Gente Nueva

---

title: "Gente Nueva" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["organizations-established-in-2007", "2007-establishments-in-mexico", "gangs-in-mexico", "history-of-sonora", "sinaloa-cartel", "mexican-drug-war"] description: "Mexican criminal organization" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gente_Nueva" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mexican criminal organization ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Criminal organization"]

Field	Value
name	Gente Nueva
caption	Members of Fiscalia interrogating a Gente Nueva member
founded	1995 by El Jona
founding_location	Sonora, Mexico
years_active	1995-present
territory	Sinaloa, Mexicali, Chihuahua, Acapulco, Sonora, Ciudad Juárez
ethnicity	Mexican
activities	Drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder
allies	Sinaloa Cartel
Artistas Asesinos
Los Mexicles
Los Antrax
rivals	Los Zetas
Juárez Cartel
La Línea
Los Muertos
Knights Templar Cartel
CJNG
La Mayiza
::

| name = Gente Nueva | caption = Members of Fiscalia interrogating a Gente Nueva member | founded = 1995 by El Jona | founding_location = Sonora, Mexico | years_active = 1995-present | territory = Sinaloa, Mexicali, Chihuahua, Acapulco, Sonora, Ciudad Juárez | ethnicity = Mexican | activities = Drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder | allies = Sinaloa Cartel Artistas Asesinos Los Mexicles Los Antrax | rivals = Los Zetas Juárez Cartel La Línea Los Muertos Knights Templar Cartel CJNG La Mayiza Gente Nueva (English: New People), also known as Los Chapos, in reference to their drug lord Joaquín Guzmán Loera, is a large group of well-trained and experienced gunmen that function as one of the elite armed wings of the Sinaloa Cartel, created to counter, battle and destroy the Juárez Cartel's influence in the Mexican north-west, as well as to battle and destroy La Línea which is currently the Juárez Cartel's largest remaining cell.

Gente Nueva dates back to 1995 when El Profe begun his criminal career in the Mexican state of Chihuahua under the Sinaloa Federation. Gente Nueva has served as the main branch of the organization in Ciudad Juárez and in the rest of the state, where they have engaged in a four-year war with the Juárez Cartel and its enforcer wing, La Línea, for the control of the smuggling routes to the United States. Amid the internal struggles and infightings in the Juárez cartel, Gente Nueva began to recruit the cartel's members.

By 2012, U.S. intelligence indicated that the Sinaloa cartel and Gente Nueva have emerged victorious and successfully relegated the Juárez cartel to the sidelines. The El Paso–Juárez corridor is a lucrative route for drug traffickers because the DEA estimates that about 70% of the cocaine that enters the United States flows through that area.

History

Battle for Cartel de Sinaloa

| conflict = Battle between Sinaloa cartel and Juárez cartel for Ciudad Juárez | commander3 = Felipe Calderón Luis Cresencio Sandoval | casualties2 = Unknown | casualties1 = Unknown | caption = Images of Ciudad Juárez, the place where conflicts and battles between rival cartels and gangs took place and still do. From 2010 to 2011, Ciudad Juárez was ranked first among the most dangerous cities in the world. | image_size = | image = Juarez_montage.jpg | casualties4 = In total 10.000 deaths and +100.000 injureds, many arrests, 5 Narco tanks destroyed, 5 military helicopters shoot down, one Narco-submarine sunk, numerous of narco-laboratories, for the manufacture of the Narco tanks, Improvised fighting vehicles and drugs, conquered by the Mexican army, +500.000 between civil cars and Improvised fighting vehicles destroyed or damage, +500 military armored vehicles, +15 billions of dollars confiscated from the cartels, numerous tons of drugs requisitioned from the cartels and numerous weapons and ammunition confiscated from the cartels | result = Victory of the Sinaloa cartel. Weakening of the Juárez cartel. Intervention by Mexican army in the battles between the two cartels. Ongoing. | strength3 = 10.000 soldiers, one AMX-VCI tank, 5.000 military armored vehicles and 15 military helicopters | strength2 = +10.000 between soldiers and hit men, +500 Narco tanks and +50.000 armored vehicles | strength1 = +20.000 between soldiers and hit men, +1.500 Narco tanks, +100.000 armored vehicles and +100 Narco-submarine | commander2 = Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Vicente Carrillo Leyva Juan Pablo Ledezma | place = Ciudad Juárez-Chihuahua,Mexico | commander1 = Joaquín Guzmán Loera Ismael Zambada García | units3 = Mexican army

