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Gente Nueva

Gente Nueva (English: New People), also known as Los Chapos,[4] in reference to their drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is a large group of well-trained and experienced gunmen that function as one of the elite armed wings of the Sinaloa Cartel, created to counter, battle and destroy the Juárez Cartel's influence in the Mexican north-west, as well as to battle and destroy La Línea which is currently the Juárez Cartel's largest remaining cell.

Gente Nueva
Founded1995 by El Jona[1]
Founding locationSonora, Mexico[2]
Years active1995-present
TerritorySinaloa, Mexicali, Chihuahua, Acapulco, Sonora, Ciudad Juárez
EthnicityMexican
ActivitiesDrug trafficking, kidnapping, murder[3]
AlliesSinaloa Cartel
Artistas Asesinos
Los Mexicles
Los Antrax
RivalsLos Zetas
Juárez Cartel
La Línea
Los Muertos
Knights Templar Cartel
CJNG

Gente Nueva dates back to 1995 when El Profe begun his criminal career in the Mexican state of Chihuahua under the Sinaloa Federation. Gente Nueva has served as the main branch of the organization in Ciudad Juárez and in the rest of the state, where they have engaged in a four-year war with the Juárez Cartel and its enforcer wing, La Línea, for the control of the smuggling routes to the United States.[5] Amid the internal struggles and infightings in the Juárez cartel, Gente Nueva began to recruit the cartel's members.[6]

By 2012, U.S. intelligence indicated that the Sinaloa cartel and Gente Nueva have emerged victorious and successfully relegated the Juárez cartel to the sidelines.[7] The El Paso–Juárez corridor is a lucrative route for drug traffickers because the DEA estimates that about 70% of the cocaine that enters the United States flows through that area.[8]

History

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See also: Anexo Drug War

Battle for Cartel de Sinaloa

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Battle between Sinaloa cartel and Juárez cartel for Ciudad Juárez
Part of Mexican drug war
 
Images of Ciudad Juárez, the place where conflicts and battles between rival cartels and gangs took place and still do. From 2010 to 2011, Ciudad Juárez was ranked first among the most dangerous cities in the world.
Date2003-ongoing
Location
Ciudad Juárez-Chihuahua,Mexico
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Sinaloa cartel Juárez cartel Mexican army CJNG
Commanders and leaders
Joaquín Guzmán Loera
Ismael Zambada García		 Vicente Carrillo Fuentes
Vicente Carrillo Leyva
Juan Pablo Ledezma		 Felipe Calderón
Luis Cresencio Sandoval
Units involved

Sinaloa cartel

Juárez cartel

Mexican army

Strength
+20.000 between soldiers and hit men, +1.500 Narco tanks, +100.000 armored vehicles and +100 Narco-submarine +10.000 between soldiers and hit men, +500 Narco tanks and +50.000 armored vehicles 10.000 soldiers, one AMX-VCI tank, 5.000 military armored vehicles and 15 military helicopters
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown Unknown In total 10.000 deaths and +100.000 injureds, many arrests, 5 Narco tanks destroyed, 5 military helicopters shoot down, one Narco-submarine sunk, numerous of narco-laboratories, for the manufacture of the Narco tanks, Improvised fighting vehicles and drugs, conquered by the Mexican army, +500.000 between civil cars and Improvised fighting vehicles destroyed or damage, +500 military armored vehicles, +15 billions of dollars confiscated from the cartels, numerous tons of drugs requisitioned from the cartels and numerous weapons and ammunition confiscated from the cartels

The war between the Juárez Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel for the control of the smuggling routes in Ciudad Juárez broke out on 5 January 2008, when five men were shot dead with AR-15s in a matter of hours; within a few days, several policemen and nearly two dozen civilians lay dead.[9] The Juárez cartel used La Mafia and Los Muertos to fight off the forces of the Sinaloa cartel, which had employed the gangs known as Artistas Asesinos and Los Mexicles, along with its armed wing, Gente Nueva.[10] The turf wars between them have left more than 10,000 dead in four years.[11]

When Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, jumped into the territory of the Juárez organization in 2007, he attempted to split his rival organization and recruit the dissidents into his own invasion force – Gente Nueva.[6]

Gente Nueva is responsible for a number of crimes, including but not limited to extortions, kidnappings, tortures, and assassinations.[12]

Ciudad Juárez rehab center attack

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Masked gunmen stormed the El Cristal Military education center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua on 3 September 2009, gathered all of the patients together against a wall at a central patio, and then opened fire at them with AK-47 rifles.[13][14] 18 patients were killed in the attack and two others were left wounded.[14] When the Mexican authorities removed the dead bodies, a thick layer of blood was left at the concrete floor of the clinic, from the entrance to the sleep quarters.[13] Local newspapers stated that the gunmen were plotting to kill members of Los Muertos, a rival gang at the service of the Juárez Cartel.[14] In February 2012 in León, Guanajuato – José Antonio Torres Marrufo – a leader of Gente Nueva, was arrested and found responsible for ordering the attack.[15] Gente Nueva had killed 8 people at the 7&7 Bar in Ciudad Juárez just a few weeks before the rehab center attack.[16]

The attack was materialized within sight of the U.S.-Mexico border and is one of the worst single mass shootings in the history of Ciudad Juárez.[13][17]

The Mexican authorities stated that the drug trafficking organizations use rehabilitation clinics to recruit foot soldiers and smugglers, and often kill those who do not cooperate. Others are killed for failing to pay for their drugs or for ripping off a dealer.[18] In addition, the cartels frequently target unlicensed rehabilitation centers, since they are likely to accept active gang members seeking to free themselves from an addiction.[19] Unlike the government-licensed clinics, the private centers are not associated with the penal system and have limited security measures, leaving the victims vulnerable to attacks by gangs seeking revenge or the elimination of a potential police informant.[19] In Ciudad Juárez alone, there are around 100,000 drug addicts and many of the rehab clinics are unlicensed and ran by former addicts, making them easy points for the cartels to infiltrate.[20] Some cartel members even check themselves in the facility and pose as addicts. Once they gain information of why the facility works, they co-opt with workers or threaten to kill them.[20] Some of the addicts sell candy and gum at the city's stop lights to raise money for those struggling in their rehab center, but the cartels have taken this opportunity to force them to sell drugs too.[20] The drug cartels have also created and managed pseudo-clinics, and once their patients are off drugs, they gIve them the choice to work as a drug trafficker or get killed.[20] The cartels usually "dispose" of their young addicts by killing them, since the criminal organizations quickly recruit young men and prefer to minimize their risk by eliminating the others.[19]

Decline of the Juárez Cartel

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The decline of the Juárez Cartel began in 1997 after the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, but worsened in mid-2000 when the Sinaloa Cartel sought to take over the assets of the criminal organization and move into the city.[21] In 2010, violence in Ciudad Juárez reached its peak, seeing an average of 10 homicides per day, or about 230 murders per 100,000 people annually.[21] That same year, the average in all of Mexico was of 18 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.[21] La Línea and the Juárez cartel lived their biggest blow with the arrest of José Antonio Acosta Hernández (a.k.a. El Diego), a top drug baron accused by the Mexican authorities of ordering more than 1,500 killings.[21] Joaquín Guzmán Loera's four-year struggle in Ciudad Juárez left more than 10,000 since 2008,[22] but evidence shows that the murder rates in Ciudad Juárez decreased by 59.8% in the first half of 2012 when compared to the same period in 2011, and Mexican officials have attributed this decline to the success of its law enforcement agencies.[23] Nonetheless, experts told El Paso Times that part of the reason why the violence in Ciudad Juárez toned down is because the Sinaloa cartel has consolidated its dominance over the now-weakened Juárez cartel.[23] The Juárez cartel continues to operate in the city, but it no longer holds a monopoly and appears to be unable to expand. Other experts echo that the cartel is having difficulties paying its members and that the violence will continue to decline as its hegemony erodes.[23] Their relationship with the Barrio Chino gang has also been tampered by the cartel's decline.[24] NPR reports indicated that several people in Ciudad Juárez, including but not limited to local journalists and former policemen, perceived that the Mexican government allegedly favored the Sinaloa cartel in their battle against the Juárez cartel.[25] Nonetheless, counterarguments from security experts were also included.[25]

