Top gunmen from Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) surfaced in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon in a failed weapons deal. State investigators arrested the group during a raid.
The case took place in recent days in downtown Monterrey, when two top gunmen for CJNG were preparing to meet arms smugglers, U.S. law enforcement sources working in Mexico revealed to Breitbart Texas.
José Guadalupe “El Tucan” Santillan Serna and Alexis Medrano Garcia were staying at a downtown hotel as they waited to meet their prospective suppliers. Detectives with Nuevo Leon’s State Investigation’s Agency (AEI) raided the hotel after getting calls of gunmen in the area. Authorities seized handguns and small packages of drugs.
During questioning, authorities learned that El Tucan and his assistant recently traveled to Monterrey to meet a weapons supplier as part of a strategy to gather arms to their CJNG cell and others.
Authorities learned that El Tucan, originally from Zapopan, Jalisco, has a long criminal history in the state of Zacatecas that includes arrests for kidnapping, extortion, carjacking, and other organized criminal activities. Despite multiple convictions, earlier this year a Mexican judge ordered El Tucan’s freedom. During questioning, El Tucan admitted to working as a hitman for Los Zetas before joining the CJNG as a cell leader with close ties to top boss Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes.
Despite claims by officials about there being no CJNG gunmen in Monterrey, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas that in recent days, Nuevo Leon’s state police kicked off an operation called “Wall” or “Muralla” in the southern part of the state after receiving reports of convoys in the areas bordering San Luis Potosi.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report