CJNG: MEXICO’S EMERGING DRUG CARTEL

 This article was written by Iñigo Camilleri De Castanedo and originally published on Grey Dynamics.

Starting life as the armed wing of the Cartel de Sinaloa, the CJNG formally separated from its parent organization and has exponentially evolved to be one of the major organized crime players in Mexico. Despite early success, the group is facing rival organizations, splinter groups, and the Mexican and U.S. government:

• It is likely that the CJNG has deterred governmental efforts to tackle organized crime. A lack of governmental aid combined with humanitarian efforts by the CJNG has likely increased the social roots and legitimacy of the group amongst communities.
• The targeting high-government officials will likely increase. The pandemic has limited the governmental capability to counter organized crime, and the CJNG has an opportunity to signal intentions and expand with a reduced risk of resistance.
• Violent clashes between the CJNG and local organized crime groups will highly likely increase. A damaged criminal economy will push groups to compete for territory and sources of revenue which are controlled in their majority by the CJNG or the Sinaloa Cartel. . . 

Read the following: CJNG: MEXICO’S EMERGING DRUG CARTEL

Not Everyone Is Happy With CJNG

Nobody Has Seen A Cartel Like This

"That will probably be a permanent feature for the next decade. The reason is, CJNG is like no other cartel the world has ever seen before in terms of its reach, its financial, military and organizational power," Bensman said. "Nobody has seen a cartel like this."

'Nobody has seen a cartel like this': DOJ targets Mexico's most powerful drug organization
by Leandra Bernstein

WASHINGTON (Sinclair Broadcast Group) — The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has designated Mexican drug cartels as the "greatest criminal drug threat to the United States" for the past four years. This week, the Justice Department announced it was narrowing in on a relatively new network that has surpassed other transnational criminal organizations in its power and reach into the United States.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally announced the creation of a multi-agency task force to target five transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) deemed the greatest threats to U.S. safety and prosperity. The groups include MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, Clan del Golfo, Lebanese Hezbollah and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or CJNG. . .

CJNG Like No Other Cartel

"Taking Over Every Where"

Mexico's fastest-rising cartel, the Jalisco New Generation gang, has a reputation for ruthlessness and violence unlike any since the fall of the old Zetas cartel. 



In parts of the country it is fighting medieval-style battles, complete with fortified redoubts, to expand nationwide, from the outskirts of Mexico City, into the tourist resorts around Cancun, and along the northern border.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/el-mencho-the-drug-lord-filling-the-void-el-chapo-left-behind/

Operation Jalisco

Operation Jalisco: The Rise of The Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Peña Nieto’s Militarised Security Strategy

Hannah Croft  

On 1 May 2015 the Mexican military announced ‘Operation Jalisco’, a full-spectrum security engagement to tackle violence and drug trafficking in Jalisco, a state in Western Mexico. Although there was no indication that the operation is targeted at any specific organised crime group, it has been made clear that resources will be concentrated on one particular drug trafficking organisation (DTO), the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG). As their name suggests, the CJNG operates primarily in Jalisco and its neighbouring states of Michoacán, Veracruz, Nayarit, and Colima. Since the start of Enrique Peña Nieto’s presidency in December 2012, the CJNG has experienced extraordinary growth in its size and financial power, and it is now regarded as the most powerful cartel in Mexico. After instigating relatively successful operations against other cartels in the region, particularly in the states of Michoacán and Sinaloa, President Peña Nieto has turned his attention to Jalisco in response to the CJNG’s recent acts of brutality against police and civilians. Although Operation Jalisco is still in its infancy, the time is ripe for strategic reassessment and a reflection on past policies as the government formulates its tactics to tackle narco-violence. This article will explore the growth of the CJNG and its tactical and strategic objectives before and after the announcement of Operation Jalisco, as well as the current challenges that the government faces, and what recommendations should be in place if it wants to successfully re-establish control in Jalisco.

The first section of this paper presents a brief overview of the strategic benefits that Jalisco offers to the government and to drug trafficking organisations, with particular emphasis on its commercial and geographical assets and how these have buttressed the growth of CJNG’s activities in the region. The second section will then present a deeper examination of CJNG’s activities, its narrative, and its relationship with the government and local police forces. It will then address the sudden shift in its strategy from 2015, when it began to directly confront local police forces in Jalisco, and consider how it will adapt to the recent military crackdown. The last section will examine the failings of Peña Nieto’s policy, in particular its preoccupation with the kingpin strategy, and instead recommend that a more systematic approach should be adopted if the government wants to see long-term improvements. This includes a renegotiation of the roles of police and military, anti-corruption efforts, assiduous intelligence collection, and a focus on mid-level gang member convictions.  . .

