Firefight Last Night Between Police and Azteca Leader Leaves Three Dead and Juárez on Alert for More Trouble

La Polaka reports a suspected leader of the Juarez branch of the Azteca gang was killed last night during an exchange of gunfire between police and gang members.  It started when heavily armed men sprayed bullets at people inside a car wash in Col. La Cuesta.  As they fled the scene they ran into a municipal police unit which chased them for several blocks.  An exchange of gunfire ensued as the gang members were cornered, leaving three dead and several wounded.  One of the men killed in the exchange appears to be a high-ranking member of the Azteca gang, causing some concern there may be an effort by gang members to extract revenge.

The Azteca gang began in the El Paso jail system in 1986, and gradually spread, becoming an international organization.  The gang joined up with La Linea, the armed force of the Juárez cartel, about a decade ago, about the time the supremacy of the Juárez cartel was challenged by the Sinaloa Cartel for control of the Juárez plaza.  This rivalry led to the exceptional spike in violence in Juarez in 2008-2010.  The gang suffered serious reversals in 2014, when 55 Barrio Azteca gang members were indicted in El Paso and when Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, the Lord of the Juarez plaza, was captured, leaving the Sinaloa cartel in a much stronger position in Juárez.