Families Run From CJNG Grupo Elite Shootings In Celaya, Guanajuato

“HEARST” for Borderland Beat 

Three alleged cartel members with Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación Grupo Elite vests were killed by police officers in the city of Celaya, in Guanajuato.

At approximately 5:30 pm on the evening of November 9, 2021, law enforcement received a report of a homicide on Natividad Macías street, in the Alfredo Bonfil neighborhood of the city of Celaya, according to the newspaper El Sol de Bajío. However the official press release instead says that the report was of men on board a vehicle that had injured two people with firearms on Presa Peñuelitas Street. More on this discrepancy later in the story. 

Officers were dispatched to search for the aggressors who were reportedly found driving a black Honda vehicle on Presa Álvaro Obregón Avenue*. Police officers and the men inside the Honda spotted each other at roughly the same time. The suspected attackers opened fire on the police officers, who then returned fire.

A chase ensued, leading onto  Irrigación Avenues, then switching to the parallel street Torres Landa Avenue. During the chase, shots continued to be fired, which further alarmed nearby citizens.

On Torres Land, the armed men crashed into a civilian vehicle which was stopped while waiting for a green light in front of the Eduardo Tresguerras auditorium. The gunmen’s vehicle sustained crash damage in the front while the civilian vehicle, a blue Chevrolet Beat, sustained crash damage to the back. The crash left the suspects stranded in the high-speed lane, unable to recover from the crash. 

The armed men and the police then began a second shooting at this location. The shootout continued until officers were certain the crew inside were neutralized; however two innocent civilians were injured by gunshot wounds during the exchange of fire between the two groups. One of the two civilians was reportedly a woman walking nearby who was merely a bystander. 

In the vehicle, three gunmen were found dead, one on the driver’s side and two others in the back of the vehicle. Officers then further searched the black Honda and inside they found two long barrel firearms, ammo and two tactical vests. In photos that allegedly depict the inside of the vehicle, the vests appear to read “Grupo Elite”, referring to a subgroup of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).