A group of ten state cops in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua claims that more than 80 Sinaloa Cartel gunmen overpowered them and beat them for some time before releasing them. Government officials have tried to deny the incident; however, some information points to the attack having been prompted by the theft of a drug load.
The incident took place on August 24, but it was not until this week that information about what the officers told the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office in their formal complaints was leaked by El Diario de Juarez. Mexican authorities attempted to suppress the information on the case and even denied that the officers had been taken and beaten.
The officers claimed that a group of about 80 gunmen in 20 SUVs surrounded them, took their weapons, abducted them, and beat them for several hours.
There appear to be two different versions of events. One version was that the squad of ten officers had stopped a vehicle with gunmen. Inside that vehicle was a man who claimed to be the son of Ventura “El 35” Corral Felix, the leader of the Gente Nueva Los Ventura. That group is an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel – a group designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. In a matter of minutes, the police officers found themselves surrounded by gunmen, and after being beaten as a “lesson,” they were allowed to leave and had their equipment returned to them.
A second version of events points to Ventura Felix himself having ordered the abduction of the police officers. According to the testimony leaked by El Diario de Juarez, Ventura Felix was upset that another group of police officers had stolen a drug load that he was moving in a loaded tractor-trailer. The abduction and torture of the officers was done as a message to the group that had taken his load.
The issue comes at a time when the U.S. has been continuously pressuring Mexico’s government to crack down on drug cartels. Due to widespread corruption within Mexico’s political elite and law enforcement, drug cartels continue to operate with almost complete impunity throughout the country.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s 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 Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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