Mexican Journalist Gunned Down in Beach Hotspot, Second in One Week
A group of gunmen shot and killed a Mexican journalist in the tourist hotspot of Acapulco, Guerrero. This is the second killing of its kind in Mexico in a span of a week. Additionally, two other journalists were kidnapped but have since been released.
The most recent murder occurred on Saturday afternoon when a team of gunmen shot and killed journalist Nelson Matus Pena. The murder took place as he was getting out of his vehicle in the shopping center parking lot. The Guerrero Attorney General’s Office confirmed through a very short prepared statement that they responded to the murder and are investigating the case. The state AG did not describe Matus Pena as a journalist nor did he provide any other details.
Matus Pena founded and directed the online news outlet Lo Real de Guerrero with a focus on crime reporting. According to Mexico’s Proceso, Matus Pena worked as a photographer for Revista Alarma, the newspaper El Alarmante and the online news outlet Agora Guerrero before starting his own outlet.
In their story, Proceso described Matus Pena as a very well-sourced journalist who covered violent crimes, which have become prevalent in Guerrero as multiple drug cartels fight for control of the region.
The murder in Acapulco comes just seven days after a group of gunmen in the Mexican state of Nayarit kidnapped and killed Luis Martin Sanchez Iniguez. He worked as a journalist with Mexico’s La Jornada Newspaper. As Breitbart Texas reported, during the week of Sanchez’s killing, unknown gunmen in Nayarit kidnapped two other reporters who have since been released. The violence against journalists in Mexico comes as various press freedom organizations label Mexico as one of the deadliest places for news workers.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
GRAPHIC EXCLUSIVE: Mexican Mall Shooting Identified as Cartel Hit
A fatal shooting inside a mall last week in the Mexican state of Michoacán was a cartel hit as rival criminal organizations continue to fight for control, law enforcement sources revealed to Breitbart Texas.
Last week, a shootout at the Las Americas shopping center in Morelia, Michoacán caused widespread panic. As Breitbart Texas reported, two individuals died in the shopping center’s parking lot during that shooting. The Michoacan Attorney General’s Office previously identified the victims as Francisco “N” and a police officer assigned as his bodyguard, Diego “N.”
Breitbart Texas later learned that the victim was Francisco Javier “Franky Boy” Valencia Perez. He is described as a local attorney who worked for Francisco Vargas Patino, a local crime boss known as “Paquito Brother” who had been a top lieutenant of the now defunct Knights Templar cartel but now operates his own organization.
Francisco “Paquito Brother” Vargas Patino
Law enforcement sources revealed that the target of the mall shooting was Vargas Patino, who was meeting with his lawyer in the shopping center. However, when the shooting began, Valencia and his bodyguard died while Vargas managed to escape and called for help from his gunmen.
The shooting is believed to have been ordered by Cesar “El Boto” Sepulveda Arellano, who leads a cell called Los Blancos de Troya, currently an ally of the Viagras Cartel.
After the fatal shooting at the mall, a gunman and a female associate fled the scene in a dark sedan. Due to the police response, the pair parked their vehicle and boarded a public transportation van to blend in with the public.
Shortly after, a team of gunmen, presumably sent by Paquito Brother, tracked them down and began shooting at the vehicle. The gunmen hit the two individuals, a female passenger, and her 13-year-old son. The driver of the van rushed the victims to a local hospital where medical personnel tended to the victims. The male gunman died on the way to the hospital.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
Jose Luis Lara from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report.
Cartel-Connected Drug Trafficker Busted by Border Patrol in Florida
Miami Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a previously convicted narcotics trafficker near West Palm Beach, Florida, late last week. The migrant reportedly has ties to Mexican cartels and is illegally present in the U.S.
Newly sworn U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens tweeted a photo of a migrant arrested by agents from the West Palm Beach station for being illegally present in the United States. The agents, working with other law enforcement partners is “closely affiliated with known cartels in Mexico,” Owens wrote.
“He does not deserve to be in our communities,” the chief stated.
Breitbart Texas contacted CBP officials for additional information on the arrest and the suspect’s identity and immigration history. An immediate response was not available.
On July 5, Owens tweeted a report indicating the seizure by Border Patrol agents across the county of 125 pounds of methamphetamine, 107 pounds of Fentanyl, and 90 pounds of cocaine during 120 hours.
A few days later, San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Aent Patricia McGurk-Daniel tweeted a report showing 21 kilos of cocaine seized after a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to a load hidden in a pickup truck.
Between October 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, Border Patrol agents seized 11,400 pounds of methamphetamine, 6,600 pounds of cocaine, and 2,200 pounds of fentanyl, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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