El Moreno and Cabo 20, the Two Most-Wanted Men in Baja California

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat

El Moreno (left); Cabo 20 (right)

State authorities in Baja California are investigating two criminals from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Tijuana Cartel (CAF). Their names