Overview

• Mid-July pre-trial hearings in Ensenada publicly revealed for the first time court documents linking two defendants to the Sinaloa Cartel.
• An appeals court order has transferred Jesús Gerardo and Irineo Francisco from Ensenada prison to the El Hongo maximum-security facility based on identified cartel affiliations.
• All four accused—Gerardo, Francisco, Ángel Jesús and Ari Gisel—face a range of charges from aggravated homicide to forced disappearance.
• Lead prosecutor Miguel Ángel Gaxiola Rodríguez argues the killings stemmed from tyre theft but former officials say the crime’s brutality bears organised crime signatures.
• Families, experts and former law enforcement officials are calling for federal oversight ahead of a pre-trial hearing scheduled for July 25 as the case advances.