• Mexican Navy | units2 = Juárez cartel
• Gente Nueva ( before the independence from the Juárez cartel )
• La Linea
• Los Zetas (With support) | units1 = Sinaloa cartel
• Los Ántrax | combatant4 = CJNG | combatant3 = Mexican army | combatant2 = Juárez cartel | combatant1 = Sinaloa cartel | status = Ongoing | date = 2003-ongoing | partof = Mexican drug war | casualties3 = Unknown The war between the Juárez Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel for the control of the smuggling routes in Ciudad Juárez broke out on 5 January 2008, when five men were shot dead with AR-15s in a matter of hours; within a few days, several policemen and nearly two dozen civilians lay dead. The Juárez cartel used La Mafia and Los Muertos to fight off the forces of the Sinaloa cartel, which had employed the gangs known as Artistas Asesinos and Los Mexicles, along with its armed wing, Gente Nueva. The turf wars between them have left more than 10,000 dead in four years.

When Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, jumped into the territory of the Juárez organization in 2007, he attempted to split his rival organization and recruit the dissidents into his own invasion force – Gente Nueva.

Gente Nueva is responsible for a number of crimes, including but not limited to extortions, kidnappings, tortures, and assassinations.

Ciudad Juárez rehab center attack

Masked gunmen stormed the El Cristal Military education center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua on 3 September 2009, gathered all of the patients together against a wall at a central patio, and then opened fire at them with AK-47 rifles. When the Mexican authorities removed the dead bodies, a thick layer of blood was left at the concrete floor of the clinic, from the entrance to the sleep quarters. Gente Nueva had killed 8 people at the 7&7 Bar in Ciudad Juárez just a few weeks before the rehab center attack.

The attack was materialized within sight of the U.S.-Mexico border and is one of the worst single mass shootings in the history of Ciudad Juárez.

The Mexican authorities stated that the drug trafficking organizations use rehabilitation clinics to recruit foot soldiers and smugglers, and often kill those who do not cooperate. Others are killed for failing to pay for their drugs or for ripping off a dealer. In addition, the cartels frequently target unlicensed rehabilitation centers, since they are likely to accept active gang members seeking to free themselves from an addiction. Unlike the government-licensed clinics, the private centers are not associated with the penal system and have limited security measures, leaving the victims vulnerable to attacks by gangs seeking revenge or the elimination of a potential police informant. Some cartel members even check themselves in the facility and pose as addicts. Once they gain information of why the facility works, they co-opt with workers or threaten to kill them. Some of the addicts sell candy and gum at the city's stop lights to raise money for those struggling in their rehab center, but the cartels have taken this opportunity to force them to sell drugs too. The drug cartels have also created and managed pseudo-clinics, and once their patients are off drugs, they gIve them the choice to work as a drug trafficker or get killed. The cartels usually "dispose" of their young addicts by killing them, since the criminal organizations quickly recruit young men and prefer to minimize their risk by eliminating the others.

Decline of the Juárez Cartel

The decline of the Juárez Cartel began in 1997 after the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, but worsened in mid-2000 when the Sinaloa Cartel sought to take over the assets of the criminal organization and move into the city. In 2010, violence in Ciudad Juárez reached its peak, seeing an average of 10 homicides per day, or about 230 murders per 100,000 people annually. but evidence shows that the murder rates in Ciudad Juárez decreased by 59.8% in the first half of 2012 when compared to the same period in 2011, and Mexican officials have attributed this decline to the success of its law enforcement agencies. Nonetheless, experts told El Paso Times that part of the reason why the violence in Ciudad Juárez toned down is because the Sinaloa cartel has consolidated its dominance over the now-weakened Juárez cartel. NPR reports indicated that several people in Ciudad Juárez, including but not limited to local journalists and former policemen, perceived that the Mexican government allegedly favored the Sinaloa cartel in their battle against the Juárez cartel. Nonetheless, counterarguments from security experts were also included.

The reported victory of the Sinaloa cartel may possibly not halt the forces of the Juárez cartel; as long as Vicente Carrillo Fuentes is alive and free, the warfare in the area will possibly continue. With limited options, the Juárez cartel has been forced to reorganize its forces and opt for extortions and kidnappings, while Gente Nueva – the Sinaloa cartel's armed wing – receives funding from other states. In addition, the drug corridor in Ciudad Juárez remains a crucial territory for the Mexican drug trafficking organizations, so the city could continue to see battles for the control of the lucrative smuggling routes – even at a diminishing scale. And although the rise of the New Juárez Cartel has yet to materialize, the threat still remains.

