Celaya. – Armed groups set fire to several houses of alleged members of the Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) cartel. In addition, they clashed with elements of the State Public Security Forces (FSPE), with a balance of five civilians dead and roads blocked. All morning and Sunday afternoon, in the municipalities of Celaya and Juventino Rosas.
In the community of San José de Manantiales, in Juventino Rosas, five men were killed and allegedly pursued by the state police on the Celaya-Juventino Rosas highway, near the community of Franco Tavera, where the confrontation began.
In the vehicle of the deceased, security elements in Guanajuato found weapons and message cards from a criminal group.
After the confrontation, the armed men set fire to a double trailer, with which they blocked the lanes of both directions on the highway; they set fire to a Kia car at the entrance to the Pelavacas community and a white truck. Burning of flat tires and devices has also been reported on the neighboring Celaya and Juventino motorways.
The day of violence
The arson attacks started shortly before 05:00 in a mechanical workshop, a party room and two houses in the community of San José de Guanajuato, in Celaya, adjacent to the community of Santa Rosa de Lima (Villagrán), domain of the CSRL leader , José Antonio Yépez Ortiz El Marro, where the inhabitants mentioned that some burned farms were their property. The fire consumed two tractors and at least three compact vehicles.
Civil protection and Celaya firefighters reported receiving different reports, two in San José de Guanajuato and one further north on their way to Villas de Elguera. “In them, several vehicles were found in the fire inside a workshop [mecánico], a cabin and two tractors ”, without injuries.
Firefighters witnessed four fires early in the morning. Photo: SPECIAL.
One of the affected properties had warehouses, four pools and a play area. It is alleged that it was one of the houses protected by the state prosecutor’s office in 2019, after the Golpe de Timón operation, to enter Santa Rosa de Lima in search of El Marro and other members of the CSRL.
Witnesses said security officials fired shots at farms on Sunday around 3:00 a.m. and saw them burning minutes later.
FSPE and National Guard agents carried out an operation on the roads in Villagrán, Juventino Rosas and Celaya. During these actions, they came across armed groups and clashes broke out.
Until last night, the Guanajuato authorities did not report on the events.