Illicit Tactical Progress: Mexican Cartel Tactical Notes 2013-2020

By Robert J. Bunker

This book is an eye-opener that may be an appalling representation of current events in Mexico, but it is based on factual reports of the strength, manner, and frequency of the cartel violence that occurs every day in Mexico. … As long as the cartels continue to keep their wars inside Mexico and as long as Mexico does not ask for US help, the status quo will continue, and we will see this level and scope of violence incrementally increase in that nation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664180505

Robert J. Bunker

Dr. John P. Sullivan served as a Lieutenant with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and is a Senior Fellow with Small Wars JournalEl Centro. Dr. Robert J. Bunker is Director of Research & Analysis, C/O Futures, LLC and is a Senior Fellow with Small Wars JournalEl Centro.

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Copyright © 2021 by Small Wars Foundation.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Rev. date: 07/23/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

About Small Wars Journal and Foundation

About El Centro

Contributors

Acronyms

Prologue

Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures – Gang and Cartel ‘Lessons’ for the Streets

Sid Heal

Introduction

Illicit Tactical Progress

Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #15

IED Recovered from Trunk of Car by Police Station in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas

David A. Kuhn and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #16

Grenade Attack in Pharr, Texas Bar Containing Off-duty Law Enforcement Officers

Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #17

Indications & Warnings (I&W) for Small Caliber Mortar Deployment

David A. Kuhn and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #18

Cartel Caltrop Use in Texas

Robert J. Bunker and Khirin A. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #19

Sniper Rifle Use in Mexico

Robert J. Bunker and Jacob Westerberg

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #20

RPG-29 Anti-Armor Munitions

David A. Kuhn, Anikh Wadhawan, and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #22

Narco Tank Factory Discovered in Nuevo Laredo

Robert J. Bunker and Byron Ramirez

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #23

Firefights Below the Border – Cártel del Golfo (CDG) Ciclones vs. Metros

Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #24

Gendarmerie Ambushed in Ocotlan, Jalisco State by Narco Commando – 5 Killed, 8 Wounded

Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #25

Ambush Kills 15; Injures 5 Police in Jalisco

John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #26

Border Patrol Agent (& Gulf Cartel Cell Leader) Charged in U.S. Torture-Beheading

Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #27

Sicarios Use a Jet Ski for Beach Front Targeted Killing in Acapulco

Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #28

Redeye MANPADS Seized from La Línea in Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chihuahua

Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #29

Vehicular Ramps Used to Bypass Border Fencing

Robert J. Bunker and Marisa Mendoza

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #30

Marijuana Kettlebells and Catapult and Air Cannon Projectiles

Robert J. Bunker and Marisa Mendoza

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #31

Use of Burreros to Scale and Lift Up Border Fencing

Marisa Mendoza and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #32

Ultralight Aircraft and Border Drug Smuggling

Marisa Mendoza and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #33

Terrorist TTP Firebreak Crossed – Criminal Group Utilizes Women and Children as Human Shields in Palmarito, Puebla

Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #34

Recent .50 Cal Sniper Rifle Seizures

Robert J. Bunker and Marisa Mendoza

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #36

Claymore Anti-Personnel Mines (Minas Antipersonales) Recovered in Reynosa, Tamaulipas

Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #37

Kidnapped SEIDO Intelligence Officers Appear in Cartel Video; Subsequently Found Murdered

John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #39

GoPro Video Social Media Posting of Cártel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) Tactical Action against Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) in Guanajuato – Indications & Warning (I&W) Concerns

Robert J. Bunker, Alma Keshavarz, and John P. Sullivan

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #40

Cártel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) Tunnels in Guanajuato Highlights Tactical Considerations in Underground Operations

John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #41

Cártel Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) Logo and Symbols Identification

Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #42

Car Bomb in Apaseo el Alto, Guanajuato with Remote Detonation IED (‘Papa Bomba’) Payload

Robert J. Bunker, David A. Kuhn and John P. Sullivan

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #43

Improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles (IAFVs) – ‘Narcotanques’ and ‘Monstruos Blindados’ in Jalisco

John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #44

Mexican Army (SEDENA) Re-Discovers Underground Cartel Bunker in Reynosa, Tamaulipas

Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #47

Anti-CJNG IAFV Trenches Dug in Michoacán

Robert J. Bunker, John P. Sullivan, and Alma Keshavarz

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #48

Video of CJNG Engagement of Autodefensa Mounted Infantry in IAFV in La Bocanda, Michoacán

Robert J. Bunker and John P. Sullivan

Conclusion

Mexican Gang and Cartel Weaponry & TTPs Futures

John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker

Afterword

Assessing TTPs for US-Mexican Gangs and Cartels

Gabriel C. Morales

Postscript

Understanding Cartel Tactical Progress

Gary J. Hale

Appendix 1

Colombian Cartel Tactical Note #1: The Evolution of ‘Narco-Submarines’ Engineering

Byron Ramirez

About Small Wars Journal

and Foundation

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Small Wars Journal facilitates the exchange of information among practitioners, thought leaders, and students of Small Wars, in order to advance knowledge and capabilities in the field. We hope this, in turn, advances the practice and effectiveness of those forces prosecuting Small Wars in the interest of self-determination, freedom, and prosperity for the population in the area of operations.

