Mexican Feds Capture 13 Cartel Hitmen in Border State

Elements of the Mexican Federal Ministerial Police arrested 13 suspected hitmen during a raid at a cartel safe house in Cajeme, Sonora, Tuesday. Those apprehended are believed responsible for at least four recent homicides, including a 3-year-old boy and his father.

The raid was the benefit of intelligence gathered after the arrest of two cartel operatives identified as Edgardo Sánchez “El Tatis” and Brayan Valentín “El Guerrero” after the June 27 killing of a 3-year-old child and his father, according to information released by the state attorney general’s office and local media.

According to Breitbart News law enforcement sources, the 13 hitmen are suspected members of “Los Trini,” formerly led by Trinidad “Chapo Trini” Olivas Valenzuela, the former regional plaza boss for the Beltran Leyva Cartel. He was murdered in July 2017 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, while eating at a hotdog stand. Los Trini are currently aligned with Fausto Isidro Meza Flores aka “El Chapo Isidro” and the Beltran Leyva, who are involved in a bitter turf dispute with the Sinaloa Cartel for control of smuggling territories leading into Arizona.

Investigative personnel seized a vehicle, one motorcycle, numerous cell phones, at least one firearm, and various documents. The 13 arrested individuals and evidence were turned over to investigative personnel from the state attorney general’s office.

Sonora saw a 44 percent increase in homicides during the first six months of 2019 in comparison to the same time period of 2018. Breitbart News previously reported that the state suffered 14 killed police officers in 2019. Mexico City deployed 1,800 National Guard personnel in July to help fight escalating violence attributed to cartel turf wars.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.