La Línea (gang)

{{See also|Mexican Drug War}}

{{main|Villas de Salvárcar massacre}}

Gunmen burst into a party in a small working-class neighborhood known as Villas de Salvárcar in Ciudad Juárez, killing 16 teenagers on January 31, 2010.{{cite news|last=Silva|first=Mario Héctor|title=Juárez llora; exigen justicia tras matanza|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/74615.html|access-date=June 30, 2012|newspaper=El Universal|date=February 2, 2010|language=es|archive-date=October 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022051018/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/74615.html|url-status=dead}} Witnesses said that the cartel members arrived at the crime scene in seven cars with tinted windows, closed down the street and blocked the exits.{{cite news|title=Death toll at 16 in Juarez party shooting |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/01/mexico.juarez.shooting/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD |access-date=June 30, 2012 |newspaper=CNN |date=February 1, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511194935/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-02-01/world/mexico.juarez.shooting_1_juarez-reyes-death-toll?_s=PM%3AWORLD |archive-date=May 11, 2012 }} Then they stormed the party and opened fire at the victims as they were watching a football (soccer) game. Some of the teenagers were shot as they tried to flee and their corpses were found in the neighboring houses.{{cite news|title=Death toll in Mexican party massacre rises to 16|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35170527|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=MSN|date=February 1, 2010}} As neighbors hid in their houses, some dialed the emergency services but the Mexican military and the Federal police did not arrive until after the killers had left. When the Mexican authorities arrived, a large crowd gathered at the crime scene as the neighbors and family members of the victims, whose ages ranged from 15 to 20, cried and set down candles. They pleaded for their names not to be released for the fear of the hit men returning and taking revenge. The relatives and witnesses interviewed after the massacre insisted that the teenagers had nothing to do with the drug trade and were "good kids." What was troubling for the authorities was that the victims were not gathered inside a bar or at a rehab center, but rather at a private home.{{cite news|last=Corchado|first=Alfredo|title=Juarez gunmen kill 14 at teen's party|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/20100201-Jurez-gunmen-kill-14-at-teen-5840.ece|access-date=June 30, 2012|newspaper=Dallas Times Herald|date=February 1, 2010}} They gave no official statement for the motives behind the killing, but the massacre bore all the signs of the drug violence that Ciudad Juárez was living for the past three years.{{cite news|last=Malkin|first=Elisabeth|title=Gunmen in Mexico Kill 16 in Attack on a Teenagers' Party|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/world/americas/02juarez.html|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 2, 2010}} Videos from the crime scene depict a sparsely furnished home with large puddles of blood and taints smeared on the walls; in addition, more than 100 AK-47 bullet casings were found at the crime scene. The Mexican authorities issued a reward of $1 million pesos for anyone who could provide information that led to the arrest of the killers.{{cite news|last=Washington Valdez|first=Diana|title=More than a dozen die in Juárez massacre|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14308360?source=pkg|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=February 2, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122010838/http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_14308360?source=pkg|archive-date=January 22, 2013}}

One by one, the coffins of the victims were carried out from their homes on February 4, 2010, as their families demanded for justice.{{cite news|last=Corchado|first=Alfredo|title=Families of 16 killed in Juarez massacre may seek safety in U.S.|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20100204-Families-of-16-killed-in-Jurez-3537.ece|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=Dallas Times Herald|date=February 4, 2010}} The governor of the state of Chihuahua, José Reyes Baeza Terrazas, showed up at the funeral unexpectedly to pay his respects to the families. Felipe Calderón, Mexico's president, also visited the family members and handed a memorial plaque to the parents of the victims.{{cite news|last=Martínez-Cabrera|first=Alejandro|title=Presidential follow-up: Felipe Calderón visits families of young massacre victims in Juárez|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_19992533?source=pkg|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=February 18, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122040805/http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_19992533?source=pkg|archive-date=January 22, 2013}} The mayor of Ciudad Juárez said that the massacre was a random act of violence by Mexico's drug gangs because the victims had no apparent ties with organized crime.{{cite news|title=Mayor believes massacre at Juarez party that killed 16 was random|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/20100201-Mayor-believes-massacre-at-Jurez-party-8597.ece|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=Dallas Times Herald|date=February 2, 2010}} But Calderón was widely criticized for his initial comments after the massacre, where he claimed that the investigations had shown that those killed were almost certainly targeted for being involved in organized crime. The parents of the victims hung huge placards outside their houses accusing Calderón of failing to solve the massacre and explicitly saying that "until those responsible are found, [he was] the murderer."{{cite news|last=Hernandez Navarro|first=Luis|title=Ciudad Juárez: Mexico's nameless dead|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/nov/09/ciudad-juarez-mexico-drugs-war|access-date=June 30, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=November 9, 2010}} The federal government of Mexico responded to the massacre by implementing the "Todos Somos Juárez" program, which aimed to improve education and social development, create jobs, and improve the health benefits in Ciudad Juárez.{{cite news|title=Court convicts 4 in Mexico massacre case|url=http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/07/07/court-convicts-4-in-mexico-massacre-case/|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=Fox News|date=July 7, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819074745/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/07/07/court-convicts-4-in-mexico-massacre-case/|archive-date=August 19, 2011}} It has fed up $400 million to repair the city's social fabric. Calderón has met with young people and representatives of the federal program to discuss and analyze the city's achievements. He also unveiled a billboard facing traffic in El Paso, Texas heading into Mexico that reads "No More Weapons," and criticized the United States for not renewing a ban on the sales of assault weapons that expired in 2004.

