CJNG Cartel’s Presence in Tabasco Amid Denials by Security Secretary: Inside the Guacamaya Leaks Investigation

Tabasco recently awoke to violence, despite claims by Public Security Secretary Hernán Bermúdez Requena of no substantial cartel activity in the state. Contradictorily, documents released by Guacamaya Leaks suggest the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) has significantly infiltrated Tabasco, allegedly facilitated by Adam Augusto López Hernández, the then Governor of Tabasco. The leaks suggest López Hernández appointed three officials with purported CJNG ties to security roles, with one still serving.

The Regional Intelligence Fusion Center (CERFI) Southeast indicates that José del Carmen Castillo Ramírez, Leonardo Arturo Leyva Ávalo, and Hernán Bermúdez himself had CJNG affiliations. Despite these allegations, both Adam Augusto, former Federal Government Secretary, and Bermúdez Requena deny such connections, dismissing reports hacked to Sedena and denying any affiliation with the criminal group “La Barredora.”

The Guacamaya Leaks also exposed Benjamín Mollinedo, known as “El Pantera,” as a leader orchestrating executions to establish the “Los Panteras” group, later evolving into “La Barredora” with activities extending to Veracruz and Campeche. Additionally, the “CJNG in Tabasco” document implicates local leader Bermúdez Requena, Leyva Ávalo, and potentially José Felipe Padilla Castañeda of the National Guard in Tabasco, as involved in facilitating CJNG operations.

The documents reveal a grim picture of the group’s violence, including initiation rituals reported to involve forced cannibalism. In June 2017, 12 alleged CJNG members were arrested in Villahermosa, Tabasco, linked to the brutal killing of five individuals. Two confessed to being coerced into consuming human flesh, a horrifying detail confirmed by the Tabasco Prosecutor’s Office. These leaks and reports underscore the deep-rooted and brutal influence of cartels in the region, challenging the official narratives and raising significant concerns about governance and security in Tabasco.