The reported victory of the Sinaloa cartel may possibly not halt the forces of the Juárez cartel; as long as Vicente Carrillo Fuentes is alive and free, the warfare in the area will possibly continue.[26] With limited options, the Juárez cartel has been forced to reorganize its forces and opt for extortions and kidnappings, while Gente Nueva – the Sinaloa cartel's armed wing – receives funding from other states.[27] In addition, the drug corridor in Ciudad Juárez remains a crucial territory for the Mexican drug trafficking organizations, so the city could continue to see battles for the control of the lucrative smuggling routes – even at a diminishing scale.[28] And although the rise of the New Juárez Cartel has yet to materialize, the threat still remains.[28]

Cartel infighting in Acapulco

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In mid-2011, the Mexican authorities said that hundreds of corpses found in several mass graves in the state of Durango were victims of infighting within the Sinaloa Cartel.[29] Through a banner, Gente Nueva and Los Ms, a faction led by Ismael Zambada García, accused other lieutenants in the cartel of "heating up the plaza" in Durango by trying to attract law enforcement presence in the area, usually through indiscriminate killings and other violent tactics.[30] The message warned their rivals that they had only 24 hours to leave the area before they were killed.[30] The banner was followed by a pair of videos uploaded on March that showed several armed men in military grabs interrogating two men allegedly working for a rival faction.[30] In the video, the two men said that they had been sent to Durango to disrupt cartel operatives. The dispute indicated that two leaders in Gente Nueva, Noel Salgeiro and Felipe Cabrera, had lost the support of the upper-leaders in Gente Nueva and the rest of the Sinaloa organization.[30]

Initially, the massacre was overshadowed by the other mass graves in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. But when Bernabé Monje Silva, alias M14 was arrested by the Federal police, he led them to the exact location of the bodies.[31][32] He later confessed that there was a feud between several factions of the Sinaloa cartel for the control of the drug corridors in Acapulco.[32] The area is a strategic drug trafficking corridor since it can connect with the border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa, and Ciudad Juárez.[29] It is also an attractive pathway state and producer region, notorious for growing poppy and marijuana in the mountainous region known as the "Golden Triangle."[30] In addition, according to Mexican and U.S. intelligence, Joaquín Guzmán Loera (El Chapo) has been reported to have married in a small town in Acapulco and lived in the Sierra Madre mountains in 2007 and 2009 respectively. [disputed (for: incorrect)  – discuss][33]

Veracruz incursion and massacre

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The tit-for-tat fighting between Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel started in the Mexican state of Veracruz, a strategic smuggling region with a giant gulf port.[34] On 20 September 2011 at around 5:00 pm, several vehicles blocked a major avenue in Boca del Río, Veracruz.[35] Once traffic stopped, armed men abandoned two trucks in the middle of the highway.[35] Then they opened the gates of the truck beds and left a written message behind.[35] Other gunmen pointed their weapons at the frightened drivers.[36] The cartel members then fled the scene.[37]

The two trucks that were left at an underpass near a shopping mall contained 35 dead bodies.[38] Consequently, the stunned motorists began to grab their cellphones and post messages on Twitter warning other drivers to avoid the area.[36] When first discovered, all of the corpses were alleged to be members of Los Zetas,[39] but it was later proven that only six of them had been involved in minor crime incidents, and none of them were involved with organized crime.[40] Some of the victims had their hands tied and bore signs of torture.[41] The message left behind stated the following:

"No more extortions or murders of innocent people! ... People of Veracruz, do not allow extortions; do not pay for protection ... This is going to happen to all the Zetas-fucks that continue to operate in Veracruz ... This territory has a new proprietor."