Four days after the massacre, a suspect identified as José Dolores Arroyo Chavarría was arrested by the Mexican military.{{cite news|last=Ellingwood|first=Ken|title=Mexico arrests suspect in Ciudad Juarez shooting attack on party|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-03-la-fg-mexico-arrest3-2010feb03-story.html|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 3, 2010}} He confessed to the authorities that the Juárez Cartel had received reports from within the organization that members of a rival drug trafficking organization were at the party the night the teenagers were killed. The suspect said he acted as a lookout for the 24 gunmen that perpetrated the killing and had orders to "kill everyone inside." By mid-2011, four men linked to the massacre were found guilty of the killings and were sentenced to 240 years each by the state of Chihuahua.{{cite news|last=Borunda|first=Daniel|title=Men convicted in Juárez birthday party massacre each get 240-year prison sentences|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_18458771?source=pkg|access-date=July 22, 2012|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=July 12, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122021602/http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_18458771?source=pkg|archive-date=January 22, 2013}} In 2012 it was later confirmed by the Mexican authorities that the massacre was ordered by José Antonio Acosta Hernández (El Diego), a former drug baron of La Línea that is now imprisoned.{{cite web|title=Juarez Drug Cartel Leader Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to U.S. Consulate Murders and Is Sentenced to Life in Prison|date=April 5, 2012|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/April/12-crm-438.html|publisher=United States Department of Justice|access-date=June 30, 2012}} A gang leader of the Barrio Azteca also admitted to having ordered the massacre because he thought rival gang members were there.{{cite news|last=Malkin|first=Elizabeth|title=Mexican Drug Gang Leader Confesses to Killings|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/world/americas/29mexico.html|access-date=June 30, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=November 28, 2010}} Despite the arrests, many of the family members were unhappy with the efforts of the Mexican government and said that they were planning to abandon Mexico and seek safe haven in Texas to protect their children. "I never even gave the United States much thought," said one of the family members, "But Mexico has abandoned us, betrayed us."

