CANCUN — Fourteen alleged drug cartel members linked to high impact crimes in Cancun were arrested following a shootout in the city’s south side late Wednesday March 30.
The attorney general of Quintana Roo state, Carlos Alvarez Escalera, reported at a press conference Thursday March 31 that the 14 suspects, including three women, are members of the drug cartel “Jalisco New Generation”.
One serious injury was reported in the shootout, a Judicial Police officer who was wounded but will recover because he was wearing a bullet proof vest, Alvarez said.
According to the prosecutor, the incident occurred Wednesday night when Judicial Police stopped a vehicle that was speeding in the Paseos del Caribe neighborhood.
Several gunmen jumped out of the car and began firing at the police officers.
The attackers took shelter in a nearby house and then tried to flee but were arrested in a joint operation in which elements of the Municipal, State and Federal police participated.
The Attorney General of Quintana Roo said that the 14 suspects arrived in Cancun one month ago with the aim of consolidating control of street level drug sales in the city.
The public prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation against Alan Geovani Vazquez Bernal aka “Gordo”; José Alfredo Chavarría Hernandez alias “Mickey Mouse” and Luis Padilla Muñoz originating in Tamaulipas, as well as Miguel Hidalgo Lopez, aka “Flaco”, originally from Michoacan, all for the crime of attempted murder in the wounding of the judicial officer.
In the operation, officers seized several handguns and automatic rifles along with a four vehicles, including one that reportedly contained prohibited substances, allegedly 480 grams of cocaine.
“The order of Governor Roberto Borge Angulo is a frontal combat against these criminal groups. The priority is to ensure the safety of Quintana Roo, avoiding that criminal cells are established in our state and ensuring a safe and peaceful place to live,” said Alvarez Escalera, the prosecutor.
Quintana Roo Attorney General Carlos Alvarez Escalera announced the 14 arrests at a press conference Thursday March 31. (photo: periodistasquintanaroo.com)
Accompanied by the deputy attorney general Ludwig Vivas Arjona, director of the Judicial Police in the Northern Zone, Marco Antonio Sánchez Sánchez; and Secretary of Public Safety in Benito Juarez, Jaime Ortiz Ongay, Alvarez Escalera gave details of the operation that sent residents looking for cover as the chase and gunfire unfolded on the streets of south Cancun.
Police were met with gunfire when they approached the house where the suspects were hiding, causing some of the alleged perpetrators to jump the fence of the part back and get into an adjoining green area in the central part of Chac Mool avenue.
In questioning from investigators, the detainees said they belonged to the criminal group Cartel Jalisco New Generation, and had arrived in this tourist center a month ago for selling drugs, using the home as a safe house.
They also said that since their arrival in Cancun, they have been dedicated to acquiring weapons and finding people to help them sell drugs.
Thus the public prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation against Alan Geovani Vazquez Bernal “Gordo” 18-year-old from Tamaulipas, Hidalgo Miguel Lopez “Flaco”, 36, originating from Michoacan, Eleazar Fernandez Soberanis “Eli”,24 year old native of Guerrero, Luis Padilla Muñoz, 21-year-old from Tamaulipas, Luciano Chavez Garcia “Lucio”, 30, originally from Guerrero, and Jose Alfredo Chavarría Hernández “Mickey Mouse”, 20-year-old from Tamaulipas. They are expected to be charged with attempted murder.
The detainees also include Marco Antonio Ramos Garnica alias “Miguel Figueroa Ramos’ 36-year-old from Tamaulipas, Maria Teresa Gonzalez Rodriguez “La Gorda”, 33 originally from Tamaulipas, Andreina Nicole Almeida Pinto, 22, originally from Venezuela, Marlyn Bethany Isea “Nicole”, 24 year old, native of Venezuela, and Uriel Domínguez Arreola alias “Tunco”, 27 year old native of Guerrero.
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