Although there have been executions since the tunnel discovery on 10/22, the numbers in the past few days are not at all equivalent to what we were experiencing prior to and immediately following the tunnel bust, we have been in a lull. It is possible that all this quiet could end abruptly and we could return to square one with the focus of local Mexican headlines being once again on the war between the Sinaloa cartel and the CAF allied with the CJNG. But for the time being at least it seems the narcos are in a state of lying low. If they are, the obvious question is, why?
To recap, the narco-tunnel discovery in colonia Garita de Otay saw the closure of one of the largest operational tunnels in Tijuana's history, the arrests of sixteen people on the Mexican side (although there was no mention if these men were a part of the Los Torcidos group) and six people on the US side, the seizure of 10 tons of marijuana on the Mexican side and two tons on the US side. Cargo trucks and vehicles were also confiscated. There were reports that the tunnel was remarkably similar to the same tunnel used by El Chapo in his escape from Altiplano (which led to the hypothesis that this tunnel belonged to Sinaloa), and initially there was some hesitation particularly from General Gabriel Garcia Rincon who urged the PGR to investigate and determine who exactly this tunnel belonged to expressing his viewpoint that the CJNG is not present in Baja California. According to reports, eventually most of the men arrested at the tunnel site admitted that they belonged to the CJNG. At least that is what they said.
The final outcome was that the findings of the PGR confirmed the tunnel did indeed belong to the CJNG, specifically to Nemesio Oseguera aka "El Mencho." Despite the Mexican authorities denying the presence of the CJNG in Baja California until just very recently, Zeta notes that the DEA recognized their presence here since last May. Importantly, the DEA acknowledges their presence in San Ysidro, Orange County, Riverside, Bakersfield and Sacramento.
El Mexicano pointed out it was the US Tunnel Task Force undercover operation from six months back which detected the tunnel. Zeta elaborates on the DEA investigation and the role played by one undercover agent named "Enriquez Acosta" - if there were more undercover agents, we just don't know. But the point is this one agent completely infiltrated the tunnel operation and cartel (s) to the point where he was totally accepted, recording conversations along the way, making visual confirmation of the tunnel excavation, actually being offered 10K dlls. to drive a truck for transporting the dope and unbelievably meeting with top operatives of this operation (one of whom lived in El Cajon, CA). So for months he was (and who knows how many more there were) listening, mingling and watching every move the narcos were making, like something out of "Homeland."
If you have been reading the links you can see there are cynics (who would prefer to be called realists) who don't buy the story because they simply do not trust the Federal Police or the PGR. Still, after the arrests of the initial twenty two people, more and more arrests have been happening in Tijuana of sicarios and narcomenudistas. Coincidence? And during the last few days, there has been a dramatic drop in the violence and executions in Tijuana. Maybe the CJNG is moving its people around up there in the States, but for sure there is a stand down in Baja California. At least momentarily. Are they becoming jittery knowing that they were infiltrated and maybe thinking those arrested at the tunnel site are spilling the beans ?
I'll be back to update events since the tunnel discovery to present.
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Update/Edit: Momentarily was correct, late reports in from Frontera and Zeta are that five people have been executed in Tijuana today.
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| Courtesy Frontera |
9:00pm : Frontera reports that three have been executed within the last hour in different parts of Tijuana. Around 7:00pm one man shot and killed in Flores Magon; minutes later another executed in Sanchez Taboada. At around 8:00pm in colonia Aleman another man shot and killed when he was entering his home.
10:00pm: Zeta adds more from this morning : One in colonia Pedregal de Santa Julia and another in colonia Obrera Primera Seccion of San Antonio de Los Buenos. With the three this evening, the total is five total for today.
No accounts of which groups are responsible for this last wave of killings and no indications if we are back to square one (again) with another increase in the violence just when we might have been thinking there had been a respite.
UPDATE/Edit 11/04: Close to 1:00 in the afternoon, it has only been Zeta who reported the two executions from yesterday morning, no other sources reporting these...yet...
UPDATE/Edit 11/04: 6:35pm and still no reports from the other local news agencies on the two executed yesterday morning - only Zeta has reported these. So, obviously we are not receiving all of the news, and any feeling of a respite in the killings as assumed in the beginning of this blog is probably incorrect, and it makes you wonder how many more have gone unreported. The message is clear - just put on a happy face, right? I'll be back in a few days, lots of stats coming in over the recent arrests, but these stats and statements of triumph by the authorities according to Zeta are more or less a camouflage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now that's what I call show biz folks....
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