Source: https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/operation-jalisco-the-rise-of-the-jalisco-new-generation-cartel-and-peña-nieto’s-militarise

DOJ Vs. CJNG

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department outlined a far-flung strike against the violent Mexican Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, announcing the Wednesday arrests of 250 cartel operatives and leaders whose drug trafficking organization has flooded the U.S. with cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, officials said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration operation, dubbed Project Python, is part of a six-month campaign against the cartel known as CJNG that has netted a total of 750 arrests and seizures of $20 million.

“Project Python marks the most comprehensive action to date ... to disrupt, dismantle, and ultimately destroy CJNG,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said Wednesday, casting the cartel as "one of the highest-priority, transnational organized crime threats we face. , , "

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/11/doj-takes-aim-violent-mexican-drug-cartel-announces-250-arrests/5023376002/

Suicide By Journalism

TIJUANA, Mexico—On Friday mornings before daybreak, trucks bearing the slogan “Free as the wind” deliver tens of thousands of newspapers to an old-fashioned network of vendors, who stand at intersections across the city, right up to the line at the United States’ busiest border crossing, handing hot-off-the-press newsprint to groggy international commuters.

The small team of intrepid reporters who keep the weekly newspaper, Zeta, stocked with some of the country’s most fearless journalism were under heavy police protection this week, after state authorities anonymously warned the editorial staff of an impending attack, in retaliation for last week’s front-page story: “The Jalisco Cartel’s Most Wanted.”

By Monday it became apparent that among the thousands who read the story was a cartel operative nicknamed Goofy, whose face was plastered across the cover, along with seven other members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartelplus one from the Sinaloa cartel.

The plan to shoot up the newspaper’s headquarters has been, apparently, postponed, in light of the heavy police presence now at Zeta headquarters.

But what happened this week is hardly new for the weekly publication, which has a long history of standing up to the cartels operating in the city.

The story that upset local members of Jalisco New Generation was just official state confirmation of an open secret. According to the DEA this cartel has become the fastest growing drug trade organization in Mexico since splintering from the Sinaloa cartel in 2010, exploding in the last year after taking over territory once controlled by the quasi-religious Knights Templar cartel.

The poorly kept secret is that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has aligned itself with what remains of the crippled Tijuana cartel, which was founded by the Arellano Felix brothers. In their heyday they were responsible for 40 percent of the cocaine entering the U.S., but their organization has—through death or arrests—been largely eradicated from the local scene. . . 

Source: 

A New Generation of Drug Cartels Awaking in Mexico

What was until four years ago a little known criminal group has become a threat to Mexico and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

A new wave of violence and corruption has been growing in the country, under the leadership of former  policeman Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, who is running the Jalisco New Generation cartel.

But the tentacles of this criminal organization extend beyond Mexican territory. Its reach goes all the way to China, Africa and eastern Europe — leaving a trail of blood that has evaded attempts by President Enrique Peña Nieto to restore peace and law. . . 

Source: https://panampost.com/elena-toledo/2016/10/12/the-new-generation-of-the-mexican-cartels/

CJNG Sicarios in Baja California

Border Violence: The Most Wanted CJNG Sicarios in Baja California

Original Article at ZETA

During the last two years, state authorities denied the presence of the CJNG in Tijuana, however their presence was detected by police forces when they became victims of armed attacks.

CJNG started with the control of the area of Sanchez Taboada, and they extended their presence by taking control of  La Presa, El Florido, Cañadas, Terrazas, Villas del Campo and the entrance to Tecate. Today, 8 of the 10 most wanted for murder, are CJNG recruits.

The names of minor criminals, drug dealers and thief’s are being summed up to the list of investigations for murder in Tijuana, their numbers continue to rise, and they don’t do anything but to fatten the list of the Most Wanted, which was created by the Coordination Group of Baja California, and shows the lack of coordination between the Government of Peña Nieto and the Coordination Group of Baja California.

The wallet of criminals who are presumably involved in murders identify by the Coordination Group, according to declarations from the Secretary of Public Security of Baja California, Daniel de la Rosa Anaya, in 2014 there were 64 names. In November 18, of 2016, De la Rosa informed that they are concentrating their efforts on those 10 that head the list. . . 

Source: http://www.rightsidenews.com/us/homeland-security/border-violence-the-most-wanted-cjng-sicarios-in-baja-california/