The arrest of two people with 37 weapons (23 high-powered and 14 handguns) in a home in this capital was pointed out by the State Attorney General, César Jáuregui, as a reflection of the increased activity of the criminal group ‘La Empresa’, which has been linked to violent incidents in the city.
Among them are the murders of three people in July outside a bar on the De la Juventud ring road, but it has also been the target of attacks by other criminal groups, such as the one in which six people from ‘La Empresa’ died in El Sauz after being attacked by the Sinaloa Cartel in June.
The prosecutor said that there is a constant recruitment of young people to be integrated into the criminal group, while arrests are carried out constantly. The journalistic records of the activity of ‘La Empresa’ in Chihuahua capital date back at least six years.
Two alleged members of the organization were arrested on Wednesday night in the city by elements of the State Investigation Agency (AEI) with support from the State Public Security Secretariat (SSPE), in possession of 37 firearms (23 long and 14 short), magazines and 1,150 cartridges.
The operation took place on La Cantera Avenue, where the alleged criminals were arrested aboard a van in which they were traveling, said a SSPE commander who went to the scene.
The arrest is one of a series of incidents involving ‘La Empresa’, a group that, according to the Attorney General, is part of La Línea, which has operated in Ciudad Juárez, but has shown greater activity in the city.
The arrests of members of ‘La Empresa’ last year totaled 42 in a matter of 10 months. These actions were carried out both on the border and in the city of Chihuahua, almost all for being related to the execution of people.
The origin of the criminal group was explained by the State Attorney General, César Jáuregui, who mentioned in October of last year that the group is made up of former members of the gangs “Los Aztecas” and “Los Mexicles”, who during the month of January 2023 were attributed around 10 executions.
According to data provided by the Attorney General’s Office, this criminal group, which has its origins in Ciudad Juárez, has been trying to position itself as the most important cartel in the city of Chihuahua for more than three years, but there are records of its operations going back six years, on a smaller scale.
The company has focused mainly on the crystal market, which is also disputed by other rival criminal organizations, but it has also been implicated in crimes related to the theft of hydrocarbons.
In the first six months of this year, 26 murders were recorded in the rural area north of the municipality of Chihuahua related to the dispute between criminal groups such as ‘La Empresa’ and the Sinaloa Cartel for control of fuel theft.
One of the most relevant cases occurred on April 14 when Nicolás Monárrez Gaxiola, head of internal trade at the State Center for Social Reintegration (Cereso) No. 1, in Aquiles Serdán, and his partner José Francisco TV, were the target of an attack in which the first lost his life and the second received at least five bullet impacts from a group of eight armed men. A four-year-old child was also injured in the incident.
The Secretary of State Public Security (SSPE), Gilberto Loya Chávez, reported that, although it was not yet possible to establish a relationship between this and the murder of the shift manager, José Guadalupe Medrano Rodríguez, which occurred just last March 31, there are elements to suspect that the perpetrators of both crimes belong to the criminal group La Empresa.
Yesterday, the Attorney General said that one of the issues to be investigated is the flow of weapons, since everything indicates that they come from the border and that they arrive in the city despite the preventive measures that have been adopted. He stressed that this is being addressed by the Federal Government with the support of the United States authorities.
“The company is made up of former members of the Los Aztecas and Los Mexicles gangs”
Cesar Jauregui
Attorney General
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