Borderland Beat |  |
- Sinaloa Cartel: "El 9" captured in Chihuahua City
- Alfredo Beltran Leyva "El Mochomo" will be extradited to the US
- Huetamo Mayor arested on murder and extortion charges
- Federal Judge Orders Mireles torture investigation
- Video: Tuta dictates the estate distribution of a PRI senator's family, allocates 5M for CT
Sinaloa Cartel: "El 9" captured in Chihuahua City Posted: 14 Aug 2014 07:28 PM PDT  The prosecutor for the central zone of Chihuahua, Sergio Almaraz , reported the capture of Javier Alonso López Zafiro, alias "El 9", who is allegedly the second in command of the Sinaloa cartel , for operations in the area of the Sierra Tarahumara . He reported that in addition to "El 9", was the arrest of three others operating like hawks in the town of Creel, the mountain town of Bocoyna. Almaraz said the arrest of López Zafiro was in the city of Chihuahua, where he was hiding. after he was wanted for kidnapping and torturing Carmona Gaspar Castillo, a commander of the state police in that region. After kidnapping and torturing the police chief, "El 9" fled to the city of Chihuahua, where he took refuge in the house of his grandparents in the colony Views Cerro Grande . It was at the home police found and arrested the suspect, yesterday afternoon. He fired at police, as he attempted to flee, but was ultimately apprehended. Source: El Diario  |
Alfredo Beltran Leyva "El Mochomo" will be extradited to the US Posted: 14 Aug 2014 05:12 PM PDT Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat  Alfredo Beltran Leyva, alias El Mochomo's release date came and went with him remaining remains in prison. In June, the federal court denied an injunction against extradition filed on behalf of Beltran. . The drug trafficker was arrested in 2008, and will be extradited to the United States, where he will be prosecuted in federal court for various crimes. El Mochomo, faces charges in the District Court of Columbia, Washington, for conspiracy and drug possession for purposes distribution. Alfredo Beltran Leyva was scheduled to go free last October, and was close to being released, because an appellate court granted an injunction, but an extradition order by the United States stopped him from leaving prison. “Justicia de la Unión, does not protect the complainant Alfredo Beltran Leyva, alias Mochomo, from the agreement of November 26, 2013, in which it granted the government of the United States of America its international extradition to stand trial in the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia, Washington DC " Beltran Leyva faces charges for possession and trafficking of prohibited Category II substances, in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations, specifically, cocaine and meth amphetamines substances. "He is charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance; namely five kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, knowing that these controlled substances were being imported illegally into the United States ", notified the trial judge. The unsuccessful demand was filed by the defense( 1270/2013) against the extradition order, in December of 2013. Alfredo Beltran Leyva, was arrested on January 21, 2008 by military elite Mexican Army, and is currently being held in the prison of maximum security Puente Grande.   |
Huetamo Mayor arested on murder and extortion charges Posted: 14 Aug 2014 11:13 PM PDT  Mayor fought against autodefensas saying Huetamo was peaceful and didn't need them No details until the press conference later today, but this morning the PRI municipal president of Huetamo, Michoacán was arrested. Dalia Santana Pineda was arrested by members of the Attorney General of the State (PGJE). The offenses alleged charges are alleged extortion and murder. The Attorney General's Office (PGJE) reported that it will give a press conference this afternoon to share further details. PGJE is the state version of PGR, and is alleged to be corrupted. In photo below are three Michoacán mayors. Santana Pineda is far left, on right is the Pátzcuaro mayor, Salma Kurrum, who is seen in a new video featuring her in a meeting with La Tuta  The Attorney General of the State (PGJE), Martin Godoy, confirmed the arrest of the municipal president of Huetamo, Dalia Santana Pineda, accused of aggravated murder. At a press conference, he said that according to the investigations, the mayor allegedly ordered the murder of her friend Antonio Granados Gomez, with whom he had a personal conflict, the killing took place on 9 April 2013 in the city of Huetamo. Godoy explained that the victim was tricked into going to a Chinese restaurant called "The Venchy", where the murderers hired by the mayor entered and shot and killed him. During the investigations, said the prosecutor, it was established that the perpetrator of this crime is a member of the criminal group, with whom the municipal president was linked to. Also, the mayor is accused of extortion, citing evidence that she charged 20% of their salary of all city employees which was forwarded to La Tuta. Tuta collects 20% from all city employees in the majority of municipalities. At the time of the killing, Viagras, who use Huetamo as their home base, were in alliance with Templarios. They have since split and have an alliance with CJNG.  |
Federal Judge Orders Mireles torture investigation Posted: 14 Aug 2014 10:27 AM PDT  A Federal judge instructed the Attorney General's Office to investigate probable acts of psychological torture against the leader of the AUC, José Manuel Mireles committed during and after his arrest by federal forces. At a press conference, attorney Salvador Navarro Molina said the Fifth District Judge in Michoacan, Jorge Armando Aceituno Wong, orders federal prosecutors to inquire into alleged abuses against his client. "There are acts constituting the offense derived from torture". Their lawyer said the preliminary investigation of torture was filed with the PGR in Uruapan, Michoacan. Molina, along with Talia Vazquez Alatorre and Nestor Moon Ortiz, all attorneys of Mireles, reported that their client was the victim of an "conspiracy" and fabrication of evidence by the authorities to imprison him for possession of weapons , and drug possession. "We're