Mica for cartelinsider.com
Through a video that circulated on social media, a suspected member of the Sinaloa Cartel acknowledged that there are alleged connections between the mayor of Ensenada in Baja California, Armando Ayala Robles, and said criminal organization.
In the audiovisual clip, four armed and hooded individuals can be seen interrogating a shirtless man who remains knelt down and facing away. This individual identified himself as Alejandro Ozuna and claimed to be from the municipality of Las Cañas, in the state of Durango.
During the last eight years, Alejandro resided in Ensenada, where he was recruited by a criminal operator named Carlos Adrián Casas Reyes, alias ‘The Mercenary’. Although his current direct boss is Leopoldo Lizárraga Ochoa, alias ‘The Panther’.
The interrogated individual confessed to being in charge of collecting extortion money from businessmen and fishermen in the port, as well as distributing drugs and carrying out extortion. “These instructions are directly from René Arzate García, alias ‘La Rana’,” Alejandro stated.
He added that he was also responsible for collecting fees from the owners of wineries in the Valle de Guadalupe and San Antonio, through the reception of money in “envelopes” sent by a mediator, whom he identified as ‘El Poyo’ Ayala, supposed “cousin-brother of the current mayor of Ensenada”, in reference to Armando Ayala.
“Does the municipal president have knowledge of what goes on within the corporation and at the same time, of the Sinaloa Cartel hitmen that operate in their municipal police units?”, questioned one of the masked individuals.
In response, the alleged hitman for the Sinaloa Cartel responded affirmatively. “Yes, he has knowledge, but he tries to maintain connections, never directly,” he stated. “He has had meetings with bosses, as he intends to take political positions and he tells us that he needs economic support,” added the subdued subject.
Concerning the armed men who carried out the interrogation, it is unknown which criminal group they belong to. Although it was revealed that they are part of a cell of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), there is no evidence to confirm it.
In the face of the spread of the video on the morning of February 26, the mayor of Ensenada emphasized to local media the importance of not sharing “false information” on social networks to avoid confusing the population.
He stated that the accusations made against him are not supported and cannot be proven. Likewise, he attributed these accusations to dirty games during election times and to the actions that municipal authorities have taken against criminal cells.
“We are aware that the actions taken in terms of security have disrupted the interests of criminal groups. However, we cannot remain silent in the face of false accusations,” Ayala stated.
Regarding the measures that will be implemented in this regard, the mayor mentioned that instructions have already been given to the Legal Department to file the corresponding complaints. This is in order to identify the persons involved in these events.
In addition to the above, Ayala informed that starting this Wednesday she will request a leave of absence from the Council in order to leave her position starting on March 1st, in order to seek a senate seat with the political party National Regeneration Movement (Morena).
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Mica
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