Two Israeli Crime Bosses Killed in Mexico City Turf War

Two Israeli crime bosses are the latest victims in a turf war as Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) continues to expand operations throughout Mexico. Assassins killed the pair at an upscale shopping center in Mexico City.

The incident occurred last week at the Plaza Artz shopping center in Mexico City when a team of hitmen working for CJNG shot and killed 44-year-old Benjamin Yeshurun Satchi aka “Johnny Ben” and his associate, 41-year-old Alon Azulay. The hitman first targeted a security guard and a cop as a distraction before going after the two crime bosses inside a restaurant. They were shot several times. One of the victims died at the scene while the second passed soon after at a local hospital.

Mexican authorities arrested 33-year-old Esperanza Gutierrez, who initially claimed the murder was a crime of passion but later confessed to being a hitman for CJNG and collecting $5,000 pesos ($250) per kill, El Universal reported. The CJNG is one of Mexico’s most violent cartels currently carrying out a fierce territorial expansion campaign. CJNG was singled out by Mexican intelligence officials for their training, use of IEDs, and recruitment of Colombian terrorists from the FARC.

According to The Times of Israel, the episode may have been a revenge killing over Satchi’s numerous murders in Israel. Gabriel Regino, one of Mexico’s former top law enforcement officials, told Milenio Noticias that Satchi was trained by Mossad. Regino previously arrested Satchin 2005. At the time, Satchi allegedly came to Mexico to help provide security to Israeli businessmen but eventually established an extortion racket.

Both Satchi and Azulay were tied to organized crime in Mexico to include cocaine sales trade in upscale neighborhoods and underground weapons sales, authorities revealed.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the 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 Border / Cartel Chronicles. He co-founded the 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 the Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.