Dozens of armed men with AR-15 and AK-47 rifles arrived in six vehicles at the Life and Faith facility, a church-run rehabilitation clinic in Chihuahua city at around 11:00 p.m. on June 10, 2010.{{cite news|last=Ellingwood|first=Ken|title=19 killed in attack on Mexico drug clinic|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jun-11-la-fg-mexico-attack-20100612-story.html|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 11, 2010}}{{cite news|title=Masacran a 19 en un centro de rehabilitación|url=http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/76372.html|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=El Universal|date=June 12, 2010|language=es|archive-date=October 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023161909/http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/76372.html|url-status=dead}} The gunmen, outfitted with protective gear and ski masks, first claimed to be policemen, and herded the patients outside the clinic. Once they had lined up twenty-three of them outside execution-style, the gunmen opened fire at them, killing 19 and wounding four. The Mexican authorities found more than 200 bullet casings from different kinds of firearms at the scene.{{cite news|title=Gunmen kill 19 people at Mexico drug rehab clinic|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/11/us-mexico-drugs-idUSTRE65A0LY20100611|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=June 11, 2010}} According to the pastor, some of the men in the facility were former gang members of Los Mexicles, who fight along with Artistas Asesinos and the Sinaloa Cartel for the control of the smuggling routes in the state.{{cite news|last=Breach|first=Miroslava|title=Chihuahua: ejecutan a 19 en un centro de rehabilitación|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/06/12/politica/003n1pol|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=La Jornada|date=June 12, 2010|language=es}} Most of the victims' ages ranged from 23 to 65, and included a blind man and a sixteen-year-old.{{cite news|last=Flores|first=Aileen B.|title=19 die in attack at rehabilitation center|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_15282030|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=June 16, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122153512/http://www.elpasotimes.com/juarez/ci_15282030|archive-date=January 22, 2013}}{{cite news|title=19 fatally shot at drug rehab center in northern Mexico|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/19-fatally-shot-at-drug-rehab-center-in-northern-mexico/|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=Fox News|date=June 10, 2010}} According to the investigations, the perpetrators left behind four written cardboards, but the authorities did not release the content of the messages. The three-story facility housed addicts for 90 days, although some of the victims had more than a year or two in rehabilitation.{{cite news|title=Gunmen kill 19 people at drug rehab clinic in northern Mexico; 16 slain in another city|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/gunmen-kill-19-people-at-drug-rehab-clinic-in-northern-mexico-16-slain-in-another-city/|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=Fox News|date=June 11, 2010}}

By June 2011, a leader of La Línea admitted planning and coordinating the attack against the drug facility.{{cite news|last=Mosso|first=Rubén|title=Capturan a 'El Diego', responsable de mil 500 muertes en Ciudad Juárez|url=http://www.milenio.com/cdb/doc/noticias2011/8e8cb7bc4e8cf619c658bc3f7b02ab55|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=Milenio|date=July 31, 2011|language=es}}

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.{{cite news|last=Ramsey|first=Geoffrey|title=No Exit: Why Mexico's Drug Gangs Target Rehab Clinics|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1056-no-exit-why-mexicos-drug-gangs-target-rehab-clinics|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=InSight Crime|date=June 8, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307040923/http://insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1056-no-exit-why-mexicos-drug-gangs-target-rehab-clinics|archive-date=March 7, 2012}} 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. In Ciudad Juárez alone, there are around 100,000 drug addicts and many of the rehab clinics are unlicensed and ran by former addicts, making them easy points for the cartels to infiltrate.{{cite news|title=Mexico drug cartels go into the rehab business|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna35241198|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=MSN|date=April 2, 2010}} Some cartel members even check themselves in the facility and pose as addicts. Once they gain information of how the facility works, they co-opt the 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 two choices: 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.

A car bomb attack was registered on June 16, 2010, in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, when members of La Línea triggered 10 kg (22 lb) of C-4 explosives with a cellphone, marking it as the first successful car bomb attack ever registered in the Mexican Drug War.{{cite news|last=Caldwell|first=Alicia A.|title=Mexico Drug War Sees First Ever Car Bomb|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/17/mexico-drug-war-sees-firs_n_650030.html|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=July 17, 2010}}{{cite news|title=Deadly Mexican drug gang attack was car bomb|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10669672|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=July 17, 2010}}{{cite news|last=Bracamontes|first=Ramon|title=Experts: Car bomb in Juárez mimics Middle East terrorist tactics|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15537113|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720060302/http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15537113|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 20, 2010|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=June 17, 2010}} Before the detonation, the cartel members had dumped an injured man dressed in police uniform on the sidewalk to lure the Mexican authorities and paramedics closer to the vehicle.{{cite news|last=Wilkinson|first=Tracy|title=Mexico cartel kills four in car bombing|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jul-17-la-fg-mexico-car-bomb-20100717-story.html|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=July 17, 2010}} The authorities were notified by an emergency call that a man was allegedly executed, a lure tactic to bring them to where the bomb was planted.{{cite news|last=Valencia|first=Nick|title=Mexican police probe Juarez car bomb possibly intended for authorities|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-13/world/mexico.juarez.car.bomb_1_car-bomb-federal-police-ciudad-juarez?_s=PM:WORLD|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=September 13, 2010|archive-date=October 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016105946/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-13/world/mexico.juarez.car.bomb_1_car-bomb-federal-police-ciudad-juarez?_s=PM:WORLD|url-status=dead}} As a policeman and a paramedic rushed to the scene, the bomb detonated, killing them instantly. The injured man, who was not a police officer, and an innocent civilian, were also killed. A cameraman who was near the scene was gravely injured but manage to film the explosion aftermath.