We believe that Small Wars are an enduring feature of modern politics. We do not believe that true effectiveness in Small Wars is a ‘lesser included capability’ of a force tailored for major theater war. And we never believed that ‘bypass built-up areas’ was a tenable position warranting the doctrinal primacy it has held for too long—this site is an evolution of the MOUT Homepage, Urban Operations Journal, and urbanoperations.com, all formerly run by the Small Wars Journal’s founding Editor-in-Chief.

The characteristics of Small Wars have evolved since the Banana Wars and Gunboat Diplomacy. War is never purely military, but today’s Small Wars are even less pure with the greater inter-connectedness of the 21st century. Their conduct typically involves the projection and employment of the full spectrum of national and coalition power by a broad community of practitioners. The military is still generally the biggest part of the pack, but there are a lot of other wolves. The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

The Small Wars Journal’s founders come from the Marine Corps. Like Marines deserve to be, we are very proud of this; we are also conscious and cautious of it. This site seeks to transcend any viewpoint that is single service, and any that is purely military or naively US-centric. We pursue a comprehensive approach to Small Wars, integrating the full joint, allied, and coalition military with their governments’ federal or national agencies, non-governmental agencies, and private organizations. Small Wars are big undertakings, demanding a coordinated effort from a huge community of interest.

We thank our contributors for sharing their knowledge and experience, and hope you will continue to join us as we build a resource for our community of interest to engage in a professional dialog on this painfully relevant topic. Share your thoughts, ideas, successes, and mistakes; make us all stronger.

…I know it when I see it.

Small Wars is an imperfect term used to describe a broad spectrum of spirited continuation of politics by other means, falling somewhere in the middle bit of the continuum between feisty diplomatic words and global thermonuclear war. The Small Wars Journal embraces that imperfection.

Just as friendly fire isn’t, there isn’t necessarily anything small about a Small War.

The term Small War either encompasses or overlaps with a number of familiar terms such as counterinsurgency, foreign internal defense, support and stability operations, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and many flavors of intervention. Operations such as noncombatant evacuation, disaster relief, and humanitarian assistance will often either be a part of a Small War, or have a Small Wars feel to them. Small Wars involve a wide spectrum of specialized tactical, technical, social, and cultural skills and expertise, requiring great ingenuity from their practitioners. The Small Wars Manual (a wonderful resource, unfortunately more often referred to than read) notes that:

Small Wars demand the highest type of leadership directed by intelligence, resourcefulness, and ingenuity. Small Wars are conceived in uncertainty, are conducted often with precarious responsibility and doubtful authority, under indeterminate orders lacking specific instructions.

The three block war construct employed by General Krulak is exceptionally useful in describing the tactical and operational challenges of a Small War and of many urban operations. Its only shortcoming is that is so useful that it is often mistaken as a definition or as a type of operation.

We’d like to deploy a primer on Small Wars that provides more depth than this brief section. Your suggestions and contributions of content are welcome.

Who Are Those Guys?

Small Wars Journal is NOT a government, official, or big corporate site. It is run by Small Wars Foundation, a non-profit corporation, for the benefit of the Small Wars community of interest. The site was founded by Dave Dilegge, its inaugural Editor-in-Chief. Its current principals are David S. Maxwell (Editor-in-Chief) and Bill Nagle (Publisher), and it would not be possible without the support of myriad volunteers as well as authors who care about this field and contribute their original works to the community. We do this in our spare time, because we want to. McDonald’s pays more. But we’d rather work to advance our noble profession than watch TV, try to super-size your order, or interest you in a delicious hot apple pie. If and when you’re not flipping burgers, please join us.

About El Centro

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El Centro is SWJ’s focus on small wars in Latin America. The elephant in the hemispheric room is clearly the epidemic criminal, cartel and gang threat, fueled by a drug and migration economy, rising to the level of local and national criminal insurgencies and a significant US national security risk. El Centro explores those and other issues across the US Southern Border Zone, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America to develop a better understanding of the national and regional challenges underlying past, present, and future small wars.

