Ongoing Turf War in Nuevo Laredo

Authorities discovered 14 dismembered bodies carefully arranged in front of a narcomanta (a message from drug traffickers) signed "El Chapo" in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state, on April 18. The display resembled a March 28 incident in Nuevo Laredo. Like the March incident, the April 18 letter denounced Miguel "Z-40" Trevino and claimed Nuevo Laredo for the Sinaloa Federation.

As Stratfor has stated, violence in the lucrative Nuevo Laredo plaza most likely will escalate as Los Zetas come under pressure to respond to the Sinaloa incursion. According to Stratfor sources, Los Zetas have started to move leadership from places like Guadalajara to Nuevo Laredo to defend their plaza from Sinaloa and the Gulf cartel, specifically in northeastern Nuevo Laredo, and from military and law enforcement operations.

La Linea Attacks in Chihuahua Continue

At least 10 gunmen in five vehicles opened fire in El Colorado, a bar in the La Granja neighborhood of Chihuahua city, Chihuahua state, killing 15 individuals April 20. According to witnesses, the gunmen asked for several men before opening fire on bar patrons when they did not find the men they sought. Since then, at least two narcomantas have appeared in Chihuahua saying that La Linea leaders allegedly were behind the shooting. Meanwhile, authorities have said the attack was retaliation for the arrest of one La Linea founder, El Pariente, in Queretaro state. 

The attack is a continuation of violence rising from a turf war between the Sinaloa Federation and Juarez cartel splinter groups, the most active of which has been the New Juarez Cartel. While the body count is among the highest in 2012 for a single attack in Chihuahua, the attack does not show a change in the capabilities or tactics of Sinaloa's rivals.

CJNG Continues Fight in New Territories

Authorities found three executed men along the Zitacuaro-Morelia highway in Michoacan state April 20. Along with the bodies, the authorities found a narcomanta attributing the killings to the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

As Stratfor has stated, CJNG has begun a turf war in Michoacan with the Knights Templar. As long as CJNG continues to engage the Knights Templar in Michoacan, such intergang violence will continue.

April 17

• Authorities discovered 14 bodies in plastic bags inside a vehicle in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state.
• Two local police officers were shot and killed near their parked patrol vehicle in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state.
• Authorities discovered two female bodies wrapped in a blanket inside a vehicle in Tanhuato, Michoacan state.
• Gunmen opened fire in the Villas del Real neighborhood of Chihuahua, Chihuahua state, killing three people, including a 10-year-old boy.
• The Mexican military detained the mayor of Chinameca, Veracruz state, along with two Los Zetas plaza bosses in Minatitlan, Veracruz state. The plaza bosses were responsible for southern regions of the state.

April 18

• Fourteen dismembered bodies were displayed with a narcomanta signed by Sinaloa Federation leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state. The message was addressed to Los Zetas leader Miguel "Z-40" Trevino Morales, claiming Nuevo Laredo for Sinaloa. The message also warned that an paying taxes to Los Zetas will be considered treasonous by Sinaloa.
• Four gunmen were killed in La Yesca, Nayarit state, during a firefight with state police.

April 19

• Authorities discovered two male bodies with gunshot wounds to the head in Guamuchil, Sinaloa state.
• Gunmen ambushed a convoy of Jalisco state police along a highway between Ahuijullo, Jalisco state, and Tepalcatepec, Michoacan state. The police repelled the attack, which resulted in the death of four gunmen and two bystanders and the wounding of two police officers wounded.
• Authorities arrested 11 Gulf cartel members at an airport in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state. The members were returning from a vacation in Cancun, Quintana Roo state, with at least 80 family members.

April 20

• Authorities discovered two male bodies in the Progreso neighborhood of Acapulco, Guerrero state. The victims appeared to have been tortured with acid before being killed.
• Gunmen shot and killed retired Brig. Gen. Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro at an intersection in Mexico City.
• Gunmen shot and killed two men sitting at a bar in the Rodolfo Fierro neighborhood of Chihuahua, Chihuahua state.
• Authorities discovered a male body in Culiacan, Sinaloa state. The victim's hands were tied behind his back.
• Authorities discovered two bodies in a vehicle along a road in Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon state.
• Gunmen killed three municipal employees repairing a water pipe in Cadereyta.
• Federal police arrested La Linea leader Luis Guillermo "El Pariente" Castillo Rubio, the cousin of former La Linea leader Jesus Antonio "El Diego" Acosta Hernandez, in Chihuahua. Castillo told authorities that the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes organization (also known as the Juarez cartel) in Chihuahua has been "debilitated."
• At least 10 gunmen arriving in five vehicles opened fire in the El Colorado bar in the La Granja neighborhood of Chihuahua, Chihuahua state, killing 15 individuals. The gunmen demanded the location of several men, according to witnesses, before opening fire upon patrons inside the bar when they could not find the individuals.
• Authorities discovered three male bodies along a highway between Zitacuaro and Morelia in Michoacan state. The authorities found a narcomanta with the bodies attributing the murders to Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion.

April 21

• Gunmen pursued and killed three men and one woman in Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon state. The four victims were allegedly drug dealers.
• Gunmen shot and killed six people in Santa Catarina. The gunmen killed four of the victims inside a residence and two outside approximately 200 meters away.

April 22

• Authorities discovered a body covered in the back of a truck in Santiago, Nuevo Leon state. The victim was apparently shot in the head.
• Gunmen shot and killed two men along a street in Zapopan, Jalisco state.
• In separate incidents, authorities discovered four male bodies in various areas around Acapulco, Guerrero state.

April 23

• The Mexican army arrested five gunmen in Tuzantla, Michoacan state, and seized 14 assault rifles, 83 magazines, 1,295 rounds of ammunition, two tactical vests and two radios.
• Narcomantas were placed on a fence in northern Chihuahua, Chihuahua state, attributing the April 20 shooting at the El Colorado bar in Chihuahua to La Linea plaza bosses.
• Authorities discovered four bodies along a road in Durango, Durango state. Each of the victims received several gunshot wounds.
• Authorities discovered the bodies of a man and a woman on a street in Veracruz, Veracruz state. The hands and feet of the victims were tied, and the bodies displayed signs of torture.