BajaNomad - murders in BCS

time to look for a new place to live

Yeah... you seriously considering that? Where would you go?

mtgoat666 - 4-25-2025 at 01:30 PM

the video is from a local news outlet

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1060215219254946

Only in SW Asia have I gone to sleep in my hotel room to the sound of machine guns firing in the distance. Now i can do the same in Cabo!

Hope the local popo and feds have the cajones, manpower and funds to take on the cartels. Cartels are now so pervasive throughout baja and mexico i have my doubts that things will improve…

4x4abc - 4-25-2025 at 01:32 PM

here is the drone footage of the assassination in La Paz
the drone was operated by the cartel

https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2025/04/drone-footage-shows-a...

4x4abc - 4-25-2025 at 04:07 PM

avoid Baja Sur for a while!

security notice La Paz Cabo.jpg - 56kB

Lee - 4-25-2025 at 07:48 PM

time to look for a new place to live

assassinations of officials in La Paz
captured live on drone footage
street violence in Los Cabos

the video is from a local news outlet

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1060215219254946

You’re giving it thought. I understand violence and it’s happening in your State.

Still, not sure murders in LP change your daily routine.

You don’t hang in Cabo so it’s a non issue for your safety.

Violence in Centenario should get your attention.

Anything up in the hood Harald?

Pescadero is relatively safe. Come on down.

Tioloco - 4-25-2025 at 08:35 PM

avoid Baja Sur for a while!

4x4- Same story all across Mexico unfortunately. The recent years of "Hugs not Bullets" doesn't seem to have worked out well for the citizenry. Many of us are hoping there will be a real and serious effort to regain control of the country SOON. Cartel/Mafia sucks royally.

Tioloco - 4-25-2025 at 08:53 PM

here is the drone footage of the assassination in La Paz
the drone was operated by the cartel

https://www.borderlandbeat.com/2025/04/drone-footage-shows-a...

I hope everyone takes the time to watch this video. Is very telling as to how bad the security situation has become in Mexico. We are well past the point where something drastic needs to be done to change the cartel violence narrative. Paradise is in serious trouble.

4x4abc - 4-26-2025 at 01:15 PM

interesting to note that drones are flown by the narcos and not the police
security cameras on street corners are not run by the city

Tioloco - 4-26-2025 at 01:27 PM

interesting to note that drones are flown by the narcos and not the police
security cameras on street corners are not run by the city

Is wild that the government has totally lost control yet postures and acts insulted when offered assistance from their northern neighbor to eliminate the terrorist groups. This is spiraling out of control for sure.

lencho - 4-26-2025 at 04:15 PM

...postures and acts insulted when offered assistance from their northern neighbor to eliminate the terrorist groups.

Why do you think that is?

My guess is they're paying attention to history. We haven't been the most respectful of neighbors...

lencho - 4-26-2025 at 04:18 PM

...security cameras on street corners are not run by the city

Which city?

Who runs them?

mtgoat666 - 4-26-2025 at 04:50 PM

interesting to note that drones are flown by the narcos and not the police
security cameras on street corners are not run by the city

Very few countries would want assistance by usa military invaders, especially by an admin that displays open disdain for mexico

Tioloco - 4-26-2025 at 05:02 PM

Mexico is on a glide path downward. I hope they make drastic changes very soon. They will regret the day if it slides into what seems inevitable. On a positive note, looking more and more likely the USA will conduct strikes on targets soon. Sheinbaum most likely is secretly cooperating with Americans.

4x4abc - 4-26-2025 at 06:19 PM

...security cameras on street corners are not run by the city

Which city?

Who runs them?

La Paz cameras run by the cartel

city sometimes "discovers' them and takes them down
always big press release - celebrated as a victory

and then newer, better cameras go up

4x4abc - 4-26-2025 at 06:28 PM

narcos are like any other business
they don't like to pay taxes
they don't like regulations
they don't like other people to know what their plans are
they don't like competition
they love to expand their business
they love to raise prices
they love to introduce new products

as long as you buy apple products, apple loves you
if you sell fake apples, they'll hunt you down
they would love to kill you for it - but that's bad press
narcos don't care about press

and no, I will not make this post "political"
similarities to other areas of life are purely accidental

surabi - 4-26-2025 at 08:50 PM

Sheinbaum most likely is secretly cooperating with Americans.

Tioloco - 4-26-2025 at 10:46 PM

Quote: Originally posted by surabi

Sheinbaum most likely is secretly cooperating with Americans.

We shall see if you are still laughing when the stuff hits the proverbial fan.... You should educate yourself about how the world works and how the cow eats the cabbage. It is a foregone conclusion that the Americans are going to act unilaterally to make an impact on the terrorist cartels..... Time will tell how that affects your long dusty dirt road and your retirement plan.

