Mike notes electricity to the east of us on the other side of the Highway is out...we're good so far, WiFi internet back on but don't know for how long. Maybe a good idea to check out Zeta for updates, they are reporting there HAVE BEEN 38 FIRES JUST IN TIJUANA UNTIL 3:00PM THIS AFTERNOON, WITH MORE UPDATES ON THE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, MORE FATALITIES, SCENIC HIGHWAY AND FREE ROAD TO ENSENADA SHUT DOWN FOR A PERIOD, FIRE AT PLAZA DEL MAR, WIND DAMAGE TO ZONA CENTRO TIJ ETC: ZETA TIJUANA
End edit. ~~~~~~~~
It's 1:50am and we're nervously waiting for the winds, which are supposed to be worse than the last set. So far, nothing . The focus yesterday was to get prepared just in case we have to evacuate, which doesn't seem really likely however you never know...and the last time around let's face it, we were on our own. So maybe the worse scenario will be power outages, no internet and more dust to clean up.
A few years ago we had a very strong Santa Ana and a few fires down here and I had mentioned the relationship between this "natural" event and climate change - which then we were calling "global warming". That went over like a lead balloon down here. La Loca is at it again OMG ! So, here are some short articles and studies: An oldie but a goodie: ~ From Yale Climate Connections: The Many Ways Climate Change Worsens California Wildfires by, Dana Nuccitelli
Mike just went into town to pick up some mole, restaurant was closing down due to big fire to the east, behind Colonia Constitucion. Half the restaurantes are shut down and most of the business are shut down, thick smoke in Rosarito, people on the street are wearing face masks. He could see flames.
So, be careful out there you guys, guess we're going to have leftovers yuck, I was looking forward to the chicken soup with special chile mix and lime, oh well. Here, winds were very high all morning since 6:00am with a brief respite for a couple of hours now they are building high again, dirt and dust everywhere. Also, Mike notes electricity to the east of us on the other side of the Highway is out...we're good so far, WiFi internet back on but don't know for how long. Maybe a good idea to check out Zeta for updates, they are reporting there HAVE BEEN 38 FIRES JUST IN TIJUANA UNTIL 3:00PM THIS AFTERNOON, WITH MORE UPDATES ON THE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, MORE FATALITIES, SCENIC HIGHWAY AND FREE ROAD TO ENSENADA SHUT DOWN FOR A PERIOD, FIRE AT PLAZA DEL MAR, WIND DAMAGE TO ZONA CENTRO TIJ ETC: ZETA TIJUANA
End edit. ~~~~~~~~
It's 1:50am and we're nervously waiting for the winds, which are supposed to be worse than the last set. So far, nothing . The focus yesterday was to get prepared just in case we have to evacuate, which doesn't seem really likely however you never know...and the last time around let's face it, we were on our own. So maybe the worse scenario will be power outages, no internet and more dust to clean up.
A few years ago we had a very strong Santa Ana and a few fires down here and I had mentioned the relationship between this "natural" event and climate change - which then we were calling "global warming". That went over like a lead balloon down here. La Loca is at it again OMG ! So, here are some short articles and studies: An oldie but a goodie: ~ From Yale Climate Connections: The Many Ways Climate Change Worsens California Wildfires by, Dana Nuccitelli
There are many displaced people from the horrible fires here, we were lucky and escaped harm. The minute I find out where to go to help these folks out - with anything - I'll post it. By now you have already seen scores of pictures, here are just a few more from our neighborhood:
~~~~
~ Thursday the 24th around 3:00 am awakened by thick smoke and a cramp in my leg. I got up and opened the front door to see the hill directly behind us on fire, flames leaping to the sky. I screamed to Mike to get up, there is a fire right behind us. Panic, Paris barking, Daca Bob crying, running in circles grabbing important papers, medicines, vitamins, cat food, unlocking the vehicles. Luckily the electricity was on so we could open the garage door - but no internet. At about 3:20am we walked through the smoke and hot dry winds down to the barranca and it was obvious the TIJ Fire Department had the hill under control, still the smoke was choking. William next door came out and said "what's happening?" We had no idea that Real Del Mar had been evacuated or the extent of damage, chaos and terror Tijuana, Rosarito , Ensenada and Tecate were experiencing. I went back to bed with Paris. Mike took this picture which is from the street, you can still see the fire burning the hills further north in Real Del Mar:
Around 4:00am
~ Shortly before dawn Mike woke me and said, "Get up, the fire has moved to the barranca, we are moving hoses and buckets, get up. " Everyone was busy attaching hoses or bringing buckets, so no one was really thinking about taking pictures, but flames were coming up from the barranca, which is about two blocks away from us. Here is one pic to give you an idea of the thick smoke, and this pic really doesn't show how thick the smoke had been:
Another...the hill directly in the back ground had completely burned, that was the one I saw out the front door:.
I can't name all the folks who came out to help, but they were great and I wish this brigade could all get together and go out to dinner some where nice. There were five hoses attached from five houses running for about four hours straight: the street below Reuban's (this was Pete & Phyllis), Reuban & Carmen's, ours and our two new neighbors who are sweethearts. A darling girl was passing out face masks, William did a double take as if he had been struck by lightening and I told him to get her phone number, one man ran over from the Highway & alerted us that many homes had been lost pointing east.
~ Dawn and everyone is still at it, hoses still running; in the second pic you can clearly see the plume from Punta Bandera in the ocean:
~ So they are saying we are going to be hit from both offshore and onshore winds on Sunday, unknown how strong they will be. WIFI is back up, but unsure about Telnor, we saw them working on the poles this morning.
