Tagged: Jalisco

April 21st, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Priest shot dead in Mexico marks 2nd clerical murder in week

Priest shot dead in Mexico marks 2nd clerical murder in week

(SACRAMENTO BEE) — A young Roman Catholic priest was shot dead in the west-central Mexican state of Jalisco, becoming the second cleric slain this week in a country said to lead the region in such killings.

Juan Miguel Contreras Garcia, 33, was murdered late Friday at a parish in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, on the outskirts of Guadalajara, the Catholic Multimedia Center said Saturday, adding that he was apparently performing the sacrament of penance at the time of the attack.

The Jalisco state prosecutor’s office said early indications suggest two men entered the sacristy, fired directly at the priest and then fled in a car. It said Contreras suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and paramedics who arrived at the scene were unable to keep him alive.

The center said Contreras became a priest just two years ago.

The killing came two days after Rev. Ruben Alcantara Diaz, 50, was stabbed to death in his church on the outskirts of Mexico City. Local media reported he had argued with his killer, who fled after the attack.

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March 15th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Self-defense forces forming in Jalisco? ‘It’s time for the criminals to clear off and steal from somewhere else’

Self-defense forces forming in Jalisco? ‘It’s time for the criminals to clear off and steal from somewhere else’

(MEXICO NEWS DAILY) — In the face of rising levels of crime in Jalisco there is evidence that self-defense forces have formed in the state capital.

People presumed to be residents of Guadalajara are using social media to recruit new members to vigilante groups to patrol the streets of neighborhoods plagued by crime, such as Jardines Alcalde, the newspaper Reforma reported today.

The attitude of the posts accompanied by the hashtag #YoSoyAutodefensaYaBasta (I’m a Self-Defense Member Enough Already) is one of open defiance and outright aggression.

“We already have 30 members in the self-defense group. It’s time for the criminals to clear off and steal from somewhere else. Whoever comes in, I’m ready and I don’t give a damn if I take a few bullets; I prefer that than them shooting someone in my family,” a presumed member of a self-defense group in Jardines Alcalde wrote.

“If you catch people red-handed, before you take action, send a message so that the others arrive in support to give them a good beating,” another presumed member said.

Other posts offer advice about applying for a firearm permit as well as how to use it and where to practice.

Although some social media users who have commented on the posts see the creation of self-defense groups as a radical measure, the majority defend the move as a last resort, citing the lack of protection provided by official security forces.

The president of a residents’ association in Jardines Alcalde told Reforma that the emergence of self-defense groups in the area is worrying, adding that municipal police are monitoring the situation.

Salvador Quiroz Nuño explained that local residents are fed up with crime and pointed out that while the residents’ group doesn’t support the actions of people who take law enforcement into their own hands, it doesn’t tell them not to.

Another self-defense group reportedly formed in the Alcalde Barranquitas neighborhood at the end of last year, where residents armed themselves with Tasers and pepper spray to ward off intruders.

In addition to high robbery rates, violent crime has also plagued Guadalajara and Jalisco in the first two months of 2018.

There were more than 120 homicides in the state in both January and February and 60 in the first week of March.

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March 15th, 2018 Breaking News Comments Off on Authorities disband Tlaquepaque police

Authorities disband Tlaquepaque police

(MEXICO NEWS DAILY) — The municipal police force in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, has been disarmed and temporarily disbanded due to the suspected collusion of some of its officers with organized crime.

Federal Police, the army, the federal Attorney General’s office (PGR) and the Jalisco state police jointly carried out an operation at 7:00am yesterday at the municipality’s main police station, located in the metropolitan area of Guadalajara.

Personnel from the state Attorney General’s office said the operation was connected to the discovery last week of eight bodies in an abandoned pickup truck in the Guadalajara neighborhood of Morelos.

The newspaper El Universal reported today that a list of names of municipal police officers who are allegedly on the payroll of a drug cartel was found among the possessions of one of the bodies. State authorities have neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

Jalisco Governor Aristóteles Sandoval, who last week warned of worsening insecurity in the state, announced the decision to disarm and suspend the Tlaquepaque police via social media.

