Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #52: Two Paramedics Killed in Attacks on Ambulances in Celaya, Guanajuato

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #52: Two Paramedics Killed in Attacks on Ambulances in Celaya, Guanajuato

John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker

On Monday, 22 April 2024 two paramedics in Celaya, Guanajuato were killed when alleged members of a criminal armed group (CAG) attacked ambulances believed to be linked to their rivals. This attack included armed assault and arson. It occurred during a spike in violence between rival criminal cartels. The violent surge also included fatal attacks on police. 

Dos paramédicos fueron asesinados y calcinados en un ataque casi simultáneo a tres ambulancias particulares en Celaya, Guanajuato (Two paramedics were murdered and burned in an almost simultaneous attack on three private ambulances in Celaya, Guanajuato), El Norte on X (Twitter),  22 April 2024, https://x.com/elnorte/status/1782607648531116399.

Key Information: Xóchitl Álvarez,“Atacan tres ambulancias y matan a dos paramédicos en Guanajuato.” El Universal. 22 April 2024, https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/asesinan-a-paramedicos-e-incendian-ambulancia-tras-acudir-a-llamado-de-emergencia-en-guanajuato/:

Celaya, Gto.- Dos paramédicos voluntarios que acudieron a brindar un auxilio fueron asesinados y su ambulancia incendiada la tarde de este lunes en la colonia Valle del Real. Asimismo se reportaron ataques armados contra dos ambulancias más en la colonia Alamos, en Celaya, Guanajuato.[1]

Key Information: Grupo Reforma, “Matan a 2 paramédicos y a 2 policías en Guanajuato.” El Norte. 22 April 2024, https://www.elnorte.com/matan-a-2-paramedicos-y-a-2-policias-en-guanajuato/ar2795478:

Dos paramédicos voluntarios fueron asesinados y calcinados durante un ataque casi simultáneo a tres ambulancias particulares, las cuales fueron incendiadas en Celaya, Guanajuato, la tarde de este lunes 22 de abril.

El primer ataque se registró a un costado de un campo de futbol sobre la Calle Esperanza, en la Colonia La Trinidad, donde los dos socorristas, identificados como Jesús y Víctor, fueron agredidos a balazos alrededor de las 17:30 horas…

…El segundo ataque se registró en la Calle Golondrina, en la Colonia Los Álamos, a un kilómetro aproximadamente de donde ocurrió el primer evento…

…Una de las ambulancias fue incendiada, mientras que otra presentó disparos de arma de fuego.

Fuentes extraoficiales señalaron que los dueños de las ambulancias podrían estar relacionados con el grupo del Cártel de Santa Rosa, y que utilizaban los vehículos para actos criminales

... Y matan a agentes de seguridad

Una policía municipal y oficial de tránsito fueron asesinados en dos ataques distintos en Salamanca e Irapuato, respectivamente. 

En Salamanca, el ataque ocurrió en sobre la Avenida Valle de Santiago, donde hombres armados dispararon contra una pareja de policías que iba a bordo de una patrulla.[2] 

Key Information: Carlos García, “Mueren dos paramédicos en ataques a tres ambulancias en Celaya, Guanajuato.” La Jornada. 23 April 2024, https://www.jornada.com.mx/2024/04/23/estados/027n2est:

Celaya, Gto., Tres ambulancias fueron atacadas a balazos e incendiadas ayer en diferentes zonas de Celaya con saldo de dos paramédicos muertos, de acuerdo con fuentes no oficiales; además, dos policías fueron ejecutados en Salamanca e Irapuato.

El primer ataque fue perpetrado a las 17:20 horas en la calle Esperanza, a un costado de la Parroquia de la Trinidad, cuando presuntamente dos paramédicos voluntarios identificados como Víctor y Jesús se trasladaban en una ambulancia [privada].

Sujetos armados que se desplazaban en una motocicleta interceptaron la unidad médica entre las colonias Girasoles y Valle Real, dispararon contra ella y enseguida le prendieron fuego. Según informantes, los dos paramédicos a bordo del vehículo fallecieron calcinados.

