Beltrán-Leyva Cartel

Beltrán-Leyva
Founded 2008
Founded by Brothers: Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, Mario Alberto and Héctor Beltrán Leyva
Founding location Sinaloa, Mexico
Years active 2008–2014[1][2]
Territory Mexico:
North Sinaloa, Morelos, Guerrero, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Chiapas
United States:
California, Nevada, Texas, New Mexico
Criminal activities Drug trafficking, human trafficking, murder, arms trafficking, fencing, burglary[3]
Allies Los Mazatlecos (armed wing), Los Zetas, Juárez Cartel
Rivals Sinaloa Cartel

The Beltrán-Leyva Cartel (also known as the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO);[4] Spanish: Cártel de los Beltrán Leyva[5] (CBL))[6] was a Mexican drug cartel and organized crime syndicate, headed by the five Beltrán Leyva brothers: Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, Mario Alberto and Héctor.[7][8] Founded originally as a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel, the Beltrán Leyva cartel was responsible for transportation and wholesaling of cocaine, heroin and marijuana (and the production of the last two) . It controlled numerous drug trafficking corridors, and engaged in human smuggling, money laundering, extortion, kidnapping, murder and gun-running.[8][9]

The Sinaloa Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels, had effectively infiltrated the ranks of various Mexican government agencies and even Mexico's Interpol. Its last known leader, Héctor Beltrán Leyva, was arrested in October 2014, having had a multimillion-dollar bounty placed on him by the governments of both the United States and Mexico.[10][11][12] On August 11, 2011 the capture of one of the cartel's former top lieutenants,[13][13][14] called "the last Beltran-Leyva link of any importance",[13] prompted Mexican authorities to declare the cartel disbanded and extinct.[1][2]

History

Born in the Sinaloan countryside in the 1960s, the Beltrán Leyva brothers — Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo, Mario Alberto and Héctor — worked closely with Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, during decades of smuggling.[15] Sensing a void in the rival Gulf Cartel after Osiel Cárdenas' arrest on March 14, 2003, the Sinaloa Cartel began to move into Gulf Cartel territory. Both gangs fought each other in northern Mexican cities, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, including some civilians, police and journalists.[16]

In 2004 and 2005, Arturo Beltrán Leyva led powerful groups of assassins to fight for trade routes in northeastern Mexico for the Sinaloa Cartel. Through the use of corruption or intimidation, the Beltrán Leyva Cartel was able to infiltrate Mexico's political,[17] judicial[18] and police institutions to feed classified information about anti-drug operations,[19][20] and even infiltrated the Interpol office in Mexico.[21]

During 2010, former Beltran-Leyva cartel lieutenant Óscar Osvaldo García Montoya (a.k.a. El Compayito[22]) attempted to regroup some cartel remnants under a gang he called La Mano Con Ojos.[13] García Montoya was arrested on August 11, 2011;[13] the Attorney General of Mexico had placed a $5 million pesos ($400,000 USD) bounty for his capture.[14] Mexican authorities stated that García Montoya was "the last Beltrán-Leyva link of any importance",[13] and that the cartel has been disbanded.[1][2]

Allied forces of Los Zetas and Beltrán-Leyva remnants clashed on April 28, 2012 with gunmen of the Sinaloa Cartel in the Choix mountains. At least 32 armed men were confirmed dead. The renewed fighting in Sinaloa state between the BLO and Sinaloa Cartel is supposedly sparked by the incursion of the Sinaloa Cartel and its allies in Nuevo Laredo, traditionally the biggest Zeta stronghold.[23]

The last cartel leader, Héctor Beltrán Leyva, was captured on October 1, 2014 while eating at a popular restaurant in San Miguel de Allende. The U.S.A. was offering a reward of USD $5 million for information leading to his arrest.[10] while the Mexican government was offering a USD $2.1 million reward.[11][12]

Switch of alliances

The arrest of Beltrán Leyva Organization leader Alfredo Beltrán Leyva (a.k.a. El Mochomo) ("The Desert Ant") on January 20, 2008,[24][25] was a huge blow to the Sinaloa Cartel, as he allegedly oversaw large-scale drug-smuggling operations and was a key money launderer for the cartel. In apparent revenge for the arrest of his brother Alfredo, Arturo ordered the assassination of the commissioner of the Federal Police, Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez,[26] and other top federal officials in the Mexican capital.[27][28] One group of these hit men was captured in a Mexico City house with dozens of assault rifles, pistols, grenade launchers, 30 hand grenades, and bullet-proof jackets bearing the legend FEDA – the Spanish acronym for 'Special Forces of Arturo'.[26] Apparently, the Beltrán Leyva brothers blamed their boss Joaquin "Chapo" Guzmán for their brother's arrest,[29] and in retaliation ordered the assassination of Guzmán's son,[30] 22-year-old Édgar Guzmán López, which was carried out in a shopping center parking lot by at least 15 gunmen using assault rifles and grenade launchers.[8][31]

The residual impact of Alfredo’s arrest not only undermined long-term Sinaloa alliances, but resurrected animosities between rival cartel leaders Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán and Arturo’s new allies, the Juárez Cartel, and provided the catalyst behind the bloodshed in Mexico’s most-violent city: Ciudad Juárez.[32] The Beltrán Leyva brothers, and those loyalists who departed the Sinaloa Cartel with them, allied with Los Zetas, causing an escalation of conflict in strongholds shared uneasily by "old" Sinaloa leaders.

