Recently released video by presumed members of “La Gente Nueva del Tigre” of the Sinaloa Cartel threaten “La Linea” of the Juarez Cartel. The poor-quality footage circulated on social media for several days and has authorities bracing for more violence.
The video depicts individuals dressed in tactical gear with their faces covered, holding rifles as the narrator identifies the group as members of Gente Nueva del El Tigre. The narrator issues a threat to their rivals, La Línea, who he described as “thieves, kidnappers, and extortionists” and threatened their supporters—including local ministerial police. The narrator states they have respect for the federal government. They accuse the state police of Chihuahua of being involved in the distribution of methamphetamine.
Breitbart News reports extensively on the ongoing war between El Nuevo Cartel de Juárez/La Línea and the El Cartel del Tigre/Sinaloa Cartel. The violence has centered in the western mountainous communities of Chihuahua, which provides lucrative smuggling routes into the United States. The bloody turf war has led to numerous murders impacting rival criminals and police elements.
In October 2018, six decapitated bodies were dumped in the nearby rural mountain community of Creel. In November, Breitbart News reported on the kidnapping, interrogation, and murder of a Cuauhtémoc municipal police officer which was videotaped and released on social media. Breitbart News also reported on the capture of Julio Cesar “El Tigre” Escarcega Murillo, who was the leader of El Cartel del Tigre and previously served as a Cuauhtémoc municipal police officer from 2004 to 2007.
In April 2019, 30 gunmen from La Gente Nueva carried out a series of attacks in Anáhuac, located southwest of the state capital of Chihuahua. A barrage of gunfire was directed at a police substation while trying to free a fellow operative.
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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