En un segundo atentado, otras dos ambulancias de la misma empresa fueron quemadas mientras se encontraban estacionadas en la calle Cerrada Flor de Primavera, colonia Álamos; la acometida dejó sólo daños materiales.[3]

Key Information: Jorge Vaquero Simancas, “Nuevo objetivo del crimen en Celaya: asesinados dos paramédicos en un asalto a tres ambulancias.” El País. 23 April 2024, https://elpais.com/mexico/2024-04-23/nuevo-objetivo-del-crimen-en-celaya-asesinados-dos-paramedicos-en-un-asalto-a-tres-ambulancias.html:

El ataque sobre la ambulancia se produjo sobre las cinco de la tarde del lunes. Fue en la colonia Valle del Real, donde se encuentra el hospital general de Celaya, al oeste de la ciudad. En la balacera murieron dos paramédicos que estaban dentro del vehículo, y que han sido identificados como Víctor y Jesús. Los agresores dejaron los cuerpos en el interior y le prendieron fuego. Los bomberos los encontraron sin vida tras apagar las llamas. En la colonia colindante de los Álamos, algunos minutos después, cerca de la delegación de la Cruz Roja en Celaya, fueron incendiadas otras dos ambulancias.[4]

Analysis

Extreme violence is a hallmark of the criminal battles for control of the illicit economy in Guanajuato.[5] In this latest outbreak of extreme violence on Monday, 22 April 2024, medical personnel and police have been targeted by cartel sicarios. Specifically, two paramedics were murdered and reportedly set on fire when gunmen attacked an ambulance reported to associated with the Cártel de Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL). The specific association has not been verified. The affiliation of the attackers has not been reported yet. In addition to this armed attack, a second attack against two additional ambulances was reported, along with attacks on two police—one municipal officer and one traffic (tránsito) officer.[6]  

This ambulance attack sequence  is not the first against health care personnel in Guanajuato. In November 2022, a hospital in Celaya where members of the Cártel de Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) were being treated was attacked by rival Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) gunmen.[7]. In addition, attacks against health care workers in both pre-hospital and hospital settings have punctuated the Mexican Drug War with notable examples occurring as early as 2009.[8]

Attacks against health care workers amplify the violence and fear experienced by the public and illustrate the raw brutality of crime wars and cartel violence. While the situation in Mexico’s criminal conflicts is not currently recognized (or classified) as a non-international armed conflict (NIAC), these attacks are severe violations of international human rights law (IHRL) and would constitute violations of the law of non-international armed conflict—specifically, a violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II (AP II) which applies to organized armed groups that control territory if a NIAC was recognized and the attackers were affiliated with parties to that conflict.[9][10][11]

Criminal armed groups (CAGs) pose many problems during periods of civil strife and insecurity.[12] One of these challenges is unfortunately threats and attacks on medical personnel, medical facilities, and in this specific instance paramedics and ambulances. The operational consequences of organized armed violence present unique challenges to health care providers, the community, and the state as it seeks to manage the situation.[13] Additional study and action to mitigate the effects of criminal armed violence and attacks on medical facilities, providers, and vehicles is needed. This action includes reinforcing force protection and security for at risk providers, reducing insecurity, and reinforcing humanitarian norms among all parties to organized violence.[14]

Sources

Xóchitl Álvarez,“Atacan tres ambulancias y matan a dos paramédicos en Guanajuato.” El Universal. 22 April 2024, https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/estados/asesinan-a-paramedicos-e-incendian-ambulancia-tras-acudir-a-llamado-de-emergencia-en-guanajuato/.

Carlos García, “Mueren dos paramédicos en ataques a tres ambulancias en Celaya, Guanajuato.” La Jornada. 23 April 2024, https://www.jornada.com.mx/2024/04/23/estados/027n2est.

Grupo Reforma, “Matan a 2 paramédicos y a 2 policías en Guanajuato.” El Norte. 22 April 2024, https://www.elnorte.com/matan-a-2-paramedicos-y-a-2-policias-en-guanajuato/ar2795478.

Jorge Vaquero Simancas, “Nuevo objetivo del crimen en Celaya: asesinados dos paramédicos en un asalto a tres ambulancias.” El País. 23 April 2024, https://elpais.com/mexico/2024-04-23/nuevo-objetivo-del-crimen-en-celaya-asesinados-dos-paramedicos-en-un-asalto-a-tres-ambulancias.html.