There are many displaced people from the horrible fires here, we were lucky and escaped harm. The minute I find out where to go to help these folks out - with anything - I'll post it. By now you have already seen scores of pictures, here are just a few more from our neighborhood:
~~~~
~ Thursday the 24th around 3:00 am awakened by thick smoke and a cramp in my leg. I got up and opened the front door to see the hill directly behind us on fire, flames leaping to the sky. I screamed to Mike to get up, there is a fire right behind us. Panic, Paris barking, Daca Bob crying, running in circles grabbing important papers, medicines, vitamins, cat food, unlocking the vehicles. Luckily the electricity was on so we could open the garage door - but no internet. At about 3:20am we walked through the smoke and hot dry winds down to the barranca and it was obvious the TIJ Fire Department had the hill under control, still the smoke was choking. William next door came out and said "what's happening?" We had no idea that Real Del Mar had been evacuated or the extent of damage, chaos and terror Tijuana, Rosarito , Ensenada and Tecate were experiencing. I went back to bed with Paris. Mike took this picture which is from the street, you can still see the fire burning the hills further north in Real Del Mar:
Around 4:00am
~ Shortly before dawn Mike woke me and said, "Get up, the fire has moved to the barranca, we are moving hoses and buckets, get up. " Everyone was busy attaching hoses or bringing buckets, so no one was really thinking about taking pictures, but flames were coming up from the barranca, which is about two blocks away from us. Here is one pic to give you an idea of the thick smoke, and this pic really doesn't show how thick the smoke had been:
Another...the hill directly in the back ground had completely burned, that was the one I saw out the front door:.
I can't name all the folks who came out to help, but they were great and I wish this brigade could all get together and go out to dinner some where nice. There were five hoses attached from five houses running for about four hours straight: the street below Reuban's (this was Pete & Phyllis), Reuban & Carmen's, ours and our two new neighbors who are sweethearts. A darling girl was passing out face masks, William did a double take as if he had been struck by lightening and I told him to get her phone number, one man ran over from the Highway & alerted us that many homes had been lost pointing east.
~ Dawn and everyone is still at it, hoses still running; in the second pic you can clearly see the plume from Punta Bandera in the ocean:
~ So they are saying we are going to be hit from both offshore and onshore winds on Sunday, unknown how strong they will be. WIFI is back up, but unsure about Telnor, we saw them working on the poles this morning.
Riodoce is the third source (that I've seen) who published the following report on the ranking of the States in Mexico in regards to the drug war violence. Zeta published a similar report several weeks back, Animal Politico published another similar report about a week back. So far, the Riodoce report covers the entire nation. Keep in mind the rankings were based on fatalities from January this year to the end of August this year: Estos Son Las Estados Mas Violentas En Mexico Por, Alejandro Monjardin
:While the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Alfonso Durazo Montaño stressed that the trend in malicious homicides had reached a turning point, in Michoacán 13 state agents were massacred. The next day, 14 alleged hitmen and a military man died in a confrontation in Guerrero and Nuevo Laredo, four alleged criminals in a shooting with soldiers; on Wednesday a confrontation left four suspected criminals and a policeman dead in Michoacán; and on Thursday a wave of shootings, blockades and vehicle fires broke out in Culiacán due to the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán. During the morning conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday, the security cabinet gave a security report. Between January and August of this year, 23,724 wrongful killings have been committed, of which 41 percent are concentrated in five states. In Guanajuato, 9.2 percent of the murders were committed, in Baja California on 9.1, in the State of Mexico on 8.3, in Jalisco on 7.2, and on Chihuahua on 7.2. Considering the population of each state, Colima is the state with the highest rate with 56 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants, Baja California with 48, Guanajuato with 29, Guerrero with 29 and Chihuahua with 37. Sinaloa records a rate of 17 murders per 100,000 inhabitants with 606 homicides during this year. The violent Tijuana In Baja California since 2016 there was a resurgence of violence. In the state, violence is concentrated in Tijuana, where more than 70 percent of homicides are committed. In that the border city the cartels of Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación fight the distribution of drugs; and also an internal fight is being waged in the CJNG. The state kept the homicide rate below 600 murders a year, but in 2016 they shot up to 1,80 thousand, in 2017 they doubled and there were 2 thousand 95, 2018 closed with 2 thousand 824 and until September of this year they go 1, 991 thousand. Tijuana, considered the most violent city in the country, went from having 872 homicides in 2016 to 2,253 in 2018; and in nine months of 2019 they add 1,559. Headquarters of the most violent cartel In Jalisco the Jalisco Nueva Generación, Nueva Plaza and Sinaloa cartels fight a fight that this year has left 1,444 murders. The entity accounts for 7.2 percent of the murders committed in the country. The entity is the headquarters of the CJNG considered by US authorities as one of the most violent in the world. In March, 19 bodies were located in a canal in the municipality of Ixtahuacán de los Membrillos and two months later, in June, three clashes between criminal groups and agents were recorded, leaving two alleged criminals and two dead agents. In that state on May 10, they located 35 clandestine graves in three farms; the largest was in Zapopan where there were 27 bodies. Edomex invaded by cartels In the State of Mexico, the local Prosecutor's Office recognizes that La Familia Michoacana, Los Rojos, Guerreros Unidos, Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, Cartel Nuevo Imperio, Unión Tepito, Cartel del Tláhuac and the Los Mazos band operate. The groups are distributed throughout the territory dedicated to the transfer and sale of drugs, theft of fuel and extortion. In that state, 822 murders were committed, representing 8 percent of those registered throughout the country between January and August. The early morning of May 25 in Coacalco, students were surprised at a party by three armed and hooded men who opened fire; The balance was five dead young people. Guanajuato doubles homicides In Guanajuato, violence escalated with the lawsuit between the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. In three years the homicides doubled from 961 in 2016 to 1 804 so far in 2019. Guanajuato with is the fourth state with the highest murder rate with 29 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants. On April 5 the state lived one of the most violent days with 24 murders the same day, of which eight were in a clash between civilians in Apaseo el Alto. In March an armed group broke into a bar and opened fire on the assistants, leaving a balance of 15 dead men and three injured women. The sea entrance Colima is one of the places of greatest interest of the cartels for having the main seaport of the country. Manzanillo enters the drug brought from Central and South America, chemical precursors to make synthetic drugs and recently Fentanyl from Asia. The dispute between the Jalisco Nueva Generación and Sinaloa cartels made Colima the state with the highest homicide rate in the country, with 56 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Between January and August in that state 435 murders were committed. Always violent warrior The state of Guerrero is among the most violent in the country with 1,993 murders. For every 100 thousand inhabitants in the entity 29 murders are committed. The Jalisco Nueva Generación, Sinaloa, Guerreros Unidos, Los Granados, Los Rojos, Acapulco Independent Cartel cartels operate in the entity. Just last Tuesday a confrontation between military and suspected criminals left a balance of 14 civilians and a dead soldier in the community of Tepochica. One of the massacres that occurred this year was the afternoon of May 26, when eight bodies that presented traces of beatings and torture, two women and six men, were abandoned inside a van with a report of theft in Chilpancingo. Old Violence The state of Chihuahua has been submerged in a wave of violence for decades. 7.2 percent of the murders that have been committed this year were in that entity. In eight months, they count 1,479 crimes, making Chihuahua the third most violent in the country with 37 murders per 100 thousand inhabitants. Among those victims are three 4, 13, and 4-year-old sisters and a 23-year-old man, killed when they were at a ranch and a command entered and fired more than 100 times in Ciudad Juarez. Article published on October 20, 2019 in the 873 edition of the weekly Riod."