The El Centro Main section presents relevant Small Wars Journal articles and SWJ Blog posts. Other sections have a reading list and research links of relevant external works. We do link to some Spanish language resources and occasionally put up an article in both Spanish and English, but we are pretty much mainly operating in English. We look forward to being able to roll out El Centro, en Español, dentro de poco.

The El Centro Fellows are a group of professionals with expertise in and commitment to the region who support SWJ’s approach to advancing our field and have generously agreed to join us in our El Centro endeavor. With their help and with continued development on our site’s news and library sections, we look forward to providing more El Centro-relevant SWJ original material and more useful access to other important works and resources in the future.

El Centro Fellows

The El Centro Fellows have expertise in and commitment to Latin America, support SWJ’s particular focus on the small wars in the region, and agree with SWJ’s general approach to advancing discussion and awareness in the field through community dialog and publishing.

El Centro Associates are actively engaged in research or practice in the region and in transnational organized crime or insurgency. The Fellows have already made significant and distinguished contributions to the field through the course of their career. The Senior Fellows are Fellows that are central to producing SWJ El Centro and are very active in managing our work in this focus area.

Senior Fellows

Robert J. Bunker

John P. Sullivan

Fellows

Michael L. Burgoyne

Edgardo Buscaglia

Irina A. Chindea

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

José de Arimatéia da Cruz

Steven S. Dudley

Douglas Farah

Vanda Felbab-Brown

Luis Jorge Garay-Salamanca

Ioan Grillo

Gary J. Hale

Nathan P. Jones

Paul Rexton Kan

Robert Killebrew

Max G. Manwaring

Molly Molloy

Robert Muggah

Luz E. Nagle

Alexandra Phelan

Eduardo Salcedo-Albarán

Robert H. Scales

Teun Voeten

Associates

Pamela Ligouri Bunker

Alma Keshavarz

Daniel Weisz Argomedo

Interns

Anibal Serrano

Past Fellows

George W. Grayson

Graham H. Turbiville, Jr.

The views expressed in this anthology are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Justice, or the US Government, or any other US armed service, intelligence or law enforcement agency, or local or state government.

Contributors

Editors

Dr. Robert J. Bunker is Director of Research and Analysis, C/O Futures, LLC. He is also an Instructor in the Safe Communities Institute (SCI) at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California and a SWJ-El Centro Senior Fellow. He holds university degrees in political science, government, social science, anthropology-geography, behavioral science, and history and has undertaken hundreds of hours of counterterrorism training. Past professional associations include Minerva Chair at the Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College and Futurist in Residence, Training and Development Division, Behavioral Science Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy, Quantico. He has taught at a number of universities including Cal State San Bernardino, the Claremont Graduate University, and American Military University. He has well over 500 publications—including about 40 books as co-author, editor, and co-editor—and can be reached at [e-mail].

Dr. John P. Sullivan was a career police officer. He is an honorably retired lieutenant with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, specializing in emergency operations, transit policing, counterterrorism, and intelligence. He is currently an Instructor in the Safe Communities Institute (SCI) at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California and a SWJ-El Centro Senior Fellow. Sullivan received a lifetime achievement award from the National Fusion Center Association in November 2018 for his contributions to the national network of intelligence fusion centers. He completed the CREATE Executive Program in Counter-Terrorism at the University of Southern California and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from the College of William and Mary, a Master of Arts in Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis from the New School for Social Research, and a PhD from the Open University of Catalonia (Universitat Oberta de Catalunya). His doctoral thesis was Mexico’s Drug War: Cartels, Gangs, Sovereignty and the Network State. He can be reached at [e-mail].

Contributors

Khirin A. Bunker holds a Political Science BA with honors from the University of California Riverside and an International Baccalaureate (IB) degree. He interned at SWJ-El Centro focusing on Mexican cartel activites and at a private law firm in Southern California and has studied abroad at the University of Cambridge, England. He subsequently graduated from USC Gould School of Law with a JD (Order of the Coif) and is now an Associate with Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP in San Francisco. While in law school he was an extern to the United States District Court for the Central District of California, an intern to the Santa Clara County Superior Court, and a senior submissions editor, Southern California Law Review.

Gary J. Hale was a career law enforcement intelligence official serving with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Before his DEA tenure, he served with the US Army Security Agency and the Laredo Police Department. In 1990, Hale received the DEA Administrator’s Award and in 1995, Attorney General Janet Reno recognized him as a Hispanic hero serving America. Hale served at the US Embassies in La Paz Bolivia, Bogotá, Colombia, and Mexico City. In Mexico City, he served in a joint-duty assignment with the CIA for the purpose of capturing high value targets. He held numerous positions in Washington, D.C. including Investigations Support Unit, Chief of the Dangerous Drugs Intelligence Unit and Liaison Officer to the National Security Agency. He also served as Chief of Intelligence in the Houston Field Division of the DEA. Hale is a Drug Policy and Mexico Studies Fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, Houston, Texas. Hale also served as the Law Enforcement-Intelligence Program Manager for the US-Mexico bi-lateral Mérida Initiative. Hale is a SWJ-El Centro Fellow.