In February 2010, the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel and Los Zetas engaged in a violent turf war against the new alliance integrated by the Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Cartel in the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas,[33][34] rendering some border towns "ghost towns".[35]

Official reports from early 2010 revealed infighting for control of the cartel and its territory. One faction was led by lieutenants Édgar Valdez Villarreal and Gerardo Alvarez-Vazquez, while the other was led by Héctor Beltrán Leyva and his lieutenant Sergio Villarreal Barragán.[36][37] On April 2010 Héctor Beltrán Leyva created a short-lived cell or branch in Morelos state called South Pacific Cartel (Cártel del Pacífico Sur) best known for having employed a 12-year-old gunman and executioner.[38][39][40]

Assets

The cartel's assets included:[41]

Former suppliers

The Beltrán Leyva brothers’ Colombian cocaine supplier, Ever Villafane Martínez, was arrested in Morelos in August 2008. After that, the organization pursued a relationship with Víctor and Darío Espinoza Valencia of Colombia’s Norte del Valle cartel.[29]

Bounty

The United States offered a $5 million USD reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Héctor Beltrán Leyva.[42]

Captures

Alfredo Beltrán Leyva was captured on January 20, 2008,[25] and Arturo was killed by Mexican Marines in a shootout on December 16, 2009.[43] Two weeks following Arturo's death, on December 30, 2009, Carlos Beltrán Leyva was captured by the Mexican Federal Police in Culiacán, Sinaloa after showing authorities a fake driver's license of an alias he was living under.[8][44][45] Carlos was arrested on charges outstanding since 2008, including drug trafficking, criminal conspiracy, money laundering and illegal firearms.[8]

At the same time as federal police arrested Carlos, Beltrán Leyva associates who allegedly murdered four relatives - a mother, siblings and an aunt - of one of the marines involved in the shootout that killed Arturo, were also arrested by Mexican authorities, with a hitman allegedly confessing to the crimes.[8] The killings, allegedly in retaliation for Arturo's death, happened hours after the marine's funeral.[8] On April 22, 2010, cartel lieutenant Gerardo Alvarez-Vazquez was captured on the outskirts of Mexico City; the U.S. had been offering a $2 million U.S. bounty for his arrest.[46] Edgar Valdez Villarreal, the leader of Los Negros cartel enforcement, was arrested on August 30, 2010 outside Mexico City.[47] On January 18, 2011, José Jorge Balderas Garza, known as "JJ", the lieutenant and financial operator of the Valdez-Villarreal faction, was captured. On September 12, 2010, Sergio Villarreal Barragán was arrested in the city of Puebla, east of Mexico City.[48] Héctor Beltrán Leyva was captured by the Mexican Armed Forces on October 1, 2014.[49]

The August 11, 2011 arrest of Óscar Osvaldo García Montoya (a.k.a. El Compayito),[50] a cartel lieutenant, was called "the last Beltran-Leyva link of any importance".[13]

On 16 April 2014, the second-in-command, Arnoldo Villa Sánchez, was captured by Mexican authorities in the Condesa district in Mexico City.[51]

On October 1, 2014, Hector Beltran Leyva and business associate German Goyenechea, who had become the cartel's chief financier,[52] were both captured while eating at a popular restaurant in San Miguel de Allende.[53]