~~~~~
And yet this current month of October seems to be showing a slow down of the executions in Tijuana. Everyone around here is wondering if this is an indication of a potential cease fire on the one hand; on the other hand, people are wondering if we will see a flurry in activity and killings the remaining days of October.
" The Secretary of Security and Municipal Citizen Protection (SSPCM), Jorge Alberto Ayón Monsalve, stressed that since the entry of the new municipal administration, in Tijuana homicides have been reduced by 24%, however the crime of robberies has increased by 7% , for which they are already implementing action measures to inhibit them.
He stressed that during this weekend there were only six malicious killings, due to the greater police presence on the streets, the increase in patrols;as well as better coordination between the three areas of government.In October, 90 homicides have been registered.
Ayón said that among the most relevant cases of theft, he highlighted the one presented this weekend at a casino in Playas de Tijuana, where a group of hooded people extracted money directly from the box, without knowing, so farthe amount they took.
He stressed that during the robbery there were no victims of theft, nor injured.
The secretary also highlighted a robbery that was given to the facilities of the consulate of the Czech Republic, where it is being monitored;In addition, this Tuesday they will hold a meeting with diplomatic personnel in order to have greater coordination.
He also pondered that some areas will be restructured in personnel matters to solve those that address the theft issue, with the objectiveof being able to reduce crime."
~~~~~
Then this morning a slight uptick in the stats with an October tally and a YTD number for the homicides en TIJ:
"Just over two months after the end of the year, until the morning of Tuesday, October 22, the Office of the Attorney General in the State, records 1,806 murders in Tijuana during 2019.
The last four malicious events were dated Tuesday, October 22. First at 07:05 hours, the emergency center was informed that inside the house located on Ruiz Cortines street lot # 15 of the La Cuesta neighborhood, there were the lifeless bodies of a man and a woman. Upon arrival of police elements, the bodies of the couple were visible with visible injuries from gunshots. The victims were identified as Esmeralda Marisela Cortez García, 47 years old, and Arturo Fernández Montaño, 53. Expert officers located four .30 caliber shells at the scene of the crime. At 1:42 p.m., a group of activists in search of missing persons, located in a neighborhood road to the La Presa vessel in the Valle Bonito neighborhood, skeletal remains belonging to a human body, which had deteriorated clothing. Two .40 caliber caps were packed on the scene On the Arroyo Verde street in the Las Delicias subdivision, a human skull was found, which could not determine sex and age. The head was found a few meters from an on wheels. So far this October, 107 wrongful killings have been recorded."
~~~~~
Ensenada....Just passing this report along, so many more covering events in Ensenada from Zeta, will be back at some point (??) with those. Meanwhile...problemas en Cantu:
"The preliminary report indicates that it was a confrontation between elements of the 67 Battalion and armed civilians aboard a vessel, allegedly in possession of drugs.
ENSENADA.- After a confrontation with gunfire between soldiers of the 67th Infantry Battalion and armed civilians, a man was injured by a gun projectile during an operation in El Ejido Esteban Cantú, municipality of Ensenada. According to the report received in the emergency number 911, around 01:04 hours on Tuesday, Mexican Army personnel had a confrontation with subjects "who were aboard a vessel apparently in possession of drugs", in El Varadero in the area known as Rincon de Ballenas, Ejido Esteban Cantú, towards La Bufadora. The C-4 report states that at 1:27 p.m. Red Cross paramedics arrived to treat the injured civilian, a man, between 40 and 50 years of age, who presented blows to the face and active bleeding, as well as two chest shots The injured was consciously transferred to the General Hospital for medical attention. The first data of the State Attorney General's Office (PGJE) indicates that for this fact an investigation folder has not been opened because the Ministry of National Defense failed to report to the Ministerial Police. However, SEDENA has not issued information in this regard."
So we will have to wait and see if more information is forthcoming.
~~~~~
Update/edit 1/23 : Well I don't think a heck of a lot of people are surprised, but this happened at La Joya...you know, "paradise".