Charles Sid Heal retired as a Commander from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in 2008 after nearly 33 years of service, more than half of which was spent in units charged with handling law enforcement special and emergency operations. In addition, he retired from the Marine Corps Reserve after 35 years and four tours of combat in four different wars. He is the author of four books, including Sound Doctrine and Field Command, as well as more than 190 articles on law enforcement subjects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Police Science from California State University, Los Angeles, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in management from California Polytechnic University, Pomona. He is also a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy and the California Command College and has taught at the US War Colleges for nearly 20 years.

Dr. Alma Keshavarz is presently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Institute for Politics and Strategy, Carnegie Mellon University and a SWJ-El Centro Associate. She is also an Associate with C/O Futures, LLC. She was formerly in the Office of Policy Planning at the US Department of State, where she covered Iran and Iraq and is a past Non-resident Fellow in Terrorism and Security Studies at TRENDS Research & Advisory. She received her PhD in Political Science at Claremont Graduate University. Her dissertation focused on hybrid warfare applied to the Islamic State, Russia, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. She previously earned a MA in Political Science at the same institution. She also holds an MPP from Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy and a BA in Political Science and English from University of California, Davis. She has written a number of Small Wars Journal articles and has also co-published a number of the works for the US Army’s Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO), Fort Leavenworth, KS. She is fluent in Farsi, Dari, and Spanish.

David A. Kuhn is the principal of VTAC Training Solutions and an Associate with C/O Futures, LLC. He is a subject matter expert in analysis, technical instruction, and terrorism response training related to stand-off weaponry (MANPADS, threat, interdiction, aircraft survivability, et. al), infantry weapons, small arms, IED/VBIEDs, WMD, and other threat and allied use technologies. He has made a career of supporting governmental operations and corporate initiatives in the fields of homeland security, vulnerability assessment, and forensic investigations; with additional focus and expertise in areas involving facility threat/risk assessments, underwater and maritime security operations, and varied engineering technologies. Kuhn has been a senior consultant and author for Jane’s Information Group on terrorism response; unconventional weapons response, military standoff weapons, and critical infrastructure protection; and has co-authored a number of Jane’s Response Handbooks.

Marisa Mendoza is a PhD student in Political Science (Politics and Policy Concentration) at Claremont Graduate University and a past Associate with SWJ-El Centro. She has extensive expertise in government contracts and grant proposals to fund academic and support services in support of the Orange County Department of Education. Ms. Mendoza holds an Executive MBA from the Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate University and a Masters of Social Work (MSW) and BS in General Studies (English concentration) from the University of Southern California. She has a research interest in prison gangs and transnational organized crime and is fluent in Spanish.

Gabriel C. Morales is currently Executive Director of Criminal Justice Solutions and worked in the Administration of Justice field for well over 30 years. Prior to his criminal justice career, he served as Marine for four years and was assigned to duty with the Tactical Air Command Center. He has instructed and facilitated for approximately 10,000 hours to thousands of criminal justice workers in many capacities including being the Founder, President, and Advisor of the International Latino Gang Investigators Association. He has interviewed thousands of criminals, including drug cartel members and associates. He has presented many times on Drug Trafficking Organizations and their relationship with prison and street gangs all over the US and has visited many parts of Mexico in past years as well as US-Mexican border cities. Mr. Morales has written for the Northwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (NWHITA) Newsletter and authored over a dozen books including a college textbook, Understanding Gangs and Gang Violence in America (Cognella, 2021), and an investigative book, How We Lost the Drug War and How We Can Win It Back (Kindle Direct, 2020). He is fluent in Spanish.

Dr. Byron Ramirez is a Professor of Strategy and Global Studies, California Institute of Advanced Management (CIAM) and an economist with expertise in market research, trade, analytics, and technology. He is a past SWJ-El Centro intern. He completed a PhD in Economics and Political Science and Msc in Strategy and Mangagement from Claremont Graduate University, an MIS fromn American University, and a BS in Finance from California State Polytechnic University Pomona. His areas of research interest include geopolitics, international affairs, globalization, economic and social development, and illicit economies. He co-edited Narco-Submarines: Specially Fabricated Vessels Used For Drug Smuggling Purposes and Narco Armor: Improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles in Mexico. Fort Leavenworth, KS: US Army Foreign Military Studies Office. He is fluent in Spanish.

Anikh Wadhawan is an analyst with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He holds a BA in Political Science with honors from the