Meeting of CJNG Leaders "El RR" & "El Apa" Resulted in the Narco Blockades in Jalisco & Guanajuato

Also continuing with the theme of the event that arose from Ixtlahuacán, in Jalisco, this also had a collateral impact in Guanajuato, in different municipalities: in Celaya, in San Francisco del Rincón, Silao, Irapuato and León.

And that same day 11 people were arrested and made available to the Public Ministry, who were driving in vehicles and motorcycles, who possessed weapons, chargers, and cartridges, and they were also assured of gasoline bottles, with which they perpetrated the fires in these places. 

There are already 11 detainees who, added to the five from Jalisco, imply that 16 people were detained for these events to date, who are already at the disposal of the corresponding Public Ministry.

Background on “El RR”

Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, alias El Doble R, who also goes by the alias El Tripa, is a lieutenant of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and, according to Sedena, worked under the command of Juan Carlos González, El 03, founder of the Grupo Elite of the CJNG. 

Ricardo Ruiz Velasco began his criminal career in Michoacán and later had a presence in Guanajuato and Zacatecas. His appearance in propagandistic videos for the CJNG cartel has earned him several narco corridos that tell part of his criminal history.

Several narco video messages from CJNG’s Grupo Elite have been said to originate from “El Doble R”.

It is presumed that “El Mencho’s YouTuber” has been allegedly responsible for at least 100 homicides perpetrated in various states of the country, according to intelligence reports. And it is among his victims are minors, government officials, models, and rival hitmen.

One of the most notorious cases was his alleged participation in the murder of the then Secretary of Tourism of Jalisco, José de Jesús Gallegos Álvarez, reported in March 2013, when he was on his way home on Acueducto Avenue but was intercepted by a group of assassins, who killed him.

Another of his fatal victims would have been the young Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales, better known as “El Pirata de Cuiliacán”, who had gained fame on social networks for vlogging his participation in the world of drug trafficking. He was filmed insulting one of the most wanted drug lords in Mexico: Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias El Mencho. The death of the 17-year-old was reported in December 2017 in a bar in Zapopan, Jalisco, at the hands of an armed commando. El Doble R is investigated for this murder.

Local media reported that Ruiz Velasco had been arrested in Aguascalientes in December 2014 by elements of the State Police, he had nine arrest warrants against him. However, hours later he was released.

“El Apa” was the other CJNG leader said to have been at the meeting that resulted in violence across two states.

Background on “El Apa”

Less is known about Gerardo González Ramírez, alias “El Gera”, “El Güero” or “El Apa”. In May, 20222 the Attorney General’s Office offers a reward of 500,000 pesos to anyone who provides information on the alleged leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel within the limits of Zacatecas and Jalisco. 

The reward released by the FGR details that this subject is likely responsible for criminal acts in the municipalities of Nochistlán, Apulco, and Jalpa Zacatecas, as well as in Yahualica de González Gallo in the state of Jalisco.

El Gera/El Apa leads a group of assassins who have caused terror in various communities, stripping people of their homes, and causing hundreds of families to flee leaving everything behind. He is also attributed to kidnappings and homicides, in addition to being identified as the leader of the criminal cell that has clashed on several occasions with rival groups and federal forces.

CJNG members seized vehicles including cars, trucks, and buses, setting them on fire to create blockades surrounding Zapopan, Jalisco.

Narco Blockades in Jalisco

Shortly after the initial confrontation, various members of organized crime set fire to vehicles and set up narco blockades in the outskirts of Zapopan, more than 50 kilometers from Ixtlahuacán: vehicles were burned in the San Isidro, Mesa Colorada, and Paso de Guadalupe neighborhoods, located on the highway to Saltillo, at the entrance to the Metropolitan Area of ​​Guadalajara, as well as on the Camino a Valle de San Isidro.

The narco blockades covered the area near San Francisco de Ixcatán and El Tempisque. There, armed men stripped several drivers of their vehicles and set them on fire, in order to prevent the security forces from approaching Zapopan, where several leaders of the CJNG live showing that the protection covered more than 50 kilometers in that region.

In total, they burned a dozen vehicles, including four trucks, and a self-service store. They also threw nails and “punch tires” to prevent traffic. At the scene of the arrests, a “narco monster” was seized – a modified van armored by hand – in addition to nine other vehicles, some 30 long weapons, machine guns, and explosives.

Violence in Guanajato

Simultaneously, Guanajuato began to burn. At 8:30 at night, authorities received a report that an Oxxo in Celaya, almost 300 kilometers away, had been attacked with Molotov cocktails. According to witnesses, shots had been heard and, shortly after, an explosion.

A few minutes later, madness broke out in Irapuato. Reports began to arrive of burned Oxxos in the Arcos de Guanajuato, Españita, La Pradera, Los Presidentes and Ciudad de Los Olivos neighborhoods. The Oxxos of the Rancho Grande, Bajada de San Martín, San Antonio de Ayala, Independencia, Las Reynas, and Los Fresno neighborhoods also burned.

A video recorded by the assailants themselves shows several armed individuals, wearing camouflage clothing, hats, and tactical vests, entering one of those stores while the screams of a child are heard. They ordered civilians out of the OXXO while firing warning shots and shouting their allegiance to ‘El Mencho’, the leader of the CJNG.

According to the company FEMSA, owner of the OXXO convenience stores, 25 stores in that state were set on fire in whole or in part, 20 of them in Irapuato, 300 kilometers east of the site of the initial operation. More than 40 attacks were recorded, 90% of which targeted Oxxo. In Irapuato, where there were 11 detainees, some of them simply stated that they had been ordered to do so.

Guanajuato-based security analyst David Saucedo said the Oxxo stores were apparently chosen because of their ubiquity and light security, rather than because of any dispute with the company. Cartels often create such chaos in an effort to keep authorities from transporting captured cartel bosses or to protest arrests. 

Five were detained in Jalisco and 11 were detained in Guanajuato, linked to the fires. One death was reported in Jalisco. Several educational institutions, both public and private, decided to suspend classes the following day to avoid more violent acts. The United States consulate in Guadalajara issued a security alert on Tuesday night for its citizens to stay safe and follow the recommendations of the authorities. The order was rescinded the following day.