"Soldiers and armed civilians were engaged in a gun battle on Tuesday morning, in the area of La Joya, where the Army secured a drug boat and injured one of the alleged criminals' After the confrontation with bullets early Tuesday between soldiers and armed civilians, the Army announced the assurance of a ton of marijuana in a boat. In a statement, the 67th Infantry Battalion explained that, within the framework of the La Joya operation, in the La Bufadora area, soldiers found a boat stranded at the edge of the fishing field, as well as four men moving packages from the panga to a parked vehicle.
When approaching to verify the legality of the landing they realized that the civilians were armed, so they were ordered to surrender, however, the military personnel were attacked and initiated the exchange of shots, according to the official version.
Three of the attackers managed to escape between the houses, while the fourth was hit by the soldiers' shots; According to the 67th Infantry Battalion, the man received a bullet rocket in the jaw, a version different from that of C-4 that reported the man with two thorax bullets.
The injured person was transferred to the General Hospital, where the military personnel safeguards their safety and once the provision is completed, they will be handed over to the corresponding judicial authority.
As part of the operation, the soldiers found within the boat 27 packages tied with glass rubber and black nylon, subject with rope; inside each package were smaller packages, all with marijuana, giving an approximate weight of 1,880 kilograms total..
A white boat, 20 feet in length, was also secured with two 200 horsepower outboard motors; a vehicle, cab-and-a-half pick-up type, gray, Ford F-150 brand, model 2000, without license plates, with theft report; a .9 mm caliber Beretta pistol with a magazine and eight useful cartridges."
*** Note: at around 3:30pm Wednesday 10/23/19 I am simply not seeing this story reported on El Mexicano Policiaca de Ensenada or El Vigia de Ensenada. Hmmmm....someone loves Ensenada.
end edit.
~~~~~
Denise Dresser...
These are long, but a must listen to...if you don't have time, download them from Youtube !
Riodoce is the third source (that I've seen) who published the following report on the ranking of the States in Mexico in regards to the drug war violence. Zeta published a similar report several weeks back, Animal Politico published another similar report about a week back. So far, the Riodoce report covers the entire nation. Keep in mind the rankings were based on fatalities from January this year to the end of August this year: Estos Son Las Estados Mas Violentas En Mexico Por, Alejandro Monjardin
:While
the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Alfonso Durazo Montaño
stressed that the trend in malicious homicides had reached a turning
point, in Michoacán 13 state agents were massacred.
The next day, 14 alleged hitmen and a military man died in a
confrontation in Guerrero and Nuevo Laredo, four alleged criminals in a
shooting with soldiers; on Wednesday a confrontation left four suspected criminals and a policeman dead in Michoacán; and on Thursday a wave of shootings, blockades and vehicle fires broke out in Culiacán due to the arrest of Ovidio Guzmán. During the morning conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday, the security cabinet gave a security report.
Between January and August of this year, 23,724 wrongful killings have
been committed, of which 41 percent are concentrated in five states.
In Guanajuato, 9.2 percent of the murders were committed, in Baja
California on 9.1, in the State of Mexico on 8.3, in Jalisco on 7.2, and
on Chihuahua on 7.2.
Considering the population of each state, Colima is the state with the
highest rate with 56 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants, Baja
California with 48, Guanajuato with 29, Guerrero with 29 and Chihuahua
with 37. Sinaloa records a rate of 17 murders per 100,000 inhabitants with 606 homicides during this year. The violent Tijuana In Baja California since 2016 there was a resurgence of violence. In the state, violence is concentrated in Tijuana, where more than 70 percent of homicides are committed. In that the border city the cartels of Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación fight the distribution of drugs; and also an internal fight is being waged in the CJNG.
The state kept the homicide rate below 600 murders a year, but in 2016
they shot up to 1,80 thousand, in 2017 they doubled and there were 2
thousand 95, 2018 closed with 2 thousand 824 and until September of this
year they go 1, 991 thousand. Tijuana, considered the most violent city in the country, went from having 872 homicides in 2016 to 2,253 in 2018; and in nine months of 2019 they add 1,559. Headquarters of the most violent cartel In Jalisco the Jalisco Nueva Generación, Nueva Plaza and Sinaloa cartels fight a fight that this year has left 1,444 murders. The entity accounts for 7.2 percent of the murders committed in the country. The entity is the headquarters of the CJNG considered by US authorities as one of the most violent in the world.
In March, 19 bodies were located in a canal in the municipality of
Ixtahuacán de los Membrillos and two months later, in June, three
clashes between criminal groups and agents were recorded, leaving two
alleged criminals and two dead agents. In that state on May 10, they located 35 clandestine graves in three farms; the largest was in Zapopan where there were 27 bodies. Edomex invaded by cartels
In the State of Mexico, the local Prosecutor's Office recognizes that
La Familia Michoacana, Los Rojos, Guerreros Unidos, Jalisco Nueva
Generación Cartel, Cartel Nuevo Imperio, Unión Tepito, Cartel del
Tláhuac and the Los Mazos band operate. The groups are distributed throughout the territory dedicated to the transfer and sale of drugs, theft of fuel and extortion.
In that state, 822 murders were committed, representing 8 percent of
those registered throughout the country between January and August. The early morning of May 25 in Coacalco, students were surprised at a party by three armed and hooded men who opened fire; The balance was five dead young people. Guanajuato doubles homicides
In Guanajuato, violence escalated with the lawsuit between the Jalisco
Nueva Generación Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. In three years the homicides doubled from 961 in 2016 to 1 804 so far in 2019. Guanajuato with is the fourth state with the highest murder rate with 29 homicides per 100 thousand inhabitants.
On April 5 the state lived one of the most violent days with 24 murders
the same day, of which eight were in a clash between civilians in
Apaseo el Alto.
In March an armed group broke into a bar and opened fire on the
assistants, leaving a balance of 15 dead men and three injured women. The sea entrance Colima is one of the places of greatest interest of the cartels for having the main seaport of the country.