— G.N.[42]

The banner's reference to "G.N." was a clear reference to Gente Nueva,[43] but the Jalisco New Generation Cartel later assumed full responsibility for the massacre and the incursions in the state of Veracruz, traditionally considered turf of Los Zetas.[43][44]

Present-day

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The group suffered setbacks in 2013. Mario Nuñez Meza, also known as, M-10 or El Mayito, was arrested in Ciudad Juarez.[45][46] Months later they arrested his brother M-12 also in Juarez.[47][48] On 11 December 2013, Gente Nueva high-ranking leader Jesús Gregorio Villanueva Rodríguez (alias "El R5") was shot and injured as he left a fast food restaurant in the state of Sonora, his area of operations. His girlfriend and him were taken to the hospital, but Villanueva Rodríguez died after receiving medical attention.[49][50]

Known leaders of Cartel del Gofo

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Name Alias Status Killed/Captured/Reward Refs
La China Jefa Arrested 8 January 2016 [51]
El Guero Balas Patron Arrested 5 October 2011 [52]
El Gemelo Judicial Arrested 4 February 2012 [53]
El Primo Cobrador Dead December 2013 [53]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Las autoridades detienen a fundadores de 'La China' y 'Gente Nueva'". FGR (in Spanish). 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ Muedano, Marcos (6 October 2011). "Cae presunto fundador de la agrupación Gente Nueva". El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  3. ^ McCaul, Michael T. "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border" (PDF). United States House Committee on Homeland Security: 38. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Los chapos califican de terroristas a los Beltrán". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 July 2010. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  5. ^ Shea, Erin (25 May 2012). "Mapping Sinaloa Cartel Operatives in Juarez Battleground". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  6. ^ a b Tuckman 2012, p. 31.
  7. ^ "Drug War Experts Insist Juarez Cartel Will 'Fight To The Death'". KVIA-TV. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Colombian Trafficker with Links to Mexican and Colombian Cartels Extradited from Mexico to the United States". Drug Enforcement Administration. 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  9. ^ "Ciudad Juarez Banner Headline: "Not One Person Murdered Yesterday"". The Huffington Post. 9 June 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Sinaloa cartel member captured in northern Mexico". Fox News. 11 July 2012. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  11. ^ Rosenberg, Mica (27 January 2010). "Ten thousand dead and counting: Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican city that's deadlier than Afghanistan". The National Post. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  12. ^ "El Ejército mexicano detiene al fundador del brazo armado del cártel de Sinaloa" (in Spanish). 10 May 2011. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  13. ^ a b c Lacey, Marc (3 September 2009). "17 Killed in Mexican Rehab Center". New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  14. ^ a b c Ellingwood, Ken (4 September 2009). "18 killed in Juarez clinic for addicts". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  15. ^ "Sinaloa cartel enforcer Marrufo arrested in Mexico". BBC News. 4 February 2012. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  16. ^ Miroslava, Breach (22 September 2009). "Cómplices de El Chapo, cinco implicados en masacre de adictos en Juárez: Sedena". La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  17. ^ Sanchez, Stephanie (4 September 2009). "Juárez in shock: Attack considered city's worst multiple shooting". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  18. ^ Flores, Aileen B. (16 June 2010). "19 die in attack at rehabilitation center". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  19. ^ a b c Ramsey, Geoffrey (8 June 2011). "No Exit: Why Mexico's Drug Gangs Target Rehab Clinics". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  20. ^ a b c d "Mexico drug cartels go into the rehab business". MSN. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
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  22. ^ Althaus, Dudley (18 April 2012). "Drug lord "El Chapo" declares war on Zetas". The Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  23. ^ a b c Martínez-Cabrera, Alejandro (12 July 2012). "Juárez slayings decreased 59.8% first half 2012". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  24. ^ "El Cártel de Juárez llega a su fin". El Economista (in Spanish). 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  25. ^ a b Burnett, John (18 May 2010). "Mexico's Drug War: A Rigged Fight?". NPR. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  26. ^ Caldwell, Alicia A. (10 April 2010). "El Chapo Guzman winning Juarez drug war, U.S. intelligence says". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