Significance: Attacks on Health Care Workers, Criminal Armed Groups, Crime Wars, Sicarios, TTPs

Endnotes

[1] In English, the title is: “Three ambulances attacked, two paramedics killed in Guanajuato.” The text reads: “Celaya, Gto.- Two volunteer paramedics who went to provide aid were killed and their ambulance set on fire on Monday afternoon in the Valle del Real neighborhood. Armed attacks were also reported against two more ambulances in the Alamos neighborhood in Celaya, Guanajuato.”

[2] In English, the title is: “2 paramedics and 2 police killed in Guanajuato.” The text reads: “Two volunteer paramedics were killed and burned to death during an almost simultaneous attack on three private ambulances, which were set on fire in Celaya, Guanajuato, on Monday afternoon, 22 April [2024]. […] The first attack took place next to a soccer field on Calle Esperanza, in Colonia La Trinidad, where the two first responders, identified as Jesús and Víctor, were shot at around 17:30 hours [5:30 p.m.} […] The second attack took place on Calle Golondrina, in Colonia Los Álamos, approximately one kilometer from where the first event took place. […] One of the ambulances was set on fire, while another one was shot with firearms.[…] Unofficial sources indicated that the owners of the ambulances could be related to the Cártel de Santa Rosa group, and that they were using the vehicles for criminal acts. […] ... And security agents are killed […] A municipal police officer and a traffic officer were killed in two separate attacks in Salamanca and Irapuato, respectively. […] In Salamanca, the attack occurred on Avenida Valle de Santiago, where armed men shot at a pair of police officers who were on board a patrol car.”

[3] In English, the title is: “Two paramedics killed in attacks on three ambulances in Celaya, Guanajuato.” The text reads: “Celaya, Gto., Three ambulances were shot at and set on fire yesterday [22 April 2024] in different areas of Celaya, resulting in the death of two paramedics, according to unofficial sources; in addition, two police officers were executed in Salamanca and Irapuato. […] The first attack was perpetrated at 17:20 hours [5:20 p.m.] on Calle Esperanza, next to the Parroquia de la Trinidad, when two volunteer paramedics, identified as Victor and Jesus, were allegedly traveling in a private ambulance. […] Armed men on a motorcycle intercepted the ambulance between the Girasoles and Valle Real neighborhoods, shot at it and then set it on fire. According to witnesses, the two paramedics aboard the vehicle burned to death. […]In a second attack, two additional  ambulances belonging to the same company were burned while parked on Calle Cerrada Flor de Primavera in the Alamos neighborhood; the attack resulted in property damage only.”

[4] In English, the title reads: “New crime target in Celaya: two paramedics murdered in an assault on three ambulances.” The text reads: “The attack on the ambulance took place at around five o'clock on Monday afternoon [22 April 2024]. It was in the Valle del Real neighborhood, where the Celaya general hospital is located, to the west of the city. Two paramedics who were inside the vehicle, and who have been identified as Victor and Jesus, were killed in the shooting. The assailants left the bodies inside and set fire to them. Firefighters found them lifeless after extinguishing the flames. In the adjacent neighborhood of Los Alamos, a few minutes later, near the Red Cross delegation in Celaya, two other ambulances were set on fire.”

[5] See, for example, John P. Sullivan and Robert J. Bunker, “Mexican Cartel Strategic Note No. 27: Confronting the State—Explosive Artifacts, Threats, Huachicoleros, and Cartel Competition in Guanajuato, MX.” Small Wars Journal. 13 March 2019, https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/mexican-cartel-strategic-note-no-27-confronting-state-explosive-artifacts-threats and Nathan P. Jones and John P. Sullivan, “Huachicoleros: Criminal Cartels, Fuel Theft, and Violence in Mexico." Journal of Strategic Security. Vol. 12, no. 4, 2019, pp.1–24: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/jss/vol12/iss4/1/.

[6] Op. cit., See key data entries detailed in notes 1 through 4 above.

[7] “Incendian ambulancias en Celaya y asesinan a dos paramédicos que respondían al reporte de una balacera,” La Opinión. 23 April 2024, https://laopinion.com/2024/04/23/incendian-ambulancias-en-celaya-y-asesinan-a-dos-paramedicos-que-respondian-al-reporte-de-una-balacera/.