Manzanillo enters the drug brought from Central and South America,
chemical precursors to make synthetic drugs and recently Fentanyl from
Asia.
The dispute between the Jalisco Nueva Generación and Sinaloa cartels
made Colima the state with the highest homicide rate in the country,
with 56 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Between January and August in that state 435 murders were committed. Always violent warrior The state of Guerrero is among the most violent in the country with 1,993 murders. For every 100 thousand inhabitants in the entity 29 murders are committed.
The Jalisco Nueva Generación, Sinaloa, Guerreros Unidos, Los Granados,
Los Rojos, Acapulco Independent Cartel cartels operate in the entity.
Just last Tuesday a confrontation between military and suspected
criminals left a balance of 14 civilians and a dead soldier in the
community of Tepochica.
One of the massacres that occurred this year was the afternoon of May
26, when eight bodies that presented traces of beatings and torture, two
women and six men, were abandoned inside a van with a report of theft
in Chilpancingo. Old Violence The state of Chihuahua has been submerged in a wave of violence for decades. 7.2 percent of the murders that have been committed this year were in that entity.
In eight months, they count 1,479 crimes, making Chihuahua the third
most violent in the country with 37 murders per 100 thousand
inhabitants.
Among those victims are three 4, 13, and 4-year-old sisters and a
23-year-old man, killed when they were at a ranch and a command entered
and fired more than 100 times in Ciudad Juarez. Article published on October 20, 2019 in the 873 edition of the weekly Riod."
~~~~~
And yet this current month of October seems to be showing a slow down of the executions in Tijuana. Everyone around here is wondering if this is an indication of a potential cease fire on the one hand; on the other hand, people are wondering if we will see a flurry in activity and killings the remaining days of October.
" The
Secretary of Security and Municipal Citizen Protection (SSPCM), Jorge
Alberto Ayón Monsalve, stressed that since the entry of the new
municipal administration, in Tijuana homicides have been reduced by 24%,
however the crime of robberies has increased by 7% , for which they are
already implementing action measures to inhibit them.
He
stressed that during this weekend there were only six malicious
killings, due to the greater police presence on the streets, the
increase in patrols;as well as better coordination between the three areas of government.In October, 90 homicides have been registered.
Ayón
said that among the most relevant cases of theft, he highlighted the
one presented this weekend at a casino in Playas de Tijuana, where a
group of hooded people extracted money directly from the box, without
knowing, so farthe amount they took.
He stressed that during the robbery there were no victims of theft, nor injured.
The
secretary also highlighted a robbery that was given to the facilities
of the consulate of the Czech Republic, where it is being monitored;In addition, this Tuesday they will hold a meeting with diplomatic personnel in order to have greater coordination.
He
also pondered that some areas will be restructured in personnel matters
to solve those that address the theft issue, with the objectiveof being able to reduce crime."
~~~~~
Then this morning a slight uptick in the stats with an October tally and a YTD number for the homicides en TIJ:
"Just
over two months after the end of the year, until the morning of
Tuesday, October 22, the Office of the Attorney General in the State,
records 1,806 murders in Tijuana during 2019.
The last four malicious events were dated Tuesday, October 22.
First at 07:05 hours, the emergency center was informed that inside the
house located on Ruiz Cortines street lot # 15 of the La Cuesta
neighborhood, there were the lifeless bodies of a man and a woman. Upon arrival of police elements, the bodies of the couple were visible with visible injuries from gunshots.
The victims were identified as Esmeralda Marisela Cortez García, 47
years old, and Arturo Fernández Montaño, 53. Expert officers located
four .30 caliber shells at the scene of the crime.
At 1:42 p.m., a group of activists in search of missing persons,
located in a neighborhood road to the La Presa vessel in the Valle
Bonito neighborhood, skeletal remains belonging to a human body, which
had deteriorated clothing. Two .40 caliber caps were packed on the scene On the Arroyo Verde street in the Las Delicias subdivision, a human skull was found, which could not determine sex and age. The head was found a few meters from an on wheels. So far this October, 107 wrongful killings have been recorded."
~~~~~
Ensenada....Just passing this report along, so many more covering events in Ensenada from Zeta, will be back at some point (??) with those. Meanwhile...problemas en Cantu:
"The
preliminary report indicates that it was a confrontation between
elements of the 67 Battalion and armed civilians aboard a vessel,
allegedly in possession of drugs.
ENSENADA.- After a confrontation with gunfire between soldiers of the
67th Infantry Battalion and armed civilians, a man was injured by a gun
projectile during an operation in El Ejido Esteban Cantú, municipality
of Ensenada.
According to the report received in the emergency number 911, around
01:04 hours on Tuesday, Mexican Army personnel had a confrontation with
subjects "who were aboard a vessel apparently in possession of drugs",
in El Varadero in the area known as Rincon de Ballenas, Ejido Esteban
Cantú, towards La Bufadora.
The C-4 report states that at 1:27 p.m. Red Cross paramedics arrived to
treat the injured civilian, a man, between 40 and 50 years of age, who
presented blows to the face and active bleeding, as well as two chest
shots The injured was consciously transferred to the General Hospital for medical attention.
The first data of the State Attorney General's Office (PGJE) indicates
that for this fact an investigation folder has not been opened because
the Ministry of National Defense failed to report to the Ministerial
Police. However, SEDENA has not issued information in this regard."
So we will have to wait and see if more information is forthcoming.
~~~~~
Update/edit 1/23 : Well I don't think a heck of a lot of people are surprised, but this happened at La Joya...you know, "paradise".
"Soldiers
and armed civilians were engaged in a gun battle on Tuesday morning, in the area of
La Joya, where the Army secured a drug boat and injured one of the alleged
criminals'
After the confrontation with bullets early Tuesday between
soldiers and armed civilians, the Army announced the assurance of a ton
of marijuana in a boat.