Split

Following the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva on December 16, 2009, and the arrest of Edgar Valdez Villarreal on August 30, 2010, the Beltran Leyva brothers lost much of their influence. The cartel then divided into separate independent groups:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Matan a jefe de plaza de los Beltran Leyva Diario de Morelos (December 23, 2011)
  2. 1 2 3 Cae “El Marranero”, jefe de los Beltrán Leyva en Guerrero Proceso (October 16, 2011)
  3. ↑ McCaul, Michael T. "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border" (PDF). House Committee on Homeland Security. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO)". Insight Crime. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  5. ↑ Old cartels with new names. Excelsior Author: Jorge Fernández Menéndez. (April 12, 2010)
  6. ↑ "A Touch of Luck and Awareness". US Embassy Diplomatic Cables from WikiLeaks. Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  7. ↑ U.S. Ambassador Antonio O. Garza (May 30, 2008). "President Bush Designates Beltran Leyva and his Organization Under Kingpin Act". Embassy of the U.S. in Mexico. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mexico Captures Drug Lord Carlos Beltran Leyva". Latin American Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
  9. ↑ "Profile: Mexico's Beltran Leyva drug-trafficking gang". BBC News. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
  10. 1 2 "Narcotics Rewards Program: Hector Beltran-Leyva". U.S. Department of State. 2009. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  11. 1 2 "Mexico’s 24 most wanted traffickers". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. March 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  12. 1 2 Alexandra Olson (March 24, 2009). "Mexico offers $2 million for top drug lords". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Velasco, Ángeles (August 12, 2011). "Cae el líder de "La Mano con Ojos"; lo vinculan con 600 homicidios". Excelsior (in Spanish). Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  14. 1 2 "La Mano con Ojos y su paso por Edomex". Vanguardia. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  15. ↑ Grillo, Ioan (April 7, 2009). "Meet the drug lords". Global Post. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  16. ↑ Miller Llana, Sara (August 16, 2009). "Briefing: How Mexico is waging war on drug cartels.". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  17. ↑ "Reporte Indigo". Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  18. ↑ Schiller, Dane (May 13, 2009). "DEA: Bribes taint late Mexican drug czar Story". The Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  19. ↑ Stevenson, Mark (January 25, 2009). "Mexican top cops linked to cartel". The Herald. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  20. ↑ "Politicians For Sale". StrategyWorld. July 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  21. ↑ Goddard, Jacqui (October 28, 2008). "Interpol agent passed information to Beltrán-Leyva cartel in Mexico". The Times (London). Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  22. ↑ Cae el líder de La Mano con Ojos; lo vinculan con 600 homicidios: La Policía del Estado de México detuvo en la delegación Tlalpan a Óscar Osvaldo García Montoya, El Compayito; el capo trabajó con los hermanos Beltrán Leyva. Ángeles Velasco. Excelsior. Mexico City, Mexico. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Update on the Choix, Sinaloa gunfights". April 30, 2012.
  24. ↑ Wilkinson, Tracy (27 May 2012). "Sinaloa cartel, Zetas push Mexico's drug violence to new depths". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  25. 1 2 "Major Mexican drug cartel suspects arrested, officials say". CNN. January 20, 2008. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  26. 1 2 McKinley, James (May 9, 2008). "Gunmen Kill Chief of Mexico’s Police". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  27. ↑ "Planearon los Beltrán Leyva homicidio de Edgar Millán: PFP". EL INFORMADOR. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  28. ↑ Mexico plagued by new wave of gangland murders
  29. 1 2 "Mexican Drug Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence". STRATFOR Global Intelligence. December 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  30. ↑ W Radio México (April 24, 2009). "Revela laptop operaciones de los Beltrán Leyva". W Radio México. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  31. ↑ La Jornada. "Sinaloa, en jaque por la violencia tras ser asesinado hijo del Chapo". Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  32. ↑ Special agent Joseph M. Arabit, ed. (March 24, 2009). "Violence Along the Southwest Border”" (PDF). Report by El Paso Division – U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  33. ↑ "Drug Wars in Tamaulipas: Cartels vs. Zetas vs. the Military". Center for Latin American and Border Studies (MexiData). March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
  34. ↑ Hernández, Jaime (March 4, 2010). "EU: alarma guerra "Zetas"-El Golfo" (in Spanish). El Universal. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
  35. ↑ Video: Narco deja pueblos fantasma en Tamaulipas (March 4, 2010).
  36. ↑ de la Luz Gonzalez, Maria (April 22, 2010). "‘El Indio’ peleaba cártel a Héctor Beltrán". El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-24.
  37. ↑ "Cae 'El Cantante', operador de 'El Indio'". El Universal (in Spanish). April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on April 29, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  38. ↑ Miranda, Justino (December 4, 2010). "Arresto de "El Ponchis" exhibe vacíos legales". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  39. ↑ "Child Assassin named "El Ponchis"Arrested By Mexican Army". Flex. December 4, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  40. ↑ "Alleged U.S teen cartel assassin arrested". Ninja Cops. December 3, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  41. ↑ W. Grayson, George (March 1, 2010). "The Death of a Mexican Drug Lord: What might it mean?". MexiData. Archived from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
  42. ↑ "Narcotics Rewards Program: Hector Beltran-Leyva". U.S. Department of State. 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
  43. ↑ "Mexico: Top drug cartel leader killed". CNN. December 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  44. ↑ "La PF detiene en Culiacán a hermano del "Jefe de Jefes"". El Universal (in Spanish). January 3, 2010. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  45. ↑ "Mexico nabs 3rd brother in reputed drug family". Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  46. ↑ Alleged top drug dealer caught near Mexico City (April 22, 2010)
  47. ↑ "Police: Accused drug lord moved tons of cocaine to U.S.". CNN News. August 31, 2010. Archived from the original on September 2, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  48. ↑ "Mexico arrests suspected drug kingpin". BBC News. September 12, 2010. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  49. ↑ "Beltran Leyvas Down but Not Out" International Relations and Security Network.
  50. ↑ "Mexico Arrests Trafficker Accused Of 600 Killings". NPR. The Associated Press. August 12, 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
  51. ↑ Valadez, Blanca (16 April 2014). "Cae el número 2 del cártel de los Beltrán Leyva". Milenio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  52. ↑ Mark Stevenson and E. Eduardo Castillo, The Associated Press (October 3, 2014). "The leader of 'the most bloody thirsty drug cartel in Mexico' is captured in a town favoured by Canadian expats". National Post. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  53. ↑ ABC News. "International News - World News - ABC News". ABC News. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
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