Military Battles Gunmen in Sinaloa

Firefights between organized criminal elements and the Mexican military erupted early April 28 in several villages of the Choix and El Fuerte municipalities of northern Sinaloa state. The conflict continued through at least April 30, with some uncorroborated reports claiming that fighting is still ongoing. As the battle went on, gunmen reportedly fled into the rugged Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range of neighboring Chihuahua state.

The hostilities have unfolded in remote mountain villages, making details of the battle few and conflicting. The military has said at least 27 people have been killed, including one soldier and one municipal police officer. Unofficial accounts report far more casualties. Federal authorities said April 29 that the military has seized several high-powered rifles, grenades, tactical vests and three vehicles from the gunmen. The vehicles had been designed to resemble a Federal Police vehicle, a state police vehicle and a military vehicle.

Fights between organized criminal elements and the military do not typically last several days, indicating  that the gunmen are defending valuable turf. However, some unverified media reports have suggested that the attempted arrest of a high-ranking member of the former Beltran Leyva Organization sparked the fight and may have been the goal of the operation.

Choix is in the Sierra Madre Occidental, an area often referred to as Mexico's Golden Triangle, where marijuana and opium poppies are grown. Particularly in Sinaloa, the mountains have long served as a stronghold for high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Federation and the Beltran Leyva Organization, both of which originated farther south in the state. Choix is not of particular value in the transit of illicit drugs. This means the gunmen likely are defending fields used for growing illicit drugs or labs used in their production, or are defending a high-level leader of their organization.

Canadian Drug Trafficker Killed in Mexico

Two gunmen opened fire on Canadian drug trafficker Thomas Gisby on April 27 in a Starbucks in a mall in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit state. The gunmen reportedly waited for Gisby in the Starbucks. When he arrived, they stood up and fired sidearms at him, wounding him twice before fleeing.

According to Canadian officials, Gisby had ties to several drug trafficking organizations in Vancouver, British Columbia, including the United Nations gang and the Dhak group. He also worked with Mexican and Colombian drug traffickers for the last two decades. Gisby arrived in the Nayarit area three months ago, after surviving an assassination attempt in Whistler, British Columbia. In that incident, an explosive detonated in his RV on Jan. 16. While authorities have not yet revealed the motive or identity of the culprits in the Nuevo Vallarta attack, the evidence suggests Gisby was targeted in a hit.

Gisby is the sixth Canadian citizen linked to organized crime to be killed in Mexico during the last few years. The last such murder occurred Jan. 16 in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, with the death of United Nations gang member Salih Abdulaziz Sahbaz. Sahbaz died the same day Gisby's RV was bombed in Whistler. Canadian authorities at the time linked the RV bombing to a turf war between organized criminal groups in Vancouver. Both Sahbaz and Gisby in turn were linked to the murder of a Vancouver-based gangster in August 2011, a killing that escalated into a turf war in Vancouver between an alliance of the Dhak, Dupre and United Nations groups against an alliance of the Hells Angels, Independent Soldiers and Red Scorpions.

While Gisby's murder could be an act of retaliation from his Canadian rivals, both Gisby and Sahbaz dealt with several organized criminal groups in Mexico. This means their deaths could have been connected with their relations to Mexican organized crime.

Several Canadian organized criminal groups import illegal drugs from Mexican drug cartels. According to a U.S. indictment of Clayton Rouche, the former leader of the United Nations gang who was arrested in 2009, the United Nations gang would export marijuana into the United States. The revenue from the sale of marijuana would then be used to purchase cocaine coming from Mexico for distribution into Vancouver, Canada. Both Sahbaz and Gisby thus represent examples of the contacts used by Canadian gangs to conduct business with Mexico's transnational criminal organizations.

April 24

• Authorities discovered the body of an Ahome municipal police commander in Cerro Prieto, Sinaloa state. The victim had been kidnapped April 23.
• An improvised explosive device stored in the bed of a parked truck exploded in front of a government office in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas state. Gunmen ambushed the military officials who arrived at the scene to respond to the explosion.
• Authorities discovered four male bodies on a road connecting Santiago Papasquiaro and Topia, Durango state. All of the bodies bore gunshot wounds.
• Gunmen opened fire and threw hand grenades into a convenience store in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero state, leaving one person dead and four injured.
• The Mexican military detained Romero "El Chaparro" Dominguez Velez, an 18-year-old Los Zetas plaza boss in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz state. The plaza boss was detained with another member of Los Zetas.
• Authorities discovered two male bodies along with a narcomanta that was signed by Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) Grupo Mata Zetas, in Veracruz, Veracruz state.
• Mexican authorities arrested three members of La Familia Michoacana in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico state.

