El Kike Torres is heading for the United States

Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Riodoce article

Subject Matter: Ines Enrique Torres Acosta, "El Kike"
Recommendation: No prior subject matter knowledge required

Reporter:
After a hunt that lasted almost two years, the Mexican Government detained Ines Enrique Torres Acosta, El Kike, who allegedly was the right arm of Ismael Zambadas Sicario's, El Mayito Flaco, and boss of one of the principal cells of security that has access to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel.

According to information provided by the National Commission for Security (CNS), Torres Acosta had been located some months before by the Federal forces, and they had located the zone in which he moved, and after confirming the conditions were right to carry out his detention, they proceeded with the arrest.

We do not know the details of the operation, but given his level within the Sinaloa Cartel, Torres Acosta never moved anywhere without at least a 20 man personal bodyguard.



Being detained in a suburb of Durango, where the Sinaloa Cartel have people that constantly monitor places and routes, where capo's are to be found, its difficult to believe that the Government could make the detention without being detected by Halcones.

In a communication from the CNS, it has been seen that Torres Acosta is accused of coordinating the production, storage, transportation and sale of marijuana, crystal meth, cocaine and heroin into the United States.

"This subject was one of the 122 priority objectives established by the Government of the Republic, and he occupies #100 on the list", said Renato Sales coordinator of the CNS.

Antecedents in the USA

Everything indicates that the hunt started in the North. In the case CR-2128-DMS, ratified in the District Court of South California, they detail that since 2005, El Kike Torres was identified as a person very close to the Lieutenants of the Sinaloa Cartel, particularly the faction controlled by El Mayo Zambada, according to informants from the DEA.

Torres Acosta then was 20 years old, but being the son of Manuel Torres Felix, El Ondeado, and nephew of Javier Torres, El JT, had already been assigned large responsibilities, not only in the Los Llanos Zone, Cosala, where he originated, where at his level he was coordinating drug shipments, via land and air, to the United States.

Then, according to the record, the son of El Ondeado coordinated with Alfonso Limon Sanchez, El Poncho, extradited in 2015 to the United States, together with Jaqueline de la Vega, Ramon Franco Hernandez, in Mexico and Dustin Vaughn Loewn, in the San Diego area.

The last name was the person who bought the drugs in South California, to distribute it to other dealers, meanwhile he handled the money for the purchase of drugs in Mexico through de la Vega.

But at some point, between 2005 and 2014, El Kike Torres was taking power, and soon he was found to be sending drugs to the United States. It is unknown if he was doing this at the time of the death of his father, El Ondeado, in 2012, or started after.

"The activities of these people, including Torres Acosta, included not only the illegal transportation of illicit substances, but also the transfer or transport of great quantities of money leaving the United States for Mexico", that can be read in page 2 of the Record.

The accounts of Tio Sam

In the Record, that was classified until 2015, details that the persons involved with Torres Acosta, included the same people every time he visited the United States, their names known for illegal activities, as well as serving prison terms.

It would not be the first time that the Justice Department of the United States goes after a Mexican narco trafficker, though lately they have been confiscating properties of Osiel Cardenas Guillen and Benjamin Arellano Felix.

In the case of the Sinaloan Capo's, they don't know how much money has entered the United States, well the majority have made agreements with the Government to enter the witness protection program.

"In which ever case, the persons linked to the accusations, will have any and all assets seized that have obtained through illicit activity", concludes the Record, to which Riodoce had access.

Blood Ties

El Kike Torres is 31 years old, detained on Saturday the 7th of May, however, his fame preceded him: son of Manuel Torres Felix, El Ondeado, died during a confrontation with soldiers in 2012, nephew of Javier Torres Felix, detained in 2004, as well as cousin to Misael Torres Urrea, detained by Sedena and the Federal Police in October of 2014.

In his face book page, he has 100's of followers, and he likes to upload videos of beautiful Sinaloan women ( buchonas ), even though for his part he maintained a low profile, not posting photos or personal activities of his own.

His detention, is cloaked in mystery in all respects of how the operation was orchestrated, which makes one suppose that the Mexican Government could be operating in an enclosed form, suggested they were negating the PGR, who assure that " that would go against the law", according to a PGR spokesperson in Mexico.

After being detained, Torres Acosta was put at the disposition of agents of the Public Ministry of the Federation, and there is already an existing formal petition of extradition on the part of the United States Government.

The arrest was possible thanks to field work, tracking down the location and identity of Torres Acosta, and they obtained data that permitted the carrying out of a successful operation.

At the moment of his detention, Torres Acosta had an order against him to locate and the expedited presentation of him to SEIDO of the PGR.

According to the CNS, Torres Acosta,had assumed control of a criminal group, in the primary security circle of Ismael Zambada and his family, even though sources of Riodoce suggest he was the right arm of El Mayito Flaco, also bulletined by the DEA.

Original article in Spanish at Riodoce