The attack sent "shock waves" across Mexico and raised concerns in the United States, and represented what the authorities considered a "new dimension of terror" and a clear escalation in the weapons and tactics deployed by Mexico's drug trafficking organizations.{{cite news|last=Booth|first=William|title=Ciudad Juarez car bomb shows new sophistication in Mexican drug cartels' tactics|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/21/AR2010072106200.html|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 22, 2012}} TV images, aired on national television, showed a vehicle with only one intact wheel and two Federal Police on fire in the city's downtown area; U.S. authorities responded to the attacks with worry and noted that it was reminiscent of Colombia in the 1990s, and similar to the terrorism and warfare tactics the United States military was "running into in Iraq and Afghanistan."{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Kevin|title=Mexican cartels rely more on explosives in drug war|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-07-22-cartel22_ST_N.htm|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=USA Today|date=June 22, 2010}}{{cite news|last=Cardona|first=Julian|title=Mexico blames drug cartel for deadly car bomb|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/07/17/us-mexico-bomb-idUSTRE66F50G20100717|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=July 17, 2010}} The Mexican peso depreciated after the attack, and economists warned that further car bomb attacks could damage Mexico's financial market and scare off investors. The Ciudad Juárez attack was the latest in a spate of car bombings, by the Mexican drug cartels, that were labelled by many news outlets as acts of "narcoterrorism". This label was vehemently denied by the Mexican government and many establishment figures such as Attorney General Arturo Chávez Chávez, they said that as these bombings only targeted members of the security forces they could not be considered terrorism. Others argue that the Mexican government simply sought to avoid the label to reduce the risk of the USA listing Mexican drug cartels as proscribed terrorist organisations; the label remains unclear.{{cite news|last=Pachico|first=Elyssa|title=Mexico Gang's Car Bomb: Terror, but not Terrorism|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1735-mexico-gangs-car-bomb-terror-but-not-terrorism|access-date=July 19, 2012|newspaper=InSight Crime|date=October 21, 2011|archive-date=July 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719121021/http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1735-mexico-gangs-car-bomb-terror-but-not-terrorism|url-status=dead}}{{Cite journal |last=Teiner |first=David |date=2020 |title=Cartel-Related Violence in Mexico as Narco-Terrorism or Criminal Insurgency: A Literature Review |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26927665 |journal=Perspectives on Terrorism |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=83–98 |jstor=26927665 |issn=2334-3745}}

A message left at the scene claimed that La Línea were responsible for the blast, and threatened further attacks:

{{Blockquote|"We still have car bombs ... [and this will] continue to happen to authorities that carry on supporting El Chapo ... FBI and DEA. Go and investigate authorities that are giving support to the Sinaloa Cartel."{{cite news|last=Ioan Grillo|author-link=Ioan Grillo|title=In Juarez car bomb, a ruthless trap for police|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/mexico/100723/ciudad-juarez-car-bomb?page=0,1|access-date=19 July 2012|newspaper=Global Post|date=26 July 2010}}}}

During a boy's birthday party at the Horizontes del Sur neighborhood in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, several gunmen broke into a house and killed 14 people and wounded more than twenty on October 23, 2010.{{cite news|last=Malkin|first=Elizabeth|title=Death Toll in Juárez Attack Rises to 14|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/world/americas/25mexico.html|access-date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=October 24, 2010}} After firing more than 70 bullets, the attackers fled the scene in three different cars at around 11:00 pm.{{cite news|last=Booth|first=William|title=13 partygoers killed by gunmen in attack in Ciudad Juarez|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/23/AR2010102303506.html|access-date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 24, 2010}}{{cite news|title=Mexico: 13 dead in massacre at Ciudad Juarez party|url=https://abc13.com/archive/7741715/|access-date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=KTRK-TV|date=October 23, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203043558/http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news%2Fnational_world&id=7741715|archive-date=December 3, 2013|url-status=live}} According to the witnesses' descriptions, the attackers were teenagers who had secured the area by blocking traffic.{{cite news|last=Corchado|first=Alfredo|title=13 youths killed in massacre at birthday party in Ciudad Juarez|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/20101024-13-youths-killed-in-massacre-at-9067.ece|access-date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|date=October 24, 2010}} The Mexican police declined to comment if the killing was drug-related, but Felipe Calderón's response was remarkably different than the Villas de Salvárcar massacre, where he claimed that the massacre was most likely due to internal adjustments between the cartels.{{cite news|last=Malkin|first=Elizabeth|title=13 Are Killed as Gunmen Storm House in Mexico|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/world/americas/24mexico.html|access-date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=October 23, 2010}} The killing in Horizontes del Sur bore striking similarities with the massacre in the Villas de Salvárcar neighborhood earlier that same year, which took place just a mile away and where 15 were gunned down at a party too.{{cite news|last=Loria|first=Gaby|title=Massacre At A Ciudad Juarez Family Party Leaves 13 Dead|url=http://www.kvia.com/news/Massacre-At-A-Ciudad-Juarez-Family-Party-Leaves-13-Dead/-/391068/543742/-/85xmnw/-/index.html|access-date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=KVIA-TV|date=October 24, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202035428/http://www.kvia.com/news/Massacre-At-A-Ciudad-Juarez-Family-Party-Leaves-13-Dead/-/391068/543742/-/85xmnw/-/index.html|archive-date=December 2, 2012}}

