EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Authorities in Mexico say they have arrested three men and a woman in connection to the killings and dismemberments of 21 people in Juarez.
Chihuahua Deputy Attorney General Carlos Manuel Salas identified the detainees as Ezequiel Morales, Jonathan Michel Arroyo Morales, Michelle Angelica Cadena Valdez, and Eduardo Cadena Bautista. He said the four are members of the “Artistas Asesinos” gang, also known as “Double A” and “Doblados,” and that they allegedly confessed to police being responsible for at least some of the murders.
In a news conference Tuesday broadcast on Facebook Live, Salas said police were on to the gang after one of its members was caught in the past few weeks trying to dispose of a dismembered body on the streets of Juarez. Forensic evidence linked blood on his clothing to the blood of the victim, and the man led police to the rest of the gang.
“These are perverse people who like to record most of their executions, so we have access to more information that will allow us to continue working on this case,” Salas said.
He said the gang is led by a man who is serving a lengthy prison sentence for several significant crimes, and the cell responsible for the dismemberments is led by a woman who is a fugitive from justice. He did not identify the woman and only remembered the ‘Doblados’ leader by his nickname of “El Nico.”
“These four persons were detained and linked to (the murders). We have one protected witness and six dismembered bodies we are in the process of identifying,” the deputy attorney general said. “The witness has described six homicides, which are confirmed, as is talking about 15 more. It’s a delicate matter.”
The suspects were arrested at different locations in the past ten days in Juarez, a city that has recorded 1,138 homicides so far in 2023. The arrests came after search warrants issued based on the protected witness’ testimony were executed, Salas said.
“Aside from dismembering (the victims), these people sometimes extracted the heart of their victims … we found two during the searches. This gives you an idea of how violent these people are,” the deputy AG said.
Mexican authorities have told Border Report the Doblados are one of four significant criminal gangs operating in Juarez. The others are Mexicles, La Empresa, and multiple cells of Barrio Azteca. These groups are often the foot soldiers and executioners for La Linea and Sinaloa cartels that are fighting for control of criminal activity in Chihuahua, according to international security experts.
Two additional cells of Sinaloa cartel gangs, Gente Nueva and Los Chapos, also operate in the city, Mexican officials have told Border Report.
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