Tioloco - 4-26-2025 at 10:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by surabi

Sheinbaum most likely is secretly cooperating with Americans.

Or she is facilitating the cartels? Cant have it both ways, baby.

4x4abc - 4-27-2025 at 12:43 AM

La Paz found more cameras

https://www.facebook.com/reel/995705915749384

pacificobob - 4-28-2025 at 08:51 AM

...postures and acts insulted when offered assistance from their northern neighbor to eliminate the terrorist groups.

Why do you think that is?

My guess is they're paying attention to history. We haven't been the most respectful of neighbors...

Spot on lencho

Tioloco - 4-28-2025 at 09:02 AM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob

...postures and acts insulted when offered assistance from their northern neighbor to eliminate the terrorist groups.

Why do you think that is?

My guess is they're paying attention to history. We haven't been the most respectful of neighbors...

Spot on lencho

Is there an argument that Mexico is in good shape today? Even a casual observer knows how bad the security situation is currently. And spiraling....

PaulW - 4-28-2025 at 09:16 AM

We give up.
As of last week we are gone. House was sold and we are moving to Arizona.
21 years of good life in San Felipe and we will miss it the good times and friends.
Btw, Homes are selling so there are still folks that are attracted to San Felipe.

lencho - 4-28-2025 at 11:07 AM

Is there an argument that Mexico is in good shape today?

Not from me.

surabi - 4-28-2025 at 11:35 AM

Just because a country has issues doesn't mean they want outside interference in how they choose to deal with those issues.

pacificobob - 4-28-2025 at 11:38 AM

Mexico is on a glide path downward. I hope they make drastic changes very soon. They will regret the day if it slides into what seems inevitable. On a positive note, looking more and more likely the USA will conduct strikes on targets soon. Sheinbaum most likely is secretly cooperating with Americans.

A downward glide path? I have assumed all these years that all glide paths were downward .

Mexico is on the way up. A growing middle class is an obvious indication.

mtgoat666 - 4-28-2025 at 01:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob

A downward glide path? I have assumed all these years that all glide paths were downward .

Mexico is on the way up. A growing middle class is an obvious indication.

Mexico seems to be rising on the thermals.

Last I looked at the charts for stock markets, US dollar, treasury bonds and approval ratings, sure looks like Trump’s great-again country is on a steeply plummeting glide slope :lol:

Anywho,… seems like there has been a period of quiet following last weeks chaos in BCS. Good.

KaceyJ - 4-28-2025 at 03:46 PM

Two more killed in Mulege last night around 10 pm

Biznaga - 4-30-2025 at 04:43 PM

We just happened to be in San Jose del Cabo, the day of the bus attacks. We saw the SJD fire truck heading north code 3, but did not know where it was going. The next day we saw the article in BCS Noticias about the attacks, and saw the same fire truck in a photo in the article at the SJD bus attack.

On our way out of town a few days later, there were cops, National Guard and the military parked all along the main road every few miles.

Here is some encouraging news, posted in BCS Noticias on 29 April from La Presidenta Sheinbaum;

Google Translate version:

President Sheinbaum confirmed key arrests in Baja California Sur following violent incidents; she assured that visitors can now visit the state.

La Paz, Baja California Sur (BCS). During the morning press conference of the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the recent violent events in Baja California Sur were addressed, indicating that it is safe to travel to the state, primarily to Los Cabos.

President Sheinbaum reported on the actions taken by authorities: "Two or three days ago, I don't know if the Ministry of Security has already reported this, there were very significant arrests in Baja California Sur that will help a lot. In addition to the ongoing investigations, there have already been arrests and work is being done, and you can visit Baja California Sur, particularly Los Cabos, which is the tourist destination par excellence."

It is worth remembering that, in Los Cabos, three public transportation buses were set on fire; In La Paz, a state Criminal Investigation agent was murdered, and the U.S. Consulate issued a security alert for the areas of Los Cabos and La Paz.

Days after these events, Mexico's Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, reported that during an operation, seven people were arrested and weapons, ammunition, automobiles, and drugs were seized.

Meanwhile, in a joint operation led by the Secretariat of the Navy, with information from the National Intelligence Center and in coordination with the Baja California Sur (BCS) Public Security Secretariat and the BCS Attorney General's Office, a criminal group operating in La Paz and Los Cabos was dismantled. This group is identified as responsible for the attack that resulted in the death of a Criminal Investigation agent.