The Mexican authorities concluded that there were two possible explanations for the massacre: Either La Línea and Los Aztecas were responsible for the killings; or "independent gunmen" paid to kill a person nicknamed El Ratón, an alleged member of Artistas Asesinos.{{cite news|last=Breach|first=Miroslava|title=El ataque en Juárez estaba dirigido a un joven apodado El Ratón, indican pesquisas|url=http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2010/10/25/politica/012n1pol|access-date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=La Jornada|date=October 25, 2010|language=es}}

Through 10 "narcomantas" found throughout Ciudad Juárez on January 25, 2011, a criminal group known as the New Juárez Cartel (NJC) herald its existence.{{Subscription required}} {{cite news|title=Mexico Security Memo: A New Juarez Cartel|url=http://www.stratfor.com/sample/analysis/mexico-security-memo-new-juarez-cartel|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=Stratfor|date=February 1, 2012}} In the written banners, the NJC threaten the police chief of the city, Julián Leyzaola, calling him a criminal with a police badge. One of the messages promised that the NJC was planning to "kill a policeman a day" until Leyzaola discontinued his alleged support for the Sinaloa Cartel.{{cite news|title=Cártel ordena la ejecución de un policía al día en Juárez|url=http://noticias.terra.com.mx/mexico/seguridad/cartel-ordena-la-ejecucion-de-un-policia-al-dia-en-juarez,312c076313125310VgnVCM10000098f154d0RCRD.html?icid=Publicadores_Links_Relacionados|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=Terra Networks|date=January 27, 2012|language=es}} Little was known of the NJC besides a video they uploaded online in September 2011, where they interrogated a prison guard they claimed was working for the Sinaloa cartel (his body was later found dead). And in October of that same year, a message by the NJC was left along a dismembered body. Stratfor believes that the NJC is a re-branding of the "old" Juárez Cartel, La Línea, and possibly other groups opposing the Sinaloa's encroachment. But it is unclear whether the NJC is composed solely of former members of La Línea and elements of the Juarez cartel or of numerous gangs that have aligned, even temporarily, to expropriate the Sinaloa cartel from Ciudad Juárez. La Línea, however, undertook an offensive against the local police in 2010, citing the same reasons that the NJC claims: it perceived that the police forces were favoring Joaquín Guzmán Loera (a.k.a. El Chapo).

In response to the death threats of the NJC, the mayor of Ciudad Juárez allowed off-duty policemen to carry their weapons, given that most of the local policemen killed in the city were targeted at home or on their way to work, and encourage them to live in hotels.{{cite news|last=Romo|first=Rafael|title=Cartels targeting police officers in Juarez, authorities say; 8 officers dead|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2012-02-02/americas/world_americas_mexico-juarez-police_1_police-officers-ciudad-juarez-police-force?_s=PM:AMERICAS|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=February 2, 2012|archive-date=June 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623135653/http://articles.cnn.com/2012-02-02/americas/world_americas_mexico-juarez-police_1_police-officers-ciudad-juarez-police-force?_s=PM:AMERICAS|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Off-Duty Cops Slain in Mexican Border City|url=http://laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14091&ArticleId=465962|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=Latin American Herald Tribune|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083336/http://laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14091&ArticleId=465962|url-status=dead}}