[8] For example, cartel gunmen attacked an ambulance with a fragmentation grenade and then attacked the patient and a family member with gunfire in Morelia in 2009; “Gunmen in Mexico attack ambulance to kill patient.”CTV News. 19 June 2009, https://www.ctvnews.ca/gunmen-in-mexico-attack-ambulance-to-kill-patient-1.40954. An ambush on ambulance in Cd. Juárez killed four in 2011; “Gunmen Attack Ambulance in Mexico, 4 Killed.” VOA (Voice of America). 7 December 2011, https://www.voanews.com/a/gunmen-attack-ambulance-in-mexico-4-killed-135237153/164635.html; two paramedics were murdered in Zacatecas in 2021; “2 paramedics murdered in Mexico while transporting patient.” AP (Associated Press). 1 July 2021, https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-mexico-shootings-787e61165e943b62463a26aff2e8cbb9; and sicarios tried to storm a hospital in Culiacán in October 2024 killing four persons including a doctor; “Gunbattle at hospital in Mexico kills 4, including doctor caught in the crossfire: ‘Collateral damage.’” CBS News. 2 October 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gunbattle-hospital-kills-4-including-doctor-mexico/.

[9] The violence occurring in Mexico’s criminal violence is not currently recognized nor classified as meeting the threshold of a NIAC. Previously the “Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts online portal (RULAC) classified the armed violence opposing the Mexican armed forces to the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG, Jalisco Cartel New Generation) and to the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as the armed violence between these two gangs as non-international armed conflicts (NIACs).” See “Mexico: Declassification of the Three Armed Conflicts Involving Drug Cartels on RULAC.” Rule of Law in Armed Conflicts (RULAC). Geneva Academy, 12 December 2022, https://www.rulac.org/news/mexico-declassification-of-the-three-armed-conflicts-involving-drug-cartels.

[10] On Common Article 3 and Additional Protocol II, see “The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols.” International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 29 October 2010, https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions/overview-geneva-conventions.htm.

[11] A discussion on attacks on and misuse of ambulances in armed conflict as applied to the Gaza situation provides useful context on the scope of such prohibited attacks that might illuminate the challenges faced in protecting civilians and protected objects in conflict situations in general. See Luke Moffet, “Israel – Hamas 2023 Symposium – Attacks And Misuse of Ambulances During Armed Conflict.” Articles of War. 8 November 2023, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/attacks-misuse-ambulances-during-armed-conflict/.

[12] See John P. Sullivan, “Crime wars: Operational perspectives on criminal armed groups in Mexico and Brazil.” International Review of the Red Cross.” (IRRC No. 923). June 2023, https://international-review.icrc.org/articles/crime-wars-operational-perspectives-923.

[13] Cruz Roja Mexicana, Norwegian Red Cross, and International Committee of the Red Cross, Ambulance and Pre-Hospital Services in Risk Situations. Expert Workshop, Toluca, Mexico, 20–24 May 2013, https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-4173.pdf.

[14] See John P. Sullivan, “Humanitarian Diplomacy for Protecting Vulnerable Persons and Humanitarian Aid Workers in Civil Strife and Non-International Armed Conflict in Mexico and Central America’s Northern Triangle.” Vortex Working Paper 52. 12 April 2020, https://22a5e6c4-a7c7-491f-a839-e9e930beda54.filesusr.com/ugd/f53019_aa64d915d20e418cbfd9464d70edc2b0.pdf. 

Additional Reading

Cruz Roja Mexicana, Norwegian Red Cross, and International Committee of the Red Cross, Ambulance and Pre-Hospital Services in Risk Situations. Expert Workshop, Toluca, Mexico, 20–24 May 2013.

“Respecting and Protecting Health Care in Armed Conflicts and in Situations Not covered by International Humanitarian Law.” International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), April 2021.

John P. Sullivan, “Crime wars: Operational perspectives on criminal armed groups in Mexico and Brazil.” International Review of the Red Cross.” (IRRC No. 923), June 2023.

John P. Sullivan, “Humanitarian Diplomacy for Protecting Vulnerable Persons and Humanitarian Aid Workers in Civil Strife and Non-International Armed Conflict in Mexico and Central America’s Northern Triangle.” Vortex Working Paper 52. 12 April 2020.

Laura Vargas, et al, “The Permeating Effects of Violence on Health Services and Health in Mexico.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Vol. 37, no. 13–14, 2021.