Jalisco Ranch a Cartel Training Center, Mexico Claims
Criminals used the Izaguirre ranch in Teuchitlán as a training center for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), Omar García, announced today.
“We have confirmed that it was a training center. At the moment, we have no indication (…) that it was an ‘extermination camp,’” the official stated at a press conference, referring to the term used without evidence by some media outlets and politicians.
The official provided more details about the arrest on Thursday of José Gregorio “N,” alias “El Lastra”, leader of the cell responsible for recruitment and one of the main collaborators of Gonzalo “N” (“El Sapo”), one of the regional leaders of the criminal group.
José Gregorio “N,” who was in charge of the aforementioned center, is linked to these activities for the criminal organization between May 2024 and early March of this year.
According to reports, this individual’s associates primarily used social media to offer false job opportunities through deception, in addition to using closed groups where criminal activities were mentioned.
García noted that some of these posts referred to job offers for the criminal organization and offered a position as security guards with a salary of four thousand pesos (198 dollars) to 12 thousand pesos (595 dollars) per week.
“Interested individuals were summoned to different bus stations, from where they were transferred to the training center at the Izaguirre ranch. Once at the ranch, the indoctrination consisted of firearms handling and physical conditioning,” he explained. Upon arrival, the recruits left their belongings behind and were given tactical clothing and boots. Their cell phones were also confiscated. During the training period (which lasted approximately one month), they remained incommunicado.
According to the detainee’s testimony, García revealed, “they even took the lives of people who resisted the training or tried to escape, as well as beat them and subjected them to some form of torture.”
The official mentioned that the SSPC’s cyber investigation and patrol area searched and analyzed social media profiles related to the recruitment of individuals for organized crime, which led to the removal of 39 pages.
From September 2024 to the present, he added, 49 individuals linked to recruitment activities have been captured.
“These actions represent significant progress in clarifying the events that occurred at the Izaguirre ranch,” García noted. The case of this property has been closely watched this month, as it had been seized by the Jalisco prosecutor’s office in September 2024, but a few weeks ago, the existence of abandoned skeletal remains, clothing, and shoes was reported.
President Claudia Sheinbaum has insisted that a thorough investigation must be conducted, but rejected the fabrication of stories on this issue by some media outlets and politicians, who have pointed out, without evidence, the presence of crematoriums and a supposed “extermination camp” there.
plenglish.com