January 1st, 2023 It all started bright and early on New Year's Day, anno 2023, ‘the year of our lord,’ with a high-profile, brazen prison break in which a crew of cartel sicarios came bailing out of trucks with submachineguns and baklavas over their face—clearly ready for a mortal gun battle, ‘playing for keeps,’ as one might say. January 2nd, 2023 “A prison break in Mexico’s Ciudad Juarez left 17 people dead and allowed 25 inmates to escape in a revival of the penitentiary-system violence that paralyzed the US bordering city last year…” And for the next few days, there were reports coming out of fugitives were getting caught with varying degrees of resistance. But it wasn’t until four days later, on the sixth (6th) of January, that all hell broke loose not only in Culiacan, in the state of Sinaloa. Thanks for reading American Archipelago! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. January 6th Not only did the Mexican security forces bag the legendary Juaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman’s son, Ovidio—sparking a vicious gunfight in the process, leaving over two-dozen dead (i.e. 27 total, 17 casualties from the prison break)—but the biggest drug kingpin involved in the prison break, “El Neto,” was tracked down by the Mexican military and lit up with thousands of rounds. This was the aftermath of that little gun battle in Ciudad Juarez… January 8th, 2023 Seemingly unrelated, another drug kingpin—perhaps middle-management, would be a better way of describing some of these guys—but back in Mexico, a man named "José Rodolfo Villarreal-Hernandez, known as ‘El Gato,’ was apprehended in an operation that involved the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and elements of the Nuevo León State Investigation Agency.” “El Gato” had been implicated in a vendetta killing back in 2013, which was apparently supposed to settle a beef from a decade past. He’ll be extradited back to Texas so he can face conspiracy, capital murder, and I’d imagine some other plea-bargaining felonies. January 11th, 2023 After the dust settles in Culiacan, the state where Ovidio Guzman was picked up, over 100 people—most of them civilians, innocent bystanders, or police and military fighting the scourge of drugs in their community—going on two weeks after the epic gun battle that ended the junior drug lord’s reign atop a strong faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, January 17th, 2023 Then just when the violence couldn’t get any more ridiculously macabre and horrific, police in a small bedroom community in California happened across an entire family killed by a professional hit-team. The title of the article says enough— “Deputies who responded to reports of gunfire after 3:30 a.m. Monday found six victims, including two who were in the street and one who was in the doorway of the home where the gunfire erupted, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told reporters at the scene. I can tell you, from almost twenty years dealing with cartel-connected drug runners, the exact kinds of people that would pull this hit off in the Central Valley of California, this kind of hit is very extraordinary for a syndicate of people who are content to be like ghosts in the background of the American zeitgeist. Killing an entire family—these people, I do believe, were Mexican nationals—anywhere in the United States… That certainly deviates from the modus operandi, even for sicarios. “The mother, who was 17, and the child were both shot in the head, he said. Among the other victims was at least one man who was taken to the hospital but later pronounced dead.” Week of January 17th, 2023 And finally, to round out the first three weeks of anarchy along Mexico’s border with the United States, the trial of Genaro Garcia Luna kicked off in the same Brooklyn court where we’ve seen “El Chapo” go down behind closed doors proceedings; but it’s also where Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell faced the music, so to speak (i.e. clearly, the motivated spooks who take care of such business… they can get anywhere inside the MCC Brooklyn where Luna is being held). Luna’s job, before his highly publicized fall in 2019, was the equivalent of “drug czar”—secretary for security, or something close to it in import and gravitas—but because this disgraced lawman was connected to the previous president, “… Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has welcomed the trial, which is expected to cast light on corruption in the administration of Calderón, whom the president accuses of robbing him of the presidency in 2006.” With all of this going on, with Joe Biden’s visit come and gone, it’s clear that Mexico is a failing narco-state; and as the next few years pass by, we should unfortunately see conditions deteriorate… pushing more and more illegal immigrants to our borders so they can claim asylum. Start writing today. Use the button below to create your Substack and connect your publication with American Archipelago * Mexican military kills gang leader 'El Neto' in shoot-out following escape from prison | Washington Examiner * Mex2ico Prison Break Near US Border Leaves 17 Dead, Gang Leader on Run (msn.com) * 6 people, including a baby, were killed in a 'cartel-style execution,' California sheriff's office says (msn.com) * Drug trial starts for Mexico's former top security official (sfgate.com) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit usarchipelago.substack.com
