Historic Mexican capos imprisoned in the United States

In the coming hours, the fate of drug dealer Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera should be sealed. After three months of trial, only the verdict of the judges is missing to know if the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel will end up locked in the time that remains of his life.

Guzmán Loera, 64, was extradited to the United States in January 2017.

In addition to "El Chapo", there is a long list of Mexican drug traffickers who have been tried by federal courts in the United States.

Edgar Valdez Villareal, also called "The barbie", was arrested on August 30, 2010 for crimes related to organized crime, illegal deprivation of liberty, homicide and money laundering.

Valdez Villareal is badociated with drug traffickers Arturo Beltrán Leyva and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera to deliver cocaine from Mexico, Colombia and other countries of South America to the states. -United.

He was sentenced on Monday, June 11, 2018 by a US court. The sentence was 50 years in prison and $ 192 million fine. Account with the Mexican and American nationalities.

His uncle was one of the founders of the mighty Gulf CartelWhen the drug trade was a novelty in Mexico in the sixties. We also call it "The drug lord"

Juan García Abrego was born on September 13, 1944 at La Puerta Ranch in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Son of peasants, just finished high school and devoted himself to the field, then worked for his uncle Nepomuceno.

In 1965, he obtained American citizenship and thus succeeded in getting involved in the drug trade, as it facilitated the crossing of the border for his business.
But that also led to a expedited extradition to the United States upon his arrest in 1996.

Its success in the drug trade places it in the US's line of sight and in 1995 it is included among the 10 most wanted by the FBI. It was the first Mexican narco to enter this list.

On 14 January 1996, he was arrested at his ranch in Villa Juarez, Nuevo León, without the authorities having exploded a single shot. The next day, he was extradited to the United States, where more than 100 charges were laid. He did not want to collaborate with the US authorities as an informant and his sentence was 11 life sentences for crimes against health.

Benjamín Arellano Félix

The Arellano Felix cartel, of Tijuana, was one of the most powerful in Mexico in the 90s. It was the sharpest rivals of "El Chapo" Guzmán, but they also lost room when their leaders were arrested, killed or extradited to United States.
Alberto Benjamín Arellano Felix and his brothers controlled the flow of cocaine and marijuana entering the United States from the border areas of Tijuana and Mexicali.

Benjamin was considered the operational and financial brain of the organization. In March 2002 he was arrested and eight years later a court in the State of Mexico granted extradition. His sentence was 25 years in prison and $ 100 million for criminal conspiracy and money laundering.

"The mochomo", as it is also known, was the leader of Beltrán Leyva and one of the main enemies of Guzmán Loera.

He and his brothers were part of the alliance they had made with the Sinaloa cartel until 2008.

On 21 January 2008, he was captured by elements of the Attorney General's Office (PMP) and the Department of National Defense.

In 2014, he was extradited to the United States and on April 15. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal District Court of Columbia for drug crime crimes in the United States, which generated profits of about 529 million USD.

Federal Judge Richard J. Leon, in charge of the "El Mochomo" case, told the accused that "with all the charges against him by the US government, the sentence that" he had inflicted was the most appropriate to protect the security of the citizens of Mexico. and the United States.

Juan José Quintero Payán

"Don Juanjo"He was considered the second most important man in the Juarez cartel, after the death of Amado Carrillo Fuentes.

According to the Mexican authorities, Quintero Payán was in charge of an important corridor connecting the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico in the central part of the country. His job was to establish contacts and ensure cocaine shipments to the United States.

On October 29, 1999, he was captured and 11 years later he was extradited. He pleaded guilty in the Federal Court of San Antonio, Texas, and was sentenced a sentence of 18 years and six months in prison crimes against health and criminal conspiracy.

Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, leader of the Gulf cartel, was extradited to the United States on charges of money laundering, organized crime and crimes against health in January 2007.

He became the head of the organization after the capture of Juan García Abrego. He was one of the main narcos who had begun recruiting military bodyguards, who would later form the dreaded "Los Zetas" cartel.

In 1999, the Corporal threatened to kill a member of the United States Customs Service and shortly thereafter did the same with a DEA officer. Because of these threats, US agencies offered a $ 2 million reward to those who provided information about where they are.

He was captured on Mexican soil on March 14, 2003 by elements of the Mexican Army and the Attorney General's Office in Matamoros, Tamaulipas State. He was in the maximum security prison of La Palma (Altiplano), located in Almoloya, in the State of Mexico.

His extradition had been granted since 2005, but his surrender was not immediate.

He is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence and a $ 50 million fine.

Dámaso López "The Licensee"

His nickname is because he finished his law degreeand at 25, he occupies his first police station. He even started a fugitive detection program that led him into the penitentiary system.

Dámaso López became deputy director of the Puente Grande federal prison in Jalisco, under the orders of the director Leonardo Beltrán Santana. A young drug trafficker arrested in Guatemala in 1993 was jailed for the first time: Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

The journalist Anabel Hernández says that Dámaso López, then 33, arrived at the Subdivision of Puente Grande, friends of Chapo and accompanied by a group of collaborators that they named "Los Sinaloas" .

It is precisely here that "El Chapo" escaped on January 19, 2001. His escape sealed loyalty and friendship with "El Licenciado".

He later became his man of trust, his trader and drug trader, the leader of his army of badbadins and his compadre.

During 15 years of service at Chapo, ("The Licentiate") he built his criminal structurewhich included the purchase of authorities through bribes and an extensive network in Mexico, the United States, Central America and South America.

His arrest took place on May 2, 2017 in the Anzures district of Mexico City. I was alone, without an escort.

In the same year, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his participation in the transfer of cocaine to the United States.

He reportedly coordinated a meeting between "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera and state officials, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), to badyze the possibility of transporting cocaine in its containers, as was revealed during the trial against Guzmán Loera.

On March 19, 2009, he was arrested by the army He then moved to Mexico City to hold a DEA cooperation meeting at the Sheraton Hotel.

In 2010, he was extradited to the United States. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute drugs between 2005 and 2008. While incarcerated in the United States, he allegedly collaborated with the government by providing information on "El Chapo" and his cartel.