In a statement, the 67th Infantry Battalion explained that, within the
framework of the La Joya operation, in the La Bufadora area, soldiers
found a boat stranded at the edge of the fishing field, as well as four
men moving packages from the panga to a parked vehicle.
When approaching to verify the legality of the landing they realized
that the civilians were armed, so they were ordered to surrender,
however, the military personnel were attacked and initiated the exchange
of shots, according to the official version.
Three of the attackers managed to escape between the houses, while the fourth was hit by the soldiers' shots;
According to the 67th Infantry Battalion, the man received a bullet
rocket in the jaw, a version different from that of C-4 that reported
the man with two thorax bullets.
The injured person was transferred to the General Hospital, where the
military personnel safeguards their safety and once the provision is
completed, they will be handed over to the corresponding judicial
authority.
As part of the operation, the soldiers found within the boat 27
packages tied with glass rubber and black nylon, subject with rope; inside each package were smaller packages, all with marijuana, giving an approximate weight of 1,880 kilograms total..
A white boat, 20 feet in length, was also secured with two 200 horsepower outboard motors; a vehicle, cab-and-a-half pick-up type, gray, Ford F-150 brand, model 2000, without license plates, with theft report; a .9 mm caliber Beretta pistol with a magazine and eight useful cartridges."
*** Note: at around 3:30pm Wednesday 10/23/19 I am simply not seeing this story reported on El Mexicano Policiaca de Ensenada or El Vigia de Ensenada. Hmmmm....someone loves Ensenada.
end edit.
~~~~~
Denise Dresser...
These are long, but a must listen to...if you don't have time, download them from Youtube !
Taking a brief respite from Syria and the Impeachment Inquiry, which both seem to be blowing up in Trump's face; here, since this afternoon, everyone is reading and talking about Culiacan.
Courtesy Reuters
~ 10/18: At this point in time about 2:30am, there have been no reports of fatalities from the violence in Culiacan:
Mexican federal forces arrested Ovidio Guzmán López, 28, in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, in the north of the country, in what the secretary of Public Security of the state of Sinaloa, Cristóbal Castañeda, called "federally coordinated operation" .
But Guzmán López was released by security forces after being briefly apprehended, a decision that was made to protect lives, Mexico's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Alfonso Durazo told Reuters.
According to ADN40, a CNN affiliate, armored vehicles with military-grade weapons exchanged heavy artillery with federal troops in Culiacán, in the heart of Sinaloa.
The shooting forced many residents to flee in panic, others remained locked in their homes while outside, soldiers engaged in intense shootings throughout the day. Residents have been asked to stay inside their homes and schools were closed until further notice, authorities said, according to ADN40.
The images on social networks seemed to show the terror unleashed among the inhabitants of Culiacán. Columns of black smoke fluttered on the horizon while people were on the ground, mothers comforting their children while seeking shelter behind parked cars.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, told reporters Thursday night at the Mexico City airport that the security cabinet was in a meeting and would give a report on the situation later.
Late Thursday, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection of Mexico, Alfonso Durazo, said government operations in Culiacán had been suspended after a violent exchange between federal entities and criminal groups.
Durazo said law enforcement officers and members of the Mexican National Guard were conducting a routine patrol when they were attacked by people inside a house in the city, around 3:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET ).
Durazo said law enforcement officers and members of the Mexican National Guard were conducting a routine patrol when they were attacked by people inside a house in the city, around 3:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET ).
During the confrontation, other members of an organized crime group arrived at the scene, with more firepower than the authorities. Violent attacks also broke out in different parts of the city creating "a panic situation," Durazo said.
With the "purpose of safeguarding the security and tranquility of the Culiacan society, the officials of the security cabinet agreed to suspend such actions."
A shooting broadcast live in the Mexican state of Sinaloa has surprised journalists and spectators alike in what appears to be a confrontation between federal troops and members of a cartel that are reportedly trying to rescue the children of the Mexican drug dealer Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán from the hands of the law.
On the other hand, classes at the Autonomous University of Sinaloa on Friday were suspended due to violence in the entity, according to the institution.
'This measure is taken for the sole purpose of safeguarding the integrity of students, teachers and university workers throughout the state. All are requested to remain calm and be attentive to official and institutional information. ' #culiacan#sinaloa#uaspic.twitter.com/LUtZmlt71S - Official UAS (@uasoficialmx) October 18, 2019"
~~~~~
All day hourly coverage from Zeta describing" hundreds of armed men blocking the streets and shooting at anything that moves" with videos from tweets.
"The north of Sinaloa was no stranger to the shootings and roadblocks that began in Culiacán after the capture of Ovidio Guzmán López, heir to Joaquín Guzmán Loera, el Chapo , leader of the Sinaloa Cartel already detained in the United States. And it is that south of Los Mochis, about 10 kilometers to Juan José Ríos, a command set tires on the south lane to prevent the circulation of units; To the north, about 30 kilometers to the state limits, armed men seized two cargo trucks that crossed both lanes preventing traffic. Those retired after an hour.
Meanwhile, in the municipality of El Fuerte, about 50 kilometers to the northeast, subjects shot at the headquarters of the municipal police, without knowing the balance of injured or injured people. Subsequently, in Cabanillas, the same command was confronted with agents of the National Guard for half an hour. The shooting does not have more data. The municipal police closed the circulation to Choix and Los Mochis for three hours. The situation in El Fuerte is tense."
Everyone is waiting for a press conference from AMLO regarding the situation, and to see if in fact Mexico is to have a more "peaceful" future as promised and of course if the Sinaloa Cartel will retreat or act as a catalyst for more widespread disruption.
Event: Consulate General Hermosillo is aware of press reports of violence between Mexican government forces and criminal groups throughout Culiacan, Sinaloa. Mexican officials have directed people to shelter in place. Schools and other activities in the city are cancelled until further notice.
