The murders of two teens, a young child, and their uncle in Juárez Sunday morning is now attributed to a cartel turf war. A 30-year-old Texan was also kidnapped in the incident and remains unaccounted for.
A group of cartel gunmen carried out an attack early Sunday by storming a ranch in colonia Riberas del Bravo based on a revenge plot, said the César Peniche Espejel, the state attorney general of Chihuahua. The gunmen, armed with at least five different firearms, shot more than 100 rounds, killing Lindsay, 14; Sherlyn, 13; Arleth Sánchez Gordillo, 4; and Rafael Gordillo González, 25.
Prior to fleeing, the gunmen kidnapped a U.S. citizen identified as 30-year-old José Francisco Quezada Espinoza, a visiting family friend. Quezada Espinoza was reportedly forced into one of two vehicles the gunmen drove. A patrol vehicle with Ciudad Juárez municipal police officers gave chase but crashed after taking gunfire, according to local media reports. Investigative personnel from the state attorney general’s office assumed responsibility for the case. Personnel recovered a total of 126 spent shell casings at the scene, according to a media release.
According to the state attorney general’s office and Breitbart Texas law enforcement sources, the attack was blamed on what is believed to be retaliation for a murder between rival gangs several days earlier. It is also believed the gunmen were looking for a specific person and the teens were not the intended targets. Chihuahua Governor Javier Corral Jurado called on all levels of government to capture those responsible since they are trying to spread a message of “terror and fear” throughout the community, according to local reports.
Initial accounts indicate the suspected gunmen are members of “Los Mexicles,” an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel. The day after the killings, narco-banners began to appear throughout Juarez, denying any involvement in the “cowardly attack.” The banners placed blame on the state attorney general’s office for protecting other criminal groups.
In August 2018, Breitbart Texas reported on the escalating violence due to a fracture between Los Artistas Asesinos or “Doble AA” and Los Mexicles, former allies who operate in the El Paso-Juárez Metropolitan Border Area and are loyal to the Sinaloa Cartel. A cell of Los Mexicles switched sides to the rival Nuevo Cartel de Juarez/La Linea.
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
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