“Doing this represents a forceful measure in the face of the insecurity the metropolis is suffering. We’re willing to act with full force until the last day [of this administration]. I know that I have the support of the people; we all want to live in peace . . .” he wrote.

Sandoval said that state police would take over policing duties in Tlaquepaque while municipal officers are at the police academy for training and reevaluation. State Attorney General Raúl Sánchez Jiménez later said that the intervention could last up to 30 days.

But in contrast with the government’s stated justification, the municipal government charged that the operation may be politically motivated.

Tlaquepaque Mayor María Elena Limón, who represents the Citizens’ Movement Party, was not informed about the operation prior to it taking place.

At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Limón said the local government had still not received any documentation about the state government’s actions nor had she heard from Governor Sandoval.

The mayor also said that if the state government doesn’t present evidence within three days to show that municipal police are infiltrated by organized crime, the real motive of the operation will become clear.

“If there are officers linked to organized crime we will be the first to take action to clean out our police but if, on the other hand, the investigation takes one or two weeks, I will understand that this action of the Jalisco government has political overtones and is seeking to influence the elections in July,” Limón said.

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November 30th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Cartel gunmen leave human heads at Mexican TV station

Cartel gunmen leave human heads at Mexican TV station

(BREITBART) — Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) continues spreading bloodshed and death threats after gunmen left two human heads outside of the Televisa TV station in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

A Mexican federal law enforcement source confirmed to Breitbart Texas that the gunmen left ice chests with human remains in various parts of Jalisco.

While the case left in front of the TV station did not contain any cartel threats against reporters, Mexican authorities suspect the group is looking to get attention for recent violent acts after they threatened a local police chief close to the governor and a local judge. The chest left at the TV station contained two human heads.

“Jesus Humberto Boruel Neri, number 1202, here I leave you these heads, let’s see if you go public, not like on Sunday 19-11-17 when we threw grenades and you hid it,” one of the recovered messages said. “You know that deals have to be kept or do you want us to remind you why you are there and who put you there.”

Law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that Boruel is one of the top leaders of the state police, and at one time, was the bodyguard of current Governor Aristoteles Sandoval. During his time as a bodyguard, Boruel was arrested for his alleged role in the murder of a man in Tlaquepaque, but was later released for a lack of evidence. In another part of the city, authorities found another ice chest with a message for a local judge: “[expletive] Judge Molina, you are next.”

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May 15th, 2017 Breaking News Comments Off on Veteran reporter Javier Valdez is 6th journalist murdered in Mexico since early March

Veteran reporter Javier Valdez is 6th journalist murdered in Mexico since early March

(CHICAGO TRIBUNE) — Javier Valdez, an award-winning reporter who specialized in covering drug trafficking and organized crime, was slain Monday in the northern state of Sinaloa, the latest in a wave of journalist killings in Mexico.

Valdez is at least the sixth journalist to be murdered in Mexico since early March, an unusually high number even for one of the world’s deadliest countries for media professionals.

Valdez was shot to death in the early afternoon in the state capital of Culiacan, near the offices of the publication he co-founded, Riodoce. State Prosecutor Juan Jose Rios visited the scene and said authorities were investigating all possible motives, including that the killing could have been due to Valdez’s work, though he gave no details.

The national newspaper Milenio reported late Monday that another journalist and her son were shot dead by gunmen in the city of Autlan in Jalisco, another state known for cartel activity. Jalisco officials did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking confirmation.

Riodoce reported that Valdez was driving about a block from its offices when he was intercepted by gunmen. Valdez was also a correspondent for the national newspaper La Jornada, which reported that he was pulled from his car and shot multiple times.

Images in Mexican media showed a body lying in a street covered by a blue blanket and surrounded by 12 yellow markers of the kind typically used to flag evidence such as bullet casings.

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