SUMMARY
La Linea was the armed wing of the Juarez Cartel, operating in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico.
The cartel came about in 2008 when Juarez Cartel hired active and retired police officers to form the violent faction which morphed into a full cartel. La Linea was involved in the territorial war over the control of key routes for trafficking of drugs and smuggling of people in the state of Chihuahua, along the border with the United States.
The initial objective of this armed wing was to fight the Sinaloa Cartel in Ciudad Juárez, as well as to defend the Juárez Cartel territory.
La Linea has been involved in criminal activities such as armed confrontations, robbery, settling of accounts, kidnappings, killings, torture and executions. They have killed dozens of politicians, mostly local officials, and conducted series of coordinated attacks on Juárez police.
Within the drug war, they conducted “narcomenudeo”, or street-level drug sales, in a fight for control of drug markets, including crystal methamphetamine sales, human trafficking and other lucrative criminal activities.
La Linea operated in Ciudad Juarez and other parts of Chihuahua State. They have also shown aspirations to extend their territory into the rural area of Juárez and the northwest region of Chihuahua State, however, Ciudad Juárez has been their center base of operations.
The leadership of the cartel has been disputed, and sources differ. According to some, the organized group operated with constantly moving cells. The cartel La Linea was founded by Juan Pablo Ledezma Rodríguez, "El JL”. His whereabouts have been unknown since 2009. The cartel functioned as a brigade, and has to some extent been financed by the one of the founders and leader of the Juárez Cartel, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, "El Viceroy."
One former leader of the group, Carlos Arturo Quintana Quintana, alias “El 80”, was included in the list of the most wanted of the FBI and maintained the leadership of the cartel until his arrest in May 2018.
Since then, La Linea has been led by Víctor Noé González Bournes “El 500”, and his brother Ever José González Bournes “El Águila.”. They have been said to be supported by the cell leader César Manjarrez Alonso, "El H2” in the mountainous areas of Chihuahua.
The Jalisco Cartel New Generation(CJNG) has been present in the state of Chihuahua, supporting La Linea. Allegedly, La Linea received money and weapons from the CJNG to eliminate both the Sinaloa Cartel as well as their Chihuahua-based armed wing Gente Nueva.
La Linea worked very closely with Los Aztecas, another ally of the Juarez Cartel. The groups have historically been allies, with the exception for in 2018. This year, Ciudad Juárez saw a turf war between Los Aztecas and La Linea, as a result of a temporary split between the groups.
The Mexicles cartel have historically been rivals of La Linea, as the Mexicles instead were allied with the Sinaloa cartel. However, they have occasionally formed temporary alliances in order to orchestrate and execute attacks against municipal police.
In addition, parts of the state forces have been accused of being in liaison with La Linea.
La Linea has been involved in the non-state category of organized violence.