Cartel infighting in Acapulco

In mid-2011, the Mexican authorities said that hundreds of corpses found in several mass graves in the state of Durango were victims of infighting within the Sinaloa Cartel. Through a banner, Gente Nueva and Los Ms, a faction led by Ismael Zambada García, accused other lieutenants in the cartel of "heating up the plaza" in Durango by trying to attract law enforcement presence in the area, usually through indiscriminate killings and other violent tactics. The message warned their rivals that they had only 24 hours to leave the area before they were killed. The banner was followed by a pair of videos uploaded on March that showed several armed men in military grabs interrogating two men allegedly working for a rival faction. In the video, the two men said that they had been sent to Durango to disrupt cartel operatives. The dispute indicated that two leaders in Gente Nueva, Noel Salgeiro and Felipe Cabrera, had lost the support of the upper-leaders in Gente Nueva and the rest of the Sinaloa organization.

Initially, the massacre was overshadowed by the other mass graves in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. But when Bernabé Monje Silva, alias M14 was arrested by the Federal police, he led them to the exact location of the bodies. He later confessed that there was a feud between several factions of the Sinaloa cartel for the control of the drug corridors in Acapulco.

Veracruz incursion and massacre

The tit-for-tat fighting between Los Zetas and the Sinaloa cartel started in the Mexican state of Veracruz, a strategic smuggling region with a giant gulf port. On 20 September 2011 at around 5:00 pm, several vehicles blocked a major avenue in Boca del Río, Veracruz. Once traffic stopped, armed men abandoned two trucks in the middle of the highway. The cartel members then fled the scene.

The two trucks that were left at an underpass near a shopping mall contained 35 dead bodies. Consequently, the stunned motorists began to grab their cellphones and post messages on Twitter warning other drivers to avoid the area. but it was later proven that only six of them had been involved in minor crime incidents, and none of them were involved with organized crime. Some of the victims had their hands tied and bore signs of torture. The message left behind stated the following: The banner's reference to "G.N." was a clear reference to Gente Nueva, but the Jalisco New Generation Cartel later assumed full responsibility for the massacre and the incursions in the state of Veracruz, traditionally considered turf of Los Zetas.

Present-day

The group suffered setbacks in 2013. Mario Nuñez Meza, also known as, M-10 or El Mayito, was arrested in Ciudad Juarez. Months later they arrested his brother M-12 also in Juarez. On 11 December 2013, Gente Nueva high-ranking leader Jesús Gregorio Villanueva Rodríguez (alias "El R5") was shot and injured as he left a fast food restaurant in the state of Sonora, his area of operations. His girlfriend and he were taken to the hospital, but Villanueva Rodríguez died after receiving medical attention.

Known leaders of Gente Nueva

::data[format=table] | Name || Alias || Status || Killed/Captured/Reward || Refs | |---| | La China | | El Guero Balas | | El Gemelo | | El Primo | ::