Actions to Take:
Avoid the area.
Monitor the local news for updates, follow directions from local officials, and in case of emergency call 911.
Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive safety messages and other travel information.
Okay I cannot get through to Riodoce, link keeps coming up saying "Riodoce experiencing technical dificulties" - could be the site is just swamped and loaded. Meanwhile however, here is most recent BBC report covering the AMLO Press conference and reactions to his statements:
~ From BBC: (videos & pictures included in Spanish text version; more reports on the sidebar)
"Violence in Culiacán: AMLO's motives to defend the release of the son of "El Chapo" (and the harsh criticism he received)
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, supported on Friday the decision of his security cabinet to release Ovidio Guzmán, son of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, after the bloody confrontation that was recorded with the police in Culiacán , Sinaloa.
The authorities confirmed Friday that the fighting left at least 8 dead, 16 injured and 49 inmates escaped.
"The capture of a criminal cannot be worth more than the lives of people," López Obrador said in his daily press conference.
Many human beings were at risk ," he said.
His position and government action in the event in Culiacán generated great controversy in the country, reflected in the press and social networks, which were flooded with messages against the government.
According to the official version, Ovidio Guzmán was briefly in the hands of police and army elements in the city of Culiacán. He was released after the armed siege of command and various attacks that occurred in the capital of the state of Sinaloa. The son of "El Chapo" Guzmán had been arrested to carry out an arrest warrant issued by a judge as part of a process to extradite him to the United States. However, after the capture " there was a very violent reaction , the lives of many people were put at risk." Within that framework the decision was made to free Ovid Guzman.
What did AMLO say?
After what happened on Thursday, the president considered Friday that his security cabinet made the right decision to release Ovid Guzman because "many human beings were at risk." "They made decisions that I endorse because the situation became very difficult," said the Mexican president in his traditional morning press conference.
" It's not about massacres," he added. López Obrador considered that what happened does not affect the image of his government nor does it send a signal of weakness. "You can't put out the fire with the fire," he insisted. "We don't want dead, we don't want war" as other governments did, he said. "The previous strategy turned the country into a cemetery," said AMLO, referring to the governments of former presidents Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) and Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2012), in which more than 250,000 deaths are estimated and More than 40,000 disappeared by the so-called war on drug trafficking, the EFE agency said.
At a press conference in Culiacán, the Secretary of Defense, Luis Crescencio Sandoval, acknowledged that the operation to capture Ovidio Guzmán "was precipitated."
The elements of the National Guard arrived at the house where the son of "El Chapo" Guzmán was to comply with an arrest warrant. They took control of the house, he said, but did not wait for the document to arrive to capture it. This delayed his departure from the house and gave time for a group to come to rescue him. "Formally there was no detention," the secretary acknowledged, because the legal requirements for it were not met. At the conference, officials acknowledged that several soldiers were taken hostage by the Sinaloa Cartel. They were released when the military guarding Ovid Guzman let him go.
There were also attacks on a military barracks in Culiacán, as well as attacks with high-caliber weapons on a military helicopter. At some point, the Security Cabinet received reports that the situation was getting worse in Culiacán, and that is why they decided to cancel the operation. "The consequences could be much greater, so it was estimated," said Secretary of Public Security and Citizen Protection, Alfonso Durazo.
"A bent state"
The decision of the authorities, however, was not well received. " It is a defeat to the country ... The facts of this Thursday in Culiacan paint a dramatic picture, the Mexican state bent before the criminals," wrote journalist Carlos Loret de Mola, in the newspaper El Universal, in Mexico.
For his part, political analyst Jorge Fernández Menéndez said that what was seen on Thursday "was a surrender." "You have to say the right words. For whatever reasons, it may be justified or not, there was an action by the State, there was a reaction from the criminal groups and the State forces surrendered. They handed over the person they were detained to avoid acts of violence, "he wrote in the Excelsior newspaper in Mexico. The controversy was also reflected in social networks, under the tags #AMLOEstamosContigo, #AMLORenuncia and #EstadoFallido. Government critics recalled that in 2015, when "El Chapo" escaped from a Mexican jail, AMLO said in a tweet that if he did not resign the security cabinet of then President Enrique Peña Nieto there would be doubt that his government was complicit .
For its part, the parliamentary group of the PAN in the Senate condemned the decisions taken by the federal government in the Culiacan operation by "claudicating and beating in retreat, defeated," newspaper El Universal reported. He also demanded that the president make changes in his "failed strategy to combat crime and operators". Both the Secretary of Public Security and Citizen Protection, Alfonso Durazo, and López Obrador himself, reaffirmed their defense of their policy in response to criticism. "It is not easy (to fight against crime). It is a process, it is not easy because the problem of violence has been advanced a lot and we have to face two mafias white collar crime and organized crime, that is what we face "argued the president. "
~~~~~
10/18: From PBS - Special Report with Special Guest, Denise Dresser !!! Video
"MEXICO CITY. - Escaping, it seems, is a shared feature of the Guzman family. And that is embarrassing for the Mexican government.
Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the drug trafficker known as El Chapo, escaped the government on numerous occasions: through tunnels, behind closets, under bathtubs and through steep ravines in the remote mountains of Sinaloa. He even managed to escape from prison twice. The last member of the family who escaped the arrest, El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmán López, achieved his own feat for government humiliation this week, when his henchmen forced a patrol of at least 30 elements of the armed forces to Release it after capturing it. The surprising surrender of very surpassed Mexican forces, taken hostage by outlaws and forced to release a prominent suspect in their custody, began with a siege of the city of Culiacán on Thursday by members of the Sinaloa Cartel, once headed by El Chapo Videos of fierce street shootings, armed men blocking roads, residents fleeing to safe places and clouds of black smoke coming out of burning vehicles flooded social networks. According to reports, after the capture of the young Guzman, his cartel organized a fierce assault to obtain his freedom and prevent his extradition to the United States. But the government remained silent, asking citizens to stay indoors and avoid being on the street for most of the day. Later, he clarified, at least in part, saying that a patrol had tripped over Guzman, but had suspended the operation when enemy combatants outnumbered it in numbers and weapons. Then the truth was learned, released by local media. The patrol was actually an operation planned to capture Guzman and extradite him to the United States, the government said Friday. The armed forces managed to stop him, but were forced to let him go after eight of his members were taken by force and held hostage, the government said. Surrounded by enemies, without a clear plan of support on the ground or in the air, and without a clear exit strategy, the soldiers yielded and returned to Guzman.
"Decisions were made that support, what support because the situation became very bad and many citizens were at risk, many people, and it was decided to protect the lives of people," said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at a press conference this Friday. "You can't value the life of a criminal more than the life of people."
Iván Archivaldo also escaped According to a former US official and another person informed about the matter, the force behind the rapid and effective response of the cartel was another Guzman: El Chapo's eldest son, Iván Archivaldo, who has played a leading role in the cartel since they caught to his father, extradited to the United States and sentenced to life imprisonment in July on charges of drugs, murder and money laundering. They said that Ivan was also initially captured by the military, but that his henchmen quickly defeated the armed forces and secured his release. Once free, the older brother orchestrated an amazing show of strength to ensure the freedom of his brother, Ovid. The effort included not only retaining the soldiers as hostages, but also kidnapping their families, according to the two people informed about the matter, who were not authorized to speak in public. Government press officers did not respond to requests for comment. The victory of the cartel offered a terrifying vision of the power exerted by organized crime in Mexico, distilling in a single eight-hour stretch the extent to which the nation is captive by criminal networks, without a plan to combat the scourge of violence It was a great loss for a president who has always avoided doubts about his security strategy or, in the eyes of critics, his lack of one. Like his predecessor, López Obrador has tried to distance himself from the violence that plagues his nation, choosing to focus on a list of national programs to combat poverty. But, also like his predecessor, he may have reached a point where neglecting such concerns is disastrous for his presidency. For the previous president, Enrique Peña Nieto, that moment came with the disappearance of 43 students in the city of Iguala, a mystery that remains unsolved. Some wondered if the dominance over the military will become a similar turning point for López Obrador. For many, Thursday's events developed as if they were written by an overly enthusiastic screenwriter, pushing the limits of credibility.
"No one could imagine such a bad Netflix show," said Alejando Hope, a security analyst in Mexico City. “This combination of capturing man and then releasing him? That is new".
It was not clear how the military hoped to detain a leader of one of the most powerful cartels in the world in their territory without sufficient support or adequate plans to withdraw. At his press conference on Friday, López Obrador spent most of his time ignoring or avoiding the issue, while rejecting criticism for the shameful defeat of the government at the hands of organized crime. "You can't fight fire with fire," he said of the decision to free Guzman. "We don't want dead people, we don't want war." Even so, fighting fire with fire was, in the end, what happened. At least one civilian was killed, seven members of the security forces were injured and eight were taken hostage, according to Mexican security officials. Blame the military Lopez Obrador's security cabinet later blamed the soldiers and acknowledged that the operation had been poorly planned. Public outrage has increased, not only because of the shameful defeat, but also because of the government's lackluster strategy to combat illegality. "I can summarize this as a failure of the tactical to the strategic," said Christian Ehrlich, a security expert at Riskop, a Mexican risk analysis firm. From the beginning, López Obrador has struggled to face the growing violence of the nation. After promising to eliminate the military from the streets, where clashes with organized crime have only increased violence, he chose to create a new force, the National Guard. The Mexican soldiers and others were transferred to the new team, whose mandate was not clear from the beginning. With the Army, the Navy and the Federal Police already deployed in hot spots across the country, the government has struggled to articulate its vision on the role of the National Guard. In recent months, the new force has inadvertently stumbled on its mission due to pressure from President Donald Trump. His task now is largely focused on monitoring the nation's borders and stopping migrants heading to Mexico on their way to the United States. This task has led those forces to a new direction, apart from public safety, which has left some areas with fewer resources. Homicides have reached new records every year for the past two years. This year is no different: the nation is on its way to suffer its worst run of murders since the government began counting them. Now, with the liberation of Guzman by the armed forces, the government has suffered one of the most memorable defeats in its 13 years of war on drugs.
“The events in Culiacán occur after a week that began with the murder of 13 state police in Michoacán and a shooting outside Iguala, in Guerrero, which left 15 dead,” said Raúl Benítez, a security expert at the University National Autonomous of Mexico (UNAM). "What comes next?"
In recent years, Mexico had become an expert in capturing the so-called "kingpins", for better or worse. While the strategy has failed to calm the violence, US and Mexican officials were comforted to learn that it has managed to stop and extradite important figures. Guzman's father, El Chapo, was arrested several times before he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States. The leaders of the Zetas, the Gulf Cartel and a long list of others have also been arrested in a coordinated action between the police and the armed forces. With the last mistake, many fear that the government's decision to let Guzman embolden the cartels.
"The government was forced to accept control of the cartel over the city and not face them," Benitez said. "For the people of Culiacán, the president is sending a very hard message: the cartel is in charge here."
~~~~~
10/18: Riodoce back online.
~~~~~
Locally believe it don't it has been surprisingly quiet here with the exception of a Municipal Police officer shot and killed in San Antonio de Los Buenos (TIJ). I'll be back with the October stats. Who knows, maybe the drug guys are acting on an order from Culiacan to cease fire or regroup, we don't know.
Changing the video for something a bit more mellow, especially after the Azam Ahmed report. Have a nice weekend.