Such reorganizations like the NJC are common in Mexico's drug war, but they have often led to the further spread of violence.{{cite news|last=Corcoran|first=Patrick|title=What the Rise of a New Gang Means for Juarez|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/2173-what-the-rise-of-a-new-gang-means-for-juarez|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=InSight Crime|date=February 5, 2012}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} For instance, after the arrest of many of the leaders of the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, the organization broke apart into smaller factions: the South Pacific Cartel, La Mano Con Ojos, and other regional gangs. And while none of these gangs have the near power of its original group, they have triggered fights in several states across Mexico. In other cases, however, reorganizations are not as severe; when La Familia Michoacana splintered into the Knights Templar Cartel, the impact was mild. The decline of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes's influence suggests that the failure of the local groups has much to do with a leadership decline. Hence, the impact of the NJC depends on whether they can reconstitute a force capable of fighting the Sinaloa cartel for a lengthy time, but thus far, the NJC does not pose as a direct threat to the Sinaloa establishment and for a reopening of a new fight for Ciudad Juárez.

Through graffiti signs in the state of Chihuahua in June 2011, La Línea announced that it had formed an alliance with Los Zetas, a criminal group originally formed by ex-commandos of the Mexican Army Special Forces, and threaten the Sinaloa cartel operatives.{{cite news|last=Dudley|first=Steven|title=Zetas-La Linea Alliance May Alter Balance of Power in Mexico|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1032-zetas-la-linea-alliance-may-alter-balance-of-power-in-mexico|access-date=July 24, 2012|newspaper=InSight Crime|date=June 3, 2011|archive-date=March 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321215118/http://insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/1032-zetas-la-linea-alliance-may-alter-balance-of-power-in-mexico|url-status=dead}} On the other hand, Sinaloa cartel formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel, the former employers of Los Zetas, and with the now-extinct La Familia Michoacana, forming the so-called "New Federation." During that time, Los Zetas already had an alliance with the Sinaloa's former associates, Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, an extinct organization that had possibly trained the soldiers of La Línea for months or even years, according to Mexican intelligence.

With the alliance, Los Zetas may offer soldiers and training to La Línea in return for access to Ciudad Juárez and its smuggling routes.

The decline of the Juárez Cartel began in 1997 after the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, but accelerated in mid-2000 when the Sinaloa Cartel sought to take over the assets of the criminal organization and move into the city.{{cite news|title=Mexican army says killings in border city of Ciudad Juarez down 42 percent|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/mexican-army-says-killings-in-border-city-of-ciudad-juarez-down-42-percent/|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=Fox News|date=July 11, 2012}} 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. That same year, the average in all of Mexico was of 18 murders per every 100,000 inhabitants. La Línea and the Juárez Cartel were damaged by the arrest of José Antonio Acosta Hernández (a.k.a. El Diego), a top drug baron accused by the Mexican authorities of ordering more than 1,500 killings. Joaquín Guzmán Loera's four-year struggle in Ciudad Juárez left more than 10,000 dead since 2008,{{cite news|last=Althaus|first=Dudley|title=Drug lord "El Chapo" declares war on Zetas|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Drug-lord-El-Chapo-declares-war-on-Zetas-3492866.php|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=The Houston Chronicle|date=April 18, 2012}} 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 attributed this decline to the success of its law enforcement agencies.{{cite news|last=Martínez-Cabrera|first=Alejandro|title=Juárez slayings decreased 59.8% first half 2012|url=http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_21074666|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=El Paso Times|date=July 12, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122021632/http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_21074666|archive-date=January 22, 2013}} 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. The Juárez cartel continues to operate in the city, but it no longer holds a monopoly and appears to be unable to expand. Other experts echo that the cartel is having difficulties paying its members and that the violence will continue to decline as its hegemony erodes. Their relationship with the Barrio Azteca gang has also been affected by the cartel's decline.{{cite news|title=El Cártel de Juárez llega a su fin|url=http://eleconomista.com.mx/seguridad-publica/2012/01/18/cartel-juarez-llega-su-fin|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=El Economista|date=January 18, 2012|language=es}} 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.{{cite news|last=Burnett|first=John|title=Mexico's Drug War: A Rigged Fight?|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126890838|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=NPR|date=May 18, 2010}} 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.{{cite news|last=Caldwell|first=Alicia A.|title=El Chapo Guzman winning Juarez drug war, U.S. intelligence says|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20100410-El-Chapo-Guzman-winning-3276.ece|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|date=April 10, 2010}} 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.{{cite news|last=Chavez|first=Ricardo|title=Mexico Army: Border City Killings Plunge This Year|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexico-army-border-city-killings-plunge-year-16759233#.UA2qJTG3CFc|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=ABC News|date=July 12, 2012}} 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.{{cite news|last=Fox|first=Edward|title=Judge: 'Mexico Will Win Fight Against Organized Crime in Juarez|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/2576-judge-mexico-will-win-fight-against-organized-crime-in-juarez|access-date=July 23, 2012|newspaper=InSight Crime|date=May 3, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722104909/http://www.insightcrime.org/insight-latest-news/item/2576-judge-mexico-will-win-fight-against-organized-crime-in-juarez|archive-date=July 22, 2012}} And although the rise of the New Juárez Cartel has yet to materialize, the threat still remains. On May 17, 2018, a spokesperson for the Mexican federal police announced that the group's leader Carlos Arturo Quintana, who is known as "El 80," was captured in the town of Namiquipa in western Chihuahua and that no shots were fired when doing so.{{cite web|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2018/05/18/juarez-drug-cartel-la-linea-leader-arrest-el-80-carlos-quintana-special-forces/621677002/|title=Juárez cartel reputed leader 'El 80' Carlos Quintana captured by Mexico special forces|website=El Paso Times}}