Following these events, the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana issued a security alert for the areas of Los Cabos and La Paz, Baja California Sur. As recommendations, they indicated: "Avoid crowds and be alert for any signs of unrest. If you find yourself in a public place where the situation is changing rapidly, leave the area or seek safe shelter."

Original article link:

https://www.bcsnoticias.mx/ya-hubo-detenciones-pueden-visita...

mtgoat666 - 5-1-2025 at 05:34 AM

A detailed article in Zeta on the recent cartel battles in BCS
https://zetatijuana.com/2025/04/mayos-en-atentado-a-comandan...

Long article, here is an excerpt (google translation)…

MAYIZA STARTS DRUG WAR

Baja California Sur now faces a narco-war between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS): on one side are the Chapitos and/or Chapiza, led by Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, with José Rene Bastidas Mercado, alias "El 00," as their stronghold in the state. On the other side are the Mayos and/or Mayiza, commanded by Ismael Zambada Sicairos, "El Mayito Flaco" (MF), who allegedly receive support from armed groups such as Los Cabrera, Los Rusos, the Caborca Cartel, and El Chapo Isidro. Their stronghold in Baja California Sur is Abraham Cervantes Escareaga, alias "El Babay."

"Los Chapitos' territory in Baja California Sur (BCS), already under dispute, has already been invaded up to their very core; while they were waiting for them by air and land, they had already entered by sea. They hadn't realized that the MZ were already organizing on local soil. The narco-messages were merely warnings to the authorities, so they would know they had entered Baja California Sur and apparently were coming with all guns blazing," explained a member of military intelligence.

Narcomantas first appeared in the municipality of La Paz in the early hours of Friday, April 18; then, on Sunday, April 20, narco-messages and burned cars were reported in Guerrero Negro and Santa Rosalía in Mulegé.

Two more narco-banners were later found, at a high school in Santa Rosalía, Mulegé, and at the San José del Cabo International Airport in Los Cabos on Monday, April 21; and on Tuesday, four more were executed (a civilian in Los Cabos, a soldier and a civilian in Guerrero Negro, and the narcotics commander of the Attorney General's Office in La Paz).

“The division in the state complicates the situation; the square is open, and the worst part is that the local cells are divided: on one side, El Babay and his people, who have been waiting for him since his arrest to recover his territory, which had passed into the hands of his friend René O0; and on the other, the latter, who also has a very strong structure. They both know the terrain, have security forces on their side, and the league will lean on whichever side moves best,” revealed the source from the State Security Mass.

The message was very clear to the corporations and the Security Roundtable: war has been declared throughout the state, not just in the Northern Zone, where, from October 2024 and early 2025, Chapiza cells in Guerrero Negro clashed with the Venados and other Mayiza gangs from southern Baja California.

In late 2024 and early 2025, cells of Los Mayos, “MZ” and/or “MF” spread rapidly and silently to every corner of South California.

"The locals initially hung narco-banners; they said El Babay was with Los Cabrera, a group serving Mayo Zambada, and they responded with banners and corpses in the state's most important squares; a clear and forceful message. The logistics and their actions made the first impression, sowing initial terror in the corporations with decisive blows," the military source said.

The entry of the Mayiza could have been recorded on October 11, 2024, when José Eleazar Toscano alias "El Profe", 36 years old, plaza leader of the Guerrero Negro community, was shot to death. He was intercepted by an armed commando on Domingo Carballo Félix Avenue and División del Norte in the Marcelo Rubio neighborhood, and died at the scene.

Also in late December, news broke of the entry of the Venados cell into Guerrero Negro. They are based on Cedros Island and operate under the direction of Los Rusos, the armed wing of the Mayiza gang in Baja California. Since late 2024, they have clashed in the salt-mining community of Mulegé and in the southern Baja California region, in the town of Jesús María and surrounding areas.

Early on Friday morning, February 28, authorities reported a confrontation in northern Guerrero Negro, just beyond the 28th parallel, on the state border, but on the Baja California side. It was in the Nuevo Rosarito neighborhood, and military intelligence confirmed the confrontation between the two factions of the CDS, finding traces of blood, a truck with homemade armor, and multiple shell casings, but not a single body.

[Edited on 5-1-2025 by mtgoat666]

[Edited on 5-1-2025 by mtgoat666]

SFandH - 5-1-2025 at 07:37 AM

So it's an intra-cartel war—the Sinaloa Cartel.

Thanks for the post.

Tioloco - 5-1-2025 at 07:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by SFandH

So it's an intra-cartel war—the Sinaloa Cartel.

Thanks for the post.