April 25

• A confrontation between gunmen and the Mexican military resulted in two dead gunmen and two wounded soldiers in Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Sinaloa state.
• Gunmen shot and killed two men inside a shop in Boca del Rio, Veracruz state.
• Mexican authorities detained two nephews of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada in Tijuana, Baja California state. One of the arrested, Omar Ismael Zambada, is the son of Jesus "El Rey" Reynaldo Zambada, a ranking leader in the Sinaloa Federation. The nephews were detained with two bodyguards and approximately 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of cocaine.

April 26

• Mexican authorities arrested Octavio "El Chapito" Leal Hernandez, a lieutenant under Luis Fernando Sanchez Arellano of the Tijuana cartel. Hernandez had replaced Juan Francisco Sillas Rocha, a former lieutenant in the same organization who was arrested in November 2011.
• Authorities discovered two male bodies and a narcomanta in Cuernavaca, Morelos state. According to authorities, the message attributed the murders to a group identified as "CSF."
• Mexican authorities detained two Los Zetas operators in Tapachula, Chiapas state. The operators were detained over complaints of extortion.
• Authorities discovered a decapitated body in a street in Chihuahua, Chihuahua state, along with a narcomanta. The narcomanta attributed the murder to La Linea and threatened a rival group.

April 27

• A confrontation between gunmen and security forces in Tierra Blanca, Veracruz state, resulted in one dead gunman, several injured gunmen and the arrest of the gunmen's leader, Maria "La Comandante Tere" Teresa Gonzalez Sanchez. According to Gonzalez, she and her men were attempting to kidnap a police commander in Tierra Blanca. Gonzalez later told authorities that the police chief in Tres Valles, Veracruz state, had collaborated with her.
• Authorities discovered the body of man in Veracruz city, Veracruz state, along with a narcomanta signed by CJNG. The message threatened members of Los Zetas and drug dealers in the area.
• After a firefight between the Mexican army and gunmen north of Saltillo, Coahuila state, the Mexican army freed a kidnapped soldier from the gunmen. The army detained four gunmen after the gunfight.

April 28

• The Mexican navy detained nine municipal police officers in Tres Valles, Veracruz state, for links to organized crime. The arrests came one day after arrested cell leader Gonzalez said that she had collaborated with the Tres Valles police chief.
• Gunmen intercepted a police vehicle in Guadalajara, Jalisco state, and freed two arrested individuals.
• Authorities found the body of journalist Regina Martinez, who had worked with Proceso magazine, inside her home in Xalapa, Veracruz state. Authorities said it appeared that Martinez was strangled to death.
• Gunmen opened fire on nine individuals in front of a corner store in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, killing four and wounding five. After the attack, the gunmen fled in their vehicles.

April 29

• Gunmen kidnapped two men in Cuauhtemoc, Nuevo Leon state, and took them to a safe-house. They executed one man, while the other managed to escape with a victim kidnapped in another incident.
• A shootout between a gunman in a vehicle and the municipal police in Saltillo, Coahuila state, left one individual dead and three children wounded. Los Zetas leader Alberto "El Paisa" Jose Gonzalez Xalate was arrested. Gonzalez, his wife and their three children were traveling in the vehicle when federal police began pursuing them, triggering a shootout. Gonzalez's wife was killed and his children were injured. Gonzalez was later brought to the hospital, where additional gunmen attempted to free him from police custody. The gunmen failed to rescue Gonzalez but did take the three children and managed to escape by vehicle.

April 30

• Gunmen shot and killed the ministerial police commander in Guasave, Sinaloa state. Gunmen with AK-47s intercepted the commander while he was traveling to an apartment in the city.
• Gunmen in El Salto, Jalisco state, killed a municipal police officer and his two young sons.
• Authorities discovered a decapitated body in Cadereyta Jimenez, Nuevo Leon state, with a narcomanta signed by the Gulf cartel.