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  28. ^ a b Fox, Edward (3 May 2012). "Judge: 'Mexico Will Win Fight Against Organized Crime in Juarez". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  29. ^ a b Corcoran, Patrick (25 May 2011). "Mexico Mass Graves: Evidence of Sinaloa Cartel Split?". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 5 November 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  30. ^ a b c d e Corcoran, Patrick (25 April 2011). "Factions of Sinaloa Cartel Battle in Durango". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  31. ^ "Mass Graves Reveal Dissension in Cartel, Say Police Sources". Fox News. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  32. ^ a b "Los Emes, Los Canelos y Los Cabrera, autores de las fosas en Acapulco". Excélsior (in Spanish). 22 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  33. ^ Stone, Hannah (12 April 2011). "Is the US Raising Stakes in Search for 'El Chapo'?". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  34. ^ "49 bodies with heads, hands and feet chopped off found on Mexican highway leading to US border". Washington Post. 13 May 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  35. ^ a b c "Veracruz: tiran a 35 ejecutados en zona turística". El Universal (in Spanish). 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  36. ^ a b Castillo, Eduardo (21 September 2011). "Mexico Horror: Suspected Drug Traffickers Dump 35 Bodies On Avenue In Veracruz". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2 January 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  37. ^ "Arrojan 35 cuerpos torturados en una calle de Veracruz". El Mundo (in Spanish). 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  38. ^ "35 bodies found in Mexican roadway during rush hour". CNN. 20 September 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
  39. ^ "35 muertos de Boca del Río serían Zetas: Autoridades". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  40. ^ Martínez, Chivis (8 June 2012). "Bodies of Innocents Used as Props in Mexico's Drug War". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  41. ^ "Mexico gunmen abandon two trucks with 35 bodies inside". BBC News. 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  42. ^ "En Veracruz tiran a 40 ejecutados; narcomantas señalan que muertos son de Los Zetas". Blog del Narco (in Spanish). 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  43. ^ a b Ramsey, Geoffrey (27 September 2011). "35 Dead 'Zetas' Dumped on Busy Street in Veracruz, Mexico". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  44. ^ "Comando armado se responsabiliza por cádaveres arrojados en Veracruz". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 27 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 December 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  45. ^ "CDS: "El Mayito" Captured in Juarez Safehouse". Borderland Beat. 28 August 2013. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  46. ^ Borunda, Daniel (28 August 2013). "Chihuahua police arrest reputed drug-trafficker "El Mayito" in Juárez". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  47. ^ "M-12, Brother of "El Mayito" Arrested in a Safehouse in Juarez". Borderland Beat. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  48. ^ "Detienen a lugarteniente de 'El Chapo' en Ciudad Juárez". Excélsior (in Spanish). 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  49. ^ "Sinaloa Cartel Lieutenant "R5" Killed". Borderland Beat. 11 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  50. ^ "Asesinan en Hermosillo al lugarteniente "R5"". El Debate (in Spanish). 12 December 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  51. ^ Perez, Martha (25 February 2008). "La china despliega su ejército en el gofo". El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  52. ^ "Sinaloa cartel boss in Mexico's tamaulipas state arrested". Fox News. 5 October 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  53. ^ a b Cardenas, Lourdes (4 February 2012). "Alleged mastermind of Juárez rehab massacre arrested". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on 21 January 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.

Bibliography

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