Authorities Went Looking for Isra…But They Didn’t Find Him

The operation carried out by federal authorities during the early morning of October 14 in the Quinta Córdoba residential area, south of Mexicali, was no ordinary intervention; it had a clear and priority objective in the fight against organized crime in Mexicali: “Los Harfuch” were after Isra.

Isra, one of the main leaders of the Rusos criminal group, a predominant group in Mexicali and a faction of the fragmented Sinaloa Cartel, was the target they intended to capture, or at least decimate its operations through an operation that took at least two weeks to plan.

However, federal authorities came up empty-handed and only managed to seize vehicles, cartridges, and vape pens, but nothing more. There were no hitmen, money, or evidence that would have helped structure a better investigation by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the institution that led the search.

The operation carried out during the early hours of Tuesday, October 14, was ineffective, but it did disrupt one of the main operational offices in the city’s southern zone, where all kinds of illicit activities directed by Isra were intertwined. Arrests against Isra have been attempted on several occasions without substantial results. Reports indicate that local and federal authorities are providing him protection, while state authorities are seeking to arrest him as the alleged perpetrators of an armed attack perpetrated against former intelligence chief Agustín Jaime Brambila last year.

The worst part is that hours after members of the National Guard and the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) left the scene with several valuable objects belonging to the criminal group, three pickup trucks arrived at the home, violated the seals, and seized several foreign objects, before leaving the scene.

THE FGR OPERATION

Half an hour after midnight, which separated Monday, October 13th and Tuesday, October 14th, a convoy of the National Guard and the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) broke the usual calm in the Quinta Córdoba residential area, a community located south of Mexicali, right in front of one of the ecotourism parks that comprise the Mexicali lagoon system.

The units were led by a special team from the Federal Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, known colloquially as “Los Harfuch,” who made their way into the restricted-access neighborhood.

There were no complications; The officers entered and headed toward a residence marked 1398 Argallón Avenue, corner of Vizcantar.

The property stood out from the others because it stood out from the surrounding residential areas.

For approximately nine hours, officers raided and searched every corner of the home. Neighbors told ZETA they heard loud bangs they attributed to gunfire, but they were apparently caused by the impacts used to break into the house.

Inside the white and gray home, police and military personnel found the following:

Three 308-caliber live cartridges; 535 vape pens; 50 bottles containing a total of 250 cigarettes; 72 boxes containing 15 cartridges from a 7.62-caliber firearm; two bags of marijuana; a laptop computer; 340 electronic devices of various types; and four vehicle titles for the seized vehicles.

In addition, 10 vehicles were seized, including an orange Ram TRX with Baja California license plates BDU843A; a white Kia Forte with no license plates; and a gray Toyota 4Runner with California license plate 8XJH159, which had been reported stolen.

They also seized a red Yamaha Raptor 700R ATV with no license plates; a beige Jeep M100 with California license plate 8W06473; a white Ford F150 with Baja California license plate AP3301A; a gray Hyundai Elantra with California license plate 7BIH045; a black Grand Cherokee pickup truck with California license plate 7SMG640; a white Nissan Frontier with Baja California license plate BA7597A; and a white Mercedes-Benz GLC 43 with California license plate DJ79F04.

After seizing all legal and illegal objects that could be used to further the investigation, federal agents—who by then had received support from local police for security—withdrew from the scene around 9:00 a.m.

They placed the security seals issued by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) on all the doors of the building, which are recorded in file FED/BC/MXLI/0002994/2025. However, three hours after the agents left the scene, a convoy consisting of three pickup trucks, one of them white, a Honda Ridgeline, arrived at the property, broke the seals, and entered the home.

There were no local or federal police officers guarding the premises, which was exploited by unknown individuals who took some items, including chair cushions, and left the premises. The day after the operation, the seals could be seen violated and the property vacant.

The property seized by federal authorities was not protected, but, according to the Public Registry of Property and Commerce (RPPC), it belongs to a citizen named Sergio Joaquín González Flores, who—apparently—has not resided in this property for several years due to a work-related move. However, the property was rented.

ISRA’S BASE OF OPERATIONS

Los Rusos, a group led by Jesús Alexander Sánchez Félix, or José Ponce Félix, whose nickname is the origin of the criminal organization’s name, has few cell leaders who continue to directly direct illicit activities in Mexicali. Most of them are operated by mid-level members (illegally) and lawyers, accountants, and other professionals (legally).

One of the few that continues its activities from the Gulf of Santa Clara to Mexicali is Isra, who was first exposed through a poster distributed by the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC) during the administration of the then head of the agency, Leopoldo Tizoc Aguilar Durán.

Several of those exposed are considered mid-level leaders, but as far as Isra is concerned, he is one of the most important.

With a greater presence in the Mexicali Valley, Trigueros Muñoz now moves freely in both municipalities, coordinating a large part of the operations of “La Bandera,” as Los Rusos are also known.

The point, located in Quinta Córdoba, had been operating for several months. Neighbors identified the frequent arrival of recent, high-end pickup trucks and vehicles, where young people were seen drinking alcoholic beverages at all hours of the day. However, no one bothered them because of the suspicious behavior they observed among the frequent visitors.

It was confirmed that the location corresponds to a point of operations or central office of Los Rusos in the area, where they handle administrative control of various illicit activities, primarily drug dealing throughout the southern part of Mexicali.

For the operation, which local authorities had no major involvement in its preparation, as they learned of it after the search had begun, there was information suggesting a possible hideout for Isra.

This is not the first time that state or federal agents have raided a home located in a private residential area, intending to dismantle the drug distribution offices and the administration of Los Rusos’ illicit activities. Just a few months ago, members of the State Citizen Security Force (FESC) raided Monte Carlo Residencial, intending to capture a man known as Junior Antonio Astorga, known as J5, or at least his operations center.

On that occasion, the FESC located several drug packages, notebooks with information that aided the investigation, and other evidence of illicit activities. However, that same night, they also raided a home where an officer of the State Investigation Agency, assigned to the municipality of Tijuana, was being held, where they tortured his partner.

Trigueros Muñoz is an important identified member of the Los Rusos group, which continues to operate and control much of Mexicali’s illicit activities. He is allegedly the mastermind behind the attack on Deputy Director of Intelligence Agustín Jaime Brambila, who was ambushed in August of last year as he traveled through a difficult-to-access area between the Oviedo Mota and Carrancita communities.

According to the FGE report, more than 900 shell casings from weapons used exclusively by the Army were recovered from the scene. While no one died, the two officers traveling in the vehicle were injured. Had it not been for the support of other officers on patrol, the attack could have been much more effective in killing the victims.

Source: Zeta Tijuana