Sunday, January 20, 2013

Narco executions continue in the heart of Guadalajara, and near Lake Chapala

16th of September passes through Guadalajara's main plaza, in front of its largest cathedral

Guadalajara -
Guadalajara has recorded three homicides in the last 24 hours. All suggest organized crime murders.

The victims of the separate incidents were two men and a woman. Their bodies were found in central Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque and a community near Lake Chapala, about 45 minutes south of the city.

In Guadalajara's Colonia Centro, near the corner of 16th of September and Nueva Galicia streets (map below) police found the body of a woman, 25, who had been shot to death. The area is minutes east of the American Quarter, bustling Chapultepc Avenue and the U.S. Consulate. 16th of September is one of the city's most prominent streets, passing through Guadalajara's sprawling Plaza de Armas. The location is a scant three blocks from the headquarters of Jalisco's State Security Police (SSPE).


In the historic community of Tlaquepaque, in Colonia Las Pomas, police found a 25 year old man who had been shot at least once in the head.. His feet and hands were bound, and his eyes were taped - hallmarks of an organized crime execution.

In the third incident, police in Jocotepec found the body of a 16 year old boy. Jocotepec, located on the shores of Lake Chapala, was the scene of a commando squad ambush against the town's police chief last October 27. Jocotepec is minutes west of the expatriate popular town of Ajijic (Commando squad attacks Guadalajara suburban police unit, leaving two officers dead). The boy had been badly beaten and shot with a .9 mm round. His body was wrapped in a blanket, discarded alongside a road.

Jalisco has recorded at least 68 organized crime homicides since Jan. 1, while Guadalajara has had at least 37. On Jan. 17, in a nationally broadcast TV interview, the Jalisco state prosecutor said three of Mexico's most dangerous cartels are fighting for control of drug sales in the city, among them the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (a/k/a Los Matazetas), the Sinaloa Cartel of El Chapo Guzmán and Los Caballeros Templarios, a Michoacán-based group. During Christmas week there were numerous outbreaks of violence between these groups and others in outlying areas along the Jalisco-Michoacán frontier (Dec. 24 and Dec. 25 stories below), which some authorities dubbed regional "border wars."

Atypically heavy state and municipal police patrols are obvious in Guadalajara's Colonia Centro today.

On Dec. 18, Mexico's new attorney general reported that the country has 60-80 active drug cartels.

Jan. 8 - More attacks on Jalisco police; state homicides increase
Jan. 7 - More violence on the way to Guadalajara, predict U.S. security consultants
Jan. 5 - Organized crime hit claims four lives in Guadalajara metro
Jan. 2 - Mexican narco stats after first month of new PRI administration: 982 executions, 32 a day
Dec. 25 - Death toll in Jalisco-Michoacán violence rises to 28, including 14 police officers
Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve narco violence wracks Jalisco and Michoacán, leaving 7 police officers dead
Dec. 23 - Mexico's new PRI government seeks huge increase in domestic security budget
Nov. 30 - Who's targeting Jalisco police?
Oct. 11 - Jalisco homicides remain unabated in September
Sept. 6 - Six murders in 12 hours alarm Guadalajara metro and suburbs; security sweeps underway

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