7 killed in violence in El Golfo de Santa Clara
Military data indicates that 34 vehicles entered the town in a convoy, sparking the initial confrontations
SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. – A wave of violence between criminal groups in El Golfo de Santa Clara has left seven people dead.
Since the weekend, unofficial reports of the arrival of vehicles belonging to alleged criminals in the town were circulating on social media. The mayor, Santos González Yescas, confirmed the reports.
“It seems like we had an invasion in these past days, this is something we’ve had for a long time now. We’re not looking for culprits or who allowed all of them to enter; we immediately started working on it,” the mayor said in a press conference Wednesday.
Military data indicates that 34 vehicles entered the town in a convoy, sparking the initial confrontations, he said.
Since then, the presence of the Army and National Guard in the area has been reinforced, and it was augmented with municipal and state police, as well as additional military personnel.
Even with this, on March 19 there was a confrontation in which seven alleged members of these gangs died, the mayor noted.
“There was a clash between two gangs over territory, you know who they are. Yesterday, there were also confrontations with seven fatalities,” González
Yescas added.
Simultaneously, the warring factions seized around 15 vehicles from travelers heading to Puerto Peñasco or San Luis, using them as barricades to block the entrance and exit of the town.
The mayor stated that security forces were dedicated to removing “tire spikes” or metal spikes that criminals use to stop vehicles, marking the first report of the use of such devices on local roads.
Their use has been reported on roads in other municipalities of the state and the country, not only to rob civilians but also to hinder the passage of official vehicles.
González Yescas said that traffic on the road to El Golfo de Santa Clara and Puerto Peñasco has normalized, although motorists are proceeding with caution.
The Sonora Prosecutor’s Office announced that one of the seven bodies found after the confrontations had been identified – through fingerprint records – as Samuel “N”, alias “El Pía”, 48, leader of a violence-generating group in the area.
“This individual operated in Valle de Mexicali and was considered a priority target by the authorities of Baja California. Recently, he had moved to the northern part of Sonora,” the prosecution noted in its bulletin.
The bodies were found at kilometer 94 of the road to Puerto Peñasco, about 100 meters from the asphalt pavement, at the junction with El Golfo de Santa Clara, the report added.
National media mentioned that “El Pía”, Samuel Ibarra Peralta, was a local leader of a cell of Los Chapitos, a group affiliated with the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, and those who killed him were members of Los Rusos, a cell of the criminal group of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, both vying for control of drug trafficking in the municipality.
Francisco Sergio Méndez, delegate of the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) in Sonora, announced the arrest of 12 individuals allegedly related to the events and the seizure of seven vehicles, two of which were armored, which are being investigated to determine if they are part of those that entered the town.
However, the delegate had not yet disclosed the number of confirmed fatalities.
Mayor González Yescas acknowledged the problem posed by these confrontations but emphasized, “Fortunately, there hasn’t been any collateral damage; the problem we’re experiencing is bad, but all three levels of government are working on it.”
“I’m fully confident that in the coming days, everything will normalize absolutely in the valley, in Golfo, in our municipality,” he assured.
He added that the State Police will have a detachment in Golfo de Santa Clara to strengthen surveillance, and today, they will analyze what additional measures to take to ensure the safety of vacationers during the Easter holiday.