References

Bibliography

References

1. (5 October 2011). "Las autoridades detienen a fundadores de 'La China' y 'Gente Nueva'". [[24 Hrs Español.
2. Muedano, Marcos. (6 October 2011). "Cae presunto fundador de la agrupación Gente Nueva". [[El Universal (Mexico City).
3. McCaul, Michael T.. "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border". [[United States House Committee on Homeland Security]].
4. "Los chapos califican de terroristas a los Beltrán". [[Milenio]].
5. Shea, Erin. (25 May 2012). "Mapping Sinaloa Cartel Operatives in Juarez Battleground". [[InSight Crime]].
6. (12 July 2012). "Drug War Experts Insist Juarez Cartel Will 'Fight To The Death'". [[KVIA-TV]].
7. (17 June 2010). "Colombian Trafficker with Links to Mexican and Colombian Cartels Extradited from Mexico to the United States". [[Drug Enforcement Administration]].
8. (9 June 2012). "Ciudad Juarez Banner Headline: "Not One Person Murdered Yesterday"". [[The Huffington Post]].
9. (11 July 2012). "Sinaloa cartel member captured in northern Mexico". [[Fox News]].
10. Rosenberg, Mica. (27 January 2010). "Ten thousand dead and counting: Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican city that's deadlier than Afghanistan". [[The National Post]].
11. (10 May 2011). "El Ejército mexicano detiene al fundador del brazo armado del cártel de Sinaloa".
12. Lacey, Marc. (3 September 2009). "17 Killed in Mexican Rehab Center". [[New York Times]].
13. Ellingwood, Ken. (4 September 2009). "18 killed in Juarez clinic for addicts". [[Los Angeles Times]].
14. (4 February 2012). "Sinaloa cartel enforcer Marrufo arrested in Mexico". [[BBC News]].
15. Miroslava, Breach. (22 September 2009). "Cómplices de El Chapo, cinco implicados en masacre de adictos en Juárez: Sedena". [[La Jornada]].
16. Flores, Aileen B.. (16 June 2010). "19 die in attack at rehabilitation center". [[El Paso Times]].
17. Ramsey, Geoffrey. (8 June 2011). "No Exit: Why Mexico's Drug Gangs Target Rehab Clinics". [[InSight Crime]].
18. (2 April 2010). "Mexico drug cartels go into the rehab business". [[MSN]].
19. (11 July 2012). "Mexican army says killings in border city of Ciudad Juarez down 42 percent". [[Fox News]].
20. Althaus, Dudley. (18 April 2012). "Drug lord "El Chapo" declares war on Zetas". [[The Houston Chronicle]].
21. Martínez-Cabrera, Alejandro. (12 July 2012). "Juárez slayings decreased 59.8% first half 2012". [[El Paso Times]].
22. (18 January 2012). "El Cártel de Juárez llega a su fin". [[El Economista (Mexico).
23. Burnett, John. (18 May 2010). "Mexico's Drug War: A Rigged Fight?". [[NPR]].
24. Caldwell, Alicia A.. (10 April 2010). "El Chapo Guzman winning Juarez drug war, U.S. intelligence says". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
25. Chavez, Ricardo. (12 July 2012). "Mexico Army: Border City Killings Plunge This Year". [[ABC News (United States).
26. Fox, Edward. (3 May 2012). "Judge: 'Mexico Will Win Fight Against Organized Crime in Juarez". [[InSight Crime]].
27. Corcoran, Patrick. (25 May 2011). "Mexico Mass Graves: Evidence of Sinaloa Cartel Split?". [[InSight Crime]].
28. Corcoran, Patrick. (25 April 2011). "Factions of Sinaloa Cartel Battle in Durango". [[InSight Crime]].
29. (23 May 2011). "Mass Graves Reveal Dissension in Cartel, Say Police Sources". [[Fox News]].
30. (22 May 2011). "Los Emes, Los Canelos y Los Cabrera, autores de las fosas en Acapulco". [[Excélsior]].
31. Stone, Hannah. (January 2024}}{{cite news). "Is the US Raising Stakes in Search for 'El Chapo'?". [[InSight Crime]].
32. (13 May 2012). "49 bodies with heads, hands and feet chopped off found on Mexican highway leading to US border". [[Washington Post]].
33. (21 September 2011). "Veracruz: tiran a 35 ejecutados en zona turística". [[El Universal (Mexico City).
34. Castillo, Eduardo. (21 September 2011). "Mexico Horror: Suspected Drug Traffickers Dump 35 Bodies On Avenue In Veracruz". [[The Huffington Post]].
35. (21 September 2011). "Arrojan 35 cuerpos torturados en una calle de Veracruz". [[El Mundo (Spain).
36. (20 September 2011). "35 bodies found in Mexican roadway during rush hour". [[CNN]].
37. (21 September 2011). "35 muertos de Boca del Río serían Zetas: Autoridades". [[La Vanguardia]].
38. Martínez, Chivis. (8 June 2012). "Bodies of Innocents Used as Props in Mexico's Drug War". InSight Crime.
39. (21 September 2011). "Mexico gunmen abandon two trucks with 35 bodies inside". [[BBC News]].
40. (21 September 2011). "En Veracruz tiran a 40 ejecutados; narcomantas señalan que muertos son de Los Zetas". [[Blog del Narco]].
41. Ramsey, Geoffrey. (27 September 2011). "35 Dead 'Zetas' Dumped on Busy Street in Veracruz, Mexico". [[InSight Crime]].
42. (27 September 2011). "Comando armado se responsabiliza por cádaveres arrojados en Veracruz". [[La Vanguardia]].
43. (28 August 2013). "CDS: "El Mayito" Captured in Juarez Safehouse". [[Borderland Beat]].
44. Borunda, Daniel. (28 August 2013). "Chihuahua police arrest reputed drug-trafficker "El Mayito" in Juárez". [[El Paso Times]].
45. (17 October 2013). "M-12, Brother of "El Mayito" Arrested in a Safehouse in Juarez". [[Borderland Beat]].
46. (17 October 2013). "Detienen a lugarteniente de 'El Chapo' en Ciudad Juárez". [[Excélsior]].
47. (11 December 2013). "Sinaloa Cartel Lieutenant "R5" Killed". [[Borderland Beat]].
48. (12 December 2013). "Asesinan en Hermosillo al lugarteniente "R5"". El Debate.
49. Perez, Martha. (25 February 2008). "La china despliega su ejército en el gofo". [[El Universal (Mexico City).
50. (5 October 2011). "Sinaloa cartel boss in Mexico's tamaulipas state arrested". [[Fox News]].
51. Cardenas, Lourdes. (4 February 2012). "Alleged mastermind of Juárez rehab massacre arrested". [[El Paso Times]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::