Mica for cartelinsider.com
Among the multiple factors that could help understand the escalation of violence in the state of Chiapas, the assassination of a plaza boss seems to be one of the most relevant.
Ramón Rivera Maravilla, also known as ‘El Junior’, took control of the Sinaloa Cartel in the region in 2016 after his father, Gilberto Rivera Maravillas, also known as ‘El Tío Gil’, was arrested in Guatemala.
He led the operations of Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada using a facade as a rancher. In addition to coordinating the entry of cocaine from Venezuela and Colombia, he raised bulls on his ranch in Comitán.
The leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel remained stable until July 7, 2021, when a convoy of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) killed ‘El Junior’ and his bodyguards during an ambush in Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
The death of Rivera Maravilla left a power vacuum that Juan Manuel Valdovinos Mendoza, also known as ‘El Señor de los Caballos’ or ‘El Fraile’, intended to assume. Before ‘El Junior’ was gunned down, Valdovinos worked as an operator for ‘El Mayo’ in Jiquipilas and the Chiapas coast.
His discontent with the Sinaloa Cartel came when, instead of being promoted to regional boss, the responsibility fell first on Juan Isidro Rivera, aka ‘El Chilo’, and then on Jesús Esteban Machado Meza, aka ‘El Güero Pulseras’, whom ‘El Mayo’ would have sent directly to take charge of the cartel.
In light of this situation, military intelligence reports indicate that ‘The Lord of the Horses’ had started working with Los Zetas and, subsequently, with the CJNG and Los Huistos —from Guatemala—, which resulted in an increase of territorial disputes.
As if that wasn’t enough, during the first days of January 2024, the appearance of a new group in the criminal scene of the state was announced, self-named as the Chiapas Cartel.
Without clarity on the people in charge of this group, through narcomantas and videos, they have warned a series of offensives against the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG alike.
On January 15th, the body of a man was decapitated and hung on a bridge in Tuxtla Gutiérrez alongside a threatening message directed at ‘El Güero Pulseras’ and Julio César Moreno Pinzón, also known as ‘El Tarjetas’, who is identified as the regional leader of the four letters cartel.
Additionally, the Chiapas Cartel claimed responsibility for the armed attack on January 21 against the State Police base in Mezcalapa, along the Tuxtla-Malpaso highway.
Presumably, such an offensive would have been a warning to Francisco Javier Orantes Abadía, the Secretary of Public Security for the state accused of providing protection to ‘Güero Pulseras’.
Due to the authorities not issuing any statement regarding the apparent emergence of a new criminal cell, it is unknown who is behind it and in which areas it operates.
Thanks for reading!
Mica
Email: mica@cartelinsider.com
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