The following is a brief history of another notorious U.S. born drug trafficker who rose to a leadership position in Mexico’s criminal underworld. Other histories will follow
Fred Gomez Carrasco "El Señor": Feb 10, 1940 - Aug 3, 1974
Born and raised in San Antonio Texas, Fred Gomez Carrasco was, in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the biggest and deadliest drug lord on the Texas-Mexico border, overseeing a cocaine and heroin empire that stretched from Guadalajara to San Diego, California, and Chicago, Illinois.
It was suspected by law enforcement personnel of the day that he personally committed at least 47 murders during his criminal career.
Gomez Carrasco’s organization was also responsible for the murders of dozens of other victims, mostly other gang members, in Laredo and San Antonio, Texas, and across other cities in Texas and the U.S.
Gomez Carrasco was based in Nuevo Laredo after taking the city in a brutal war that mirrored today’s drug gang violence and lawlessness. Around 100 victims of execution style murders including more than two dozen policemen were left in the wake of the struggle that ousted the equally ruthless Reyes-Pruneda clan from regional control of drug trafficking.
The violence was severe enough that in another precursor of today’s lawlessness the Mexican army was sent in to occupy the city.
He was arrested in Guadalajara, Mexico in September, 1972, with 213 pounds of heroin worth more than $100 million and a large arsenal of weapons.
In December of 1972, Gomez Carrasco bribed authorities and escaped a prison in Jalisco in a laundry truck.
After returning to the U.S. and vowing that he would never be taken alive by law enforcement, Gomez Carrasco was arrested in July 1973 in San Antonio, Texas after being shot four times by police and surviving.
After leading an unsuccessful escape attempt from the Texas state prison at Huntsville, Gomez Carrasco, and another convict committed suicide during a shootout with lawmen after an 11 day siege of the prison library where hostages were held. Two hostages were murdered in the escape attempt
Sources: Time Magazine, Texas Monthly, Dallas Morning Times, Hecho en Tejas: a literary review.
Thanks for this info...sometimes its very hard to find info on some of the previous criminals. Thanks for the History Lesson.
ReplyDeleteA Texas Ranger helped KING CORRASCO with his suicide at the walls unit,good riddence.
ReplyDeleteHOW ABOUT PABLO ACOSTA, HE WAS BORN IN US.
ReplyDeleteBe good if danny trejo could play pablo in a movie movie.
DeleteThey may be US citizens, but they're still Mexicans by blood and culture.
ReplyDeleteThat should have nothing to do with it. He only did it cause of the place he grew up. Read THE HEROIN MERCHANT:FRED CARASSCO it's a book about him
DeleteEl Peinado is an American citizen as well. He has just been better at evading capture. Soon they will all go down and there will be a new heirarchy to deal with! Neverending
ReplyDeleteEscaped from a Jalisco prison in a laundry truck? Just as did Chapo Guzmán and from the same state.
ReplyDeleteThe Carrasco siege in Huntsville is still the longest in the history of the US penal system.
ReplyDeleteAnonomous 1
ReplyDeleteYour post of August 31,2010 8:46 AM is absolutely correct.A Texas Ranger DID Help Fred Gomez Carasco with his suicide. I was Looking at it from the Hospital at the walls after 11 days of being locked-up during the "So Called
Seige" Stood over him in fact
Just found this blog. I was a guard at the walls when the siege began and when the shoot out occurred. The Texas ranger you saw was finishing off Rudy Domiguez not Carrasco. Carrasco had already been shot dead after shooting father Joesph Obrian who had earlier exchanged himself for one of the hostages. In the murder trial of the third convict, Cuevas, the video of the Ranger shooting Dominguez was played back for the jury. The ranger testified Dominguez, although already shot and wounded was pointing a gun. It was clear in the video if he had a gun in his hand
DeleteThanks so much for that. He was my great uncle and want to learn about him
DeleteMy father was one of the officers on scene of the famous " el tejas" shootout in 1973!
ReplyDeleteI was also there in the gunfight and then as we tried to push the make shift box over, first with a fire hose. I was standing over them as one inmate was kicked in the nuts as he played dead and the other would not drop his gun, the last shot was fired. There was a river of blood running down the ramp, toward to armored car, parked at the end.
Deleteheavies in the Carrasco organization were the
ReplyDeleteLeyva brothers of Mcdonna TX Rosa' brothers
im still alive!!!!
ReplyDeleteHe was in the Mexican Mafia and one of his Lieutenants name was Daniel Berlanga. I know this first hand. There is a book out there called Fred Carrasco:The Heroin Merchant that speaks about Carrasco and "the organization"
ReplyDeleteI AM MARRIED INTO THE CARRASCO FAMILY & NO MATTER WHAT HE DID HE IS STILL HUMAN!!!!
ReplyDeleteHe was a real man. People talk shit now that hes gone. It was the hand he was dealt. He was a business man that came from the streets is all. Problem to the government was he wasnt white. Cant be a latino can make millions right under their noses and get away with it. I think he deserves all the respect in the world. We are no one to judge. GOD forgives why cant we. Long live his family name! Mr.Carrasco and his family helped many people he just had a peculiar way of handling the ones who crossed him. My father was at the tejas motel during the shootout. Mr. Carrasco is a legend in his field and always will be!
ReplyDeleteI herd many stories of fred my aunt rosa told me he was a good man my tiyo tinto was a good man as well and always told me stuff that they use to do they use to stay in micdonna tx with my great grandma mary from what my aunt rosa told me he was a good loving man,,,,
DeleteI wish james olmos would make a movie about 11 days in hell. a lot of people would like to see the real truth.
ReplyDeleteMy mother and godmother are in the book but nobody seems to speak of it but im curious all books at public libraries are stolen and there very expensive to buy
ReplyDeleteMy great grandmother did not want release the rights .so we will never get to see a movie.
ReplyDeleteyes there will be a movie coming soon :) and the best part of all of this is that Rosa & a lot of his family members have turned their lives around and helping others do the same- The lie is Dead! We do recover~God is amazing! May Fred rest in peace as well as all the other unfortunate poor souls that got caught in the middle of his insanity.
DeleteI think his wife Rosa was pretty and would like to of seen pictures of the diamonds on her hands. A love story about their lives together would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have been collecting interviews for fours years and combing the archives across Texas. This is a complicated story and bigger than just Fred Gomez Carrasco. I am now in the final stages of production on a podcast with Sonoro - English and Spanish. Please contact me if you have direct connection to this important piece of US, Texas, and Mexican history.
ReplyDeleteinfo@thecarrascoproject.com
I am Daniel Berlanga's Daughter.
Delete