In January 2020, La Linea leader Luis Antonio N. was arrested for murders of two Mexican National Guardsmen{{Cite web|url=https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/border-crime/la-linea-cartel-leader-arrested-in-wake-of-murder-of-two-national-guard-members/|title = 'La Linea' cartel leader arrested in wake of murder of two National Guard members|date = January 16, 2020}} In February 2020, another La Linea member was arrested in the El Paso region.{{Cite web|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/crime/2020/02/04/la-linea-gang-member-arrested-near-alpine-us-border-patrol-says/4654550002/|title = Reputed la Linea gang member arrested near Alpine by Brewster County sheriff's deputies}} On May 25, 2020, La Linea lieutenant Gibran R.S., also known as "El Mocho, along with his wife Daniela and two alleged henchmen were arrested in Jimenez. Also identified as Luis Alberto M., he was also reported as the "leader" of La Linea and was believed to be responsible for recent incidents which saw 20 police sent to the hospital since May 20, 2020 after being shot at.{{Cite web|url=https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/gang-leaders-arrest-triggers-backlash-in-chihuahua/|title=Gang leader's arrest triggers backlash in Chihuahua|date=27 May 2020}} The next day, however, it reported that local cops were still being targeted by gunfire, and that the arrest sparked an attack on the state police barracks.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/la-linea-targets-police-officers-following-arrest-of-top-cartel-lieutenant/|title = La Linea targets police officers following arrest of top cartel lieutenant|date = 26 May 2020}} El Mocho's brother Fernando and two La Linea members identified as “El Canguro" and "El Torres" are believed to have assisted El Mocho in the group's illegal activities. However, the new La Empresa cartel leader, identified as "The Gnome," was later believed to have continued the attacks against local police, which resulted in the deaths of nine attackers and two police policers by May 29, and that there continuation was actually triggered by the recent arrests of previous La Empresa leader Jose Dolores Villegas Soto, a.k.a. "El Iraki," or "The Iraqi," and other prominent La Empresa members only identified by the nicknames "Uncle" and "Goofy.".{{Cite web|url=https://www.krqe.com/news/border-report/hunt-underway-for-the-gnome-in-wake-of-attacks-on-juarez-police/|title = Hunt underway for 'The Gnome' in wake of attacks on Juarez police|date = May 29, 2020}} El Mocho was believed to have become La Linea's actual leader following the arrest and imprisonment of his predecessor Ricardo Arturo "El Piporro" C.

{{Portal|Mexico|Law}}

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• {{cite book|last=Langton|first=Jerry|year=2011|title=Gangland: The Rise of the Mexican Drug Cartels from El Paso to Vancouver |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0QMtubyNigEC&dq=la+linea+drug+war&pg=PT18 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1118014271}}

{{Mexican Drug War}}

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Category:Paramilitary organizations based in Mexico

Category:Gangs in Mexico

Category:Gangs in Texas

Category:Mexican drug war

Category:Juárez Cartel

Category:Ciudad Juárez