.jpg) Los Rojos (2021) | |
| Founded | 1990s byOsiel Cárdenas Guillén |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Reynosa,Tamaulipas,Mexico |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Territory | Tamaulipas,Morelos,Puebla,Guerrero |
| Ethnicity | Mexican |
| Leader | Zenen Nava Sánchez |
| Activities | Murder, kidnapping |
| Allies | Gulf Cartel Los Mexicles Sureños Mexican Mafia Sinaloa Cartel |
| Rivals | Los Metros Los Zetas MS-13 Los Negros[1] Jalisco New Generation Cartel Beltrán-Leyva Cartel Los Ardillos Guerreros Unidos[2] |
Los Rojos is a faction of a Mexican drug trafficking organization known as theGulf Cartel.[3] The group was formed in the late 1990s during the reign ofOsiel Cárdenas Guillén, the former leader of the cartel, to provide security to the organization's leaders as the cartel's armed wing.[3]
The current leader of Los Rojos isJuan Mejía González, aliasEl R1.[4][5] On 2 September 2011, Mejía González andRafael Cárdenas Vela, two leaders of the Rojos, ordered the assassination of the drug lordSamuel Flores Borrego, who commanded the Metros, another faction within the Gulf cartel.[6]
The death of Flores Borrego triggered aseries of confrontations between the Rojos and the Metros throughout the end of 2011.[7] Nonetheless, in early 2012, the Metros emerged victorious in the infighting and have relegated the Rojos to a less-powerful position in the cartel operatives.[1]
In the late 1990s,Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the former leader of the Gulf cartel, had other similar groups besidesLos Zetas established in several cities in Tamaulipas.[6] Each of these groups were identified by their radio codes: the Rojos were based inReynosa; the Metros were headquartered inMatamoros; and the Lobos were established inLaredo.[6] The infighting between the Metros and the Rojos of the Gulf cartel began in 2010, whenJuan Mejía González, nicknamedEl R-1, was overlooked as the candidate of the regional boss of Reynosa and was sent to the "Frontera Chica," an area that encompassesMiguel Alemán,Camargo andCiudad Mier – directly across the U.S.–Mexico border fromStarr County, Texas. The area that Mejía González wanted was given to Flores Borrego, suggesting that the Metros were above the Rojos.[6]
Unconfirmed information released byThe Monitor indicated that two leaders of the Rojos, Mejía González andRafael Cárdenas Vela, teamed up to kill Flores Borrego.[6] Cárdenas Vela had held a grudge on Flores Borrego and the Metros because he believed that they had led the Mexican military to track down and kill his uncleAntonio Cárdenas Guillén (Tony Tormenta) on 5 November 2010.[6] Other sources indicate that the infighting could have been caused by the suspicions that the Rojos were "too soft" on the Gulf cartel's bitter enemy,Los Zetas.[3] When the Gulf cartel and Los Zetas split in early 2010, some members of the Rojos stayed with the Gulf cartel, while others decided to leave and join the forces of Los Zetas.[8]
InSight Crime explains that the fundamental disagreement between the Rojos and the Metros was over leadership. Those who were more loyal to the Cárdenas family stayed with the Rojos, while those loyal toJorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, like Flores Borrego, defended the Metros.[3]
Originally, the Gulf cartel was running smoothly, but the infighting between the two factions in the Gulf cartel triggered when Flores Borrego was killed on 2 September 2011.[6] When the Rojos turned on the Metros, the largest faction in the Gulf cartel, firefights broke throughout Tamaulipas and drug loads were stolen among each other, but the Metros managed to retain control of the major cities that stretched fromMatamoros toMiguel Alemán, Tamaulipas.[9]
Santiago Mazari Hernández "El Carrete" was arrested inLeonardo Bravo, Guerrero on August 1,2019 after a ten-year search. Also arrested was "Marco N," his presumed principal operator. Mazari Hernández's sister, Gabriela Mazari Hernández "La Gorda", said to be responsible for logistics of the group, had been arrested last March. With these arrests, police believe the cartel has been virtually dismantled. Their primary rivals inMorelos andGuerrero wereJalisco New Generation Cartel, theBeltrán-Leyva Cartel, andGuerreros Unidos.[2]