Bringing the José Mireles Case to International Human Rights Organizations" The attorneys stated that they will bring to international human rights organizations proof of the Public Ministry's [investigative police and prosecutors] willful misconduct in the cases of the citizen leader and his three bodyguards. For example, Molina Serrano stated that the day Mireles and his bodyguards were arrested, ministerial authorities name different places where he was arrested, there is no flight log of the prisoner transfer, the weapons allegedly confiscated were tampered with (i.e., "not registered") and the supposed drugs thatthey were carrying were not weighed. Molina Navarro charged: "In this case, we have both illicit and illegal evidence, but the biggest or most flagrant violation is the Public Ministry's willful misconduct, that is, the intent to act with knowledge of purpose." Accompanied by colleagues Néstor Enrique Luna Ortiz and Talía Vázquez, the attorney declared that the weapons were tampered with and planted; there is no agreement on times; the actions have various inconsistencies, such as locations and times, nor was the scene of the events preserved. They explained that the case file contains two pages with the letterhead of the Michoacán Attorney General (PGJ), but indicating two different places where the arrest occurred: page 29 states the place of detention to be La Mira, [municipality of] Lázaro Cárdenas; page 30 specifies that the detention occurred in the town of San Antonio de Viña in [municipality of] Tacámbaro. The two locations are about 275 kilometers [170 miles] apart. Moreover, the case file records the recovery of "14 weapons, one 2014 Jeep Cherokee vehicle and four plastic bags with green grass, marijuana-like, and one with white powder resembling cocaine"; without, however, specifying the weight [of the alleged drugs], which constitutes another irregularity, the defense team points out. Another irregularity, the lawyers stressed, relates to the transfer of the surgeon and his bodyguards after their arrest on June 27. The three were moved from Morelia to Lázaro Cárdenas in a Black Hawk helicopter. According to Mireles' defense team, traveling the 300 miles between one city and the others should have taken an hour and a half; the transfer, however, lasted five hours. The case file specifies that the arrest occurred at 6:00 p.m. on June 27, and Mireles and his bodyguards were handed over to the Attorney General's Office on the same day at 8:00 p.m. In his statement, Mireles said that his arrest was carried out between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m.; however, it is not possible to establish the departure time because the file does not include the flight log. The aircraft landed at the Attorney General of Michoacán at about 9:10 p.m.; that is, the transfer of self-defense would have taken about six hours. In this regard, Molina Navarro said: "I am certain that this time was lost precisely in torture, which doesn't necessarily have to be reflected in blows or injuries. Torture can also be psychological." Mireles reported that during his transfer he was afraid of being thrown into the sea. Molina Navarro said that "it is clear that the armed people are not committing crime" because the weapons were registered with the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), and they had the proper permits. The defense attorney argued that "an order to release for lack of evidence to proceed should have been issued [by the Judge]; on top of that, (now) the Public Prosecutor should be investigated for torture and violations of due process." In turn, Talía Vázquez, who is responsible for recording and publishing communiques from Mireles on the social media, accused Commissioner Alfredo Castillo of not having complied with agreements signed on April 14, 2014. The gist of those agreements was to:
"None of these things happened," Velázquez charged, drawing attention to the 384 self-defense members still in prison and the more than 5,000 applications to join the Rural Force [established to replace and legalize the self-defense groups] that have not been dealt with. The Mexican government, Vázquez elaborated, has turned Dr. Mireles into a "political prisoner" for not complying with the agreement considering that he did not "pay attention to the disarmament," but neither has the State done everything it promised on May 10. Therefore, she said, the defense team will file Mireles' case record before international human rights bodies ... in order to seek their support. Sources: Reforma, Proceso, MexicoVoices translation by Jane Brundage  |
Video: Tuta dictates the estate distribution of a PRI senator's family, allocates 5M for CT Posted: 14 Aug 2014 09:23 AM PDT Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat  Initially, an anonymous tip was sent to various Mexican media outlets, regarding a video text of a meeting between La Tuta and the family of the PRI senator, José Ascensión Orihuela Bárcenas. A transcript of the meeting was sent to the media. The video is another example of how much power Tuta has over people, especially in Michoacan. Subsequently, the video surfaced. (see below) Appearing in the video, is the family of PRI senator including; Eduardo Orihuela Estefan ( MP), Juan Carlos Orihuela (PRI congressional deputy of Zitácuaro), Juan Antonio Ixtláhuac Orihuela, former presidente municipal (mayor) of Zitácuaro. The meeting was called because the brother of Mrs. Carmela Ascensión died. The senator's wife brother, Mr. Luis Miguel Estefan, was a wealthy businessman and hotelier. At the meeting, he leader of the Caballeros Templarios cartel gives orders to two women and three men, on how to distribute the properties of a late hotel owner using percentages. The Templarios leader, Servando Gómez Martínez alias "La Tuta", is seen on a YouTube video, dictating how he wants the distribution of the estate. In the video , presumably filmed in Zitácuaro, La Tuta gives orders to two women and three men on how to distribute the estate of the late hotel owner, including specific percentages for Nora, Estefan's wife; Salvador and William, brothers; and Stephanie his common law wife, with whom the late businessman had an out of wedlock son.  |