If you are interested in following more of the cartel related news, there are a couple of sites that provide good coverage of it

(Demoler) on Instagram is good.
(Borderlandbeat.com) has some good articles as well.
(Notiface prensa digital de San Luis) on Facebook

Northern Sonora (San Luis RC, Puerto Penasco, El Golfo de Santa Clara) and Baja California (Mexicali-San Felipe) have experienced a lot of homicides related to this intra-cartel war. Unfortunately, there have been innocent civilians killed as well.

Cancamo - 5-1-2025 at 02:28 PM

Evidentley there is a small endemic plant found on Isla Cedros that is prized by some folks in Asia for it's life giving, (longevity), qualities. It brings very big money when smuggled there.

Between the Profepa people trying to protect it, and the two above described factions fighting over the plaza, it's a real mess.

Most recently, curfews to the general public are iniated by the waring factions and are being posted on social media. Public fear is palpable in the area.

Tioloco - 5-1-2025 at 02:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Cancamo

Most recently, curfews to the general public are iniated by the waring factions and are being posted on social media. Public fear is palpable in the area.

These cartel implemented curfews have been happening to many northern Mexico towns and tourist areas in recent years.

Few Mexicans take them lightly. Many gringos think it doesn't apply to them. Dangerous times indeed.

4x4abc - 5-2-2025 at 08:14 AM

at least 3 killed in San Jose de Magdalena

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=663811533130651&set...

4x4abc - 5-2-2025 at 08:24 AM

Baja people do not have much talent to get a point across or to describe an event

this one is a bit more clear (kinda)

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1264422375045849&se...

sad to see that the violence has reached the remote mission sites

Tioloco - 5-2-2025 at 08:56 AM

Baja people do not have much talent to get a point across or to describe an event

this one is a bit more clear (kinda)

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1264422375045849&se...

sad to see that the violence has reached the remote mission sites

6 truckloads with 10 hitmen in each just outside of Mulege is a very bad turn for the worse in security. Sad for the local ranchers they victimize while looking for their adversaries.

lencho - 5-2-2025 at 11:48 AM

Sad for the local ranchers they victimize while looking for their adversaries.

I talked to a friend from San José del Cabo who was at a remote ranch in the foothills N of Los Cabos, and experienced a similar invasion about a week ago; the perps even had drones cruising around the surroundings looking for hidden opponents.

No property or human damage was inflicted, but it did freak out everyone there. :wow:

Tioloco - 5-2-2025 at 12:34 PM

Sad for the local ranchers they victimize while looking for their adversaries.

Your friend got lucky.

Biznaga - 5-2-2025 at 01:39 PM

I wonder how the cartels are getting their ammo and armor past the military checkpoints? Could they be transporting this equipment on civilian passenger busses?

Well, it looks like one of their shipments was intercepted at a checkpoint on 28 April:

BCS Noticias article, (Google Translated);

Loreto, Baja California Sur (BCS). In a surveillance and security operation, members of the Mexican Army and the National Guard carried out a significant seizure of tactical equipment during a routine inspection of a passenger bus. The vehicle was bound for the municipality of Mulegé and was intercepted in Loreto.

During the search of the bus, federal forces located and confiscated a total of 100 live rounds of ammunition, 10 tactical vests, 20 ballistic plates, 24 tactical garments, 12 belts, and 10 green ski masks, all of which were for commercial use. This discovery was made as part of ongoing surveillance operations in the region to prevent the trafficking of items that could be used for criminal purposes.

To date, no arrests have been reported in connection with this discovery. The relevant authorities have initiated the corresponding investigations to determine the origin and destination of the seized material, as well as possible links to illicit activities in the area.

This operation underscores the coordinated efforts between the Mexican Army and the National Guard to maintain security in Baja California Sur. Collaboration between these forces is crucial to prevent the trafficking of tactical equipment and other items that could be used in criminal activities.

Authorities continue working to ensure the safety of citizens and prevent this type of material from falling into the wrong hands. Surveillance and operations in the region will remain a priority for federal forces.

Article link: https://www.bcsnoticias.mx/ejercito-y-guardia-nacional-en-lo...

Tioloco - 5-2-2025 at 01:58 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Biznaga

I wonder how the cartels are getting their ammo and armor past the military checkpoints? Could they be transporting this equipment on civilian passenger busses?

Unfortunately, the answer lies in the deep rooted corruption of government officials.
Military, police and all levels of government are culpable in assisting the cartels in their crimes.

The checkpoints are not effective against the cartels. They catch small stuff from time to time and use it for photo ops.

AKgringo - 5-2-2025 at 01:58 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Biznaga

I wonder how the cartels are getting their ammo and armor past the military checkpoints? Could they be transporting this equipment on civilian passenger busses?

A coastline like Baja presents a unique challenge for intercepting contraband!

lencho - 5-2-2025 at 02:04 PM