Three bodies found in a burning vehicle, five people slain inside a house and more than a dozen arrests were among developments as a gang war continues in Juárez.
There have been more than 20 homicides already in the month of June, partially attributed to a war among drug gangs, including the New Juárez Drug Cartel against Los Cabrera, a Sinaloa cartel faction.
An “extraordinary deployment” of state police officers to Juárez is already generating results, including 13 arrests last week associated with homicide investigations, Chihuahua State Public Safety Secretary Gilberto Loya said at his weekly news conference on Monday, June 9.
The violence has been ongoing, often connected to neighborhoods in the border city’s southeastern edges.
Lawyer killed, bodies burned in Juárez, Mexico
∎ A defense lawyer, Oscar Gael Cano, who was representing two members of the Aztecas gang accused in a woman’s homicide was gunned down in the parking lot after exiting the Chihuahua Attorney General’s Office in Juárez on Sunday evening, June 8, Attorney General Cesar Jauregui Moreno told El Heraldo de Chihuahua. The Aztecas is also known as the Barrio Azteca gang.
∎ The burned bodies of three unidentified men, who apparently had been shot, were found inside a Jeep Cherokee that was in flames Sunday morning on the Juárez-Porvenir highway in the Valley of Juárez community of Loma Blanca, across the border from San Elizario, the Norte Digital news website reported.
∎ The bodies of three men and two women were found Wednesday, June 4, inside a house in the Parajes de San Jose area in the southeastern corner of Juárez. El Heraldo de Juárez reported that the victims had been tortured, strangled and had their hands tied behind their backs.
Severed head left in plaza: 3 arrests, including boy
Chihuahua state police arrested two men and a 16-year-old boy suspected of taking part in at least four violent crimes this month, including the case where a severed head was left at Plaza Zaragoza and the rest of the body dumped in El Mezquital area of southeastern Juárez, officials said. A threat by the New Juárez Drug Cartel was left with the head.
The arrests were made after investigators and analysts reviewed at least 156 hours of video from about 200 cameras strategically installed across the city as part of the Centinela (sentinel) platform, Chihuahua state police Chief of Staff Luis Aguirre said at Monday’s news conference.
Ramiro N.P., 28, Jesus Amado E.C., 30, and the teenager are accused of belonging to a cell of a criminal organization, Aguirre said, without naming the crime group.
Two men and a 16-year-old boy (middle), allegedly members of a crime group, were arrested by Chihuahua state police on firearms charges and are under investigation in homicides, including the case of severed head left at a plaza in Juárez, Mexico, on May 31, 2025.
Three rifles, three handguns, a 2002 Chevrolet Astro van and a 2006 Ford F-150 pickup truck were seized.
The group, which was arrested on firearms charges, is under investigation in homicide and kidnapping cases, including a June 1 homicide and being “directly involved” in a June 2 homicide, Aguirre said.
On Thursday, June 5, the suspects’ two vehicles were located in the southeastern Portal de Los Olivos neighborhood after police responded to a shooting were one person was wounded and another person was abducted exiting a palenque, Aguirre said.
SWAT team arrests 6 men hours after ‘femicide’
A state police SWAT team arrested six members of criminal gang on Friday night, June 6, suspected in a “femicide” that had taken place hours earlier, Aguirre said.
The Centinela camera network traced the suspects’ escape route leading to a SWAT special operation resulting in the arrests, Aguirre said. One of the men was wounded in a shootout with police. Two handguns and a gray 1997 Toyota Camry were seized.
The Chihuahua state police SWAT team, seen here, is training with Mexican military special forces as part of new strategies to combat violent crime in September 2024.
Those arrested were Jose Luis “El Raton” A.L., 43, suspected leader of the criminal cell; Jorge Luis M.F, alias “El Calilla,” 59; Martin C.M., 31; Joel Jesus M.R. 22; Jesus Arturo “El Flaco” L.M., 23, and Oscar Eduardo P.R., 42.
Last names were not disclosed by authorities in keeping with rules in Mexico regarding the naming of crime suspects. Further details on the woman’s homicide were not released. It is unclear if these suspects are associated with the lawyer who was killed.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Juárez gang war: Lawyer killed, bodies burned in border city