Jorge Peralta, “El Tio Nay” / Javier Eduardo Barraza Ramos, “El Mísil” / Mario Antonio Valenzuela, “El Cabezón”
THE WAVE OF VIOLENCE
On July 14, Lieutenant Colonel Julián Leyzaola Pérez resigned as director of the Municipal Police, a position assumed by attorney Luis Felipe Chan Baltazar. While the new police chief had not yet fully assumed office, criminals led by Javier Eduardo Barraza Ramos, known as El Misil (Innocent until proven guilty by a judge, according to Article 13 of the CNPP), carried out an operation that culminated in the murder of Roberto Méndez Arreola, deputy commander of the Mexicali Municipal Police, who was shot 88 times with high-powered weapons.
On his second day, Luis Felipe Chan had to bury a police officer and face a family demanding justice. From that moment on, the homicide rate spiked unusually, breaking the downward trend. In January, 22 murders were documented, February closed with 17; March saw 16, and April reached its lowest point with 6; May and June remained at 11 and 15, and July closed with 17, due to the recent “cleansing” (a “purge”).
August already has 21 homicides, with the possibility of closing as the most violent month of the year.
Some of the notable cases were that of July 28, for example, where three people were killed in Valle de las Misiones. They were surprised by a group of criminals who broke into the home, beat a woman named Sugey to death, and shot the other two men named Carlos and Jesús in the head, whom they also attempted to burn after they were dead.
Homicides Continue in the Valley
The address was identified as a drug sales outlet, according to investigative authorities. That day, five homicides were documented in a matter of hours.
Two days later, heavily armed criminals broke into the Elegance Motel, west of Mexicali, intending to kill the business manager. They entered the motel with assault rifles and fired their weapons, then left. The workers took advantage of the moment to take the victims to a Mexicali hospital, where they received medical attention.
The violent episodes continued, but on August 7, one of the most obvious crimes occurred. In the Popular Santo Niño neighborhood, west of the city, the body of a person was abandoned. The body was dumped by the occupants of a red pickup truck. The person was naked, his face covered, and he had two messages written on it, one on his body and the other on a piece of cardboard.
Luis Felipe Chan Baltazar
The first one read “Palomo, you’re next,” while the second read “This is going to happen to all the grasshoppers for selling in bulk.” There was no signature, but it was evident that the crime was perpetrated by a cell of Los Rusos, given that they are the predominant group.
The identity of this individual known as Palomo has not been established, although in March of this year, the nickname emerged during the alleged threats by Los Rusos against Lieutenant Colonel Leyzaola, which were posted on various bridges in Mexicali just days after he took office.
The banners were signed by El Ruso, El P1, and Palomo, although it was eventually confirmed that the real perpetrators of the threats were Los Chapitos, with the intention of creating a state of alert in the city.
Another of the notable crimes during this violent day occurred far from this area, specifically in the Industrial neighborhood of Mexicali, where he was surprised by two hitmen who gunned him down outside his home on August 14.
Lawyer Antonio Hernández Espinoza, who was posing as a human rights activist but was linked to Cobra Commander Iván Riebeling—who has since died of an illness—was killed by the hitmen—according to intelligence information from authorities—because it was identified as a drug sales point. From this, it was concluded that there was evidence that the location was a cocaine and heroin sales point.
In total, 20 murders by firearm were documented this season, 18 of which are believed to be linked to organized crime and the same wave of murders documented—mostly—in the city’s Western Urban Zone, where Carlos Alberto Villamán Luna, known as 6-1, and his criminal cell are based, as well as Mario Antonio Valenzuela, alias El Cabezón, who is identified as the leader of a cell of hitmen operating in the city’s Western Zone.
AFTER EL CABEZÓN AND EL CAIMÁN
Members of the Security Roundtables for the Construction of Peace identify two men as the main suspects in most of the crimes: Marco Antonio Valenzuela, alias El Cabezón; and José Alonso Rocha Lazcano, alias El Caimán (Innocent until proven guilty by a judge, according to Article 13 of the CNPP), as the alleged leaders of the cells tasked with investigating, detecting, and killing any drug dealer who is not aligned with or who is receiving proceeds from other criminal groups for urban drug sales.
The former leads a cell of hitmen that operates primarily in the city’s North West Zone, where he has a cell under his command in which even municipal police officers have been detected, supporting them in searching homes and committing crimes.
The latter is another cell leader who was previously in charge of overseeing human trafficking, but now controls several drug dealing areas, and is therefore required to detect irregularities in drug sales in the communities.
María Elena Andrade
It is important to note that since Los Rusos began absolute operational control in Mexicali in 2020, the involvement of independent local groups in all types of illicit activities has been prohibited, from urban drug sales, which used to be an open business as long as they belonged to the Sinaloa Cartel; to human trafficking, loan sharking, slot machine scams, car duplication, and other illicit activities, which could be directed by independent criminal groups.
As Los Rusos’ territorial control advanced, prices and caps began to be set for drug sales or quotas for any illicit activity.
As a pound of methamphetamine even reaches the value of $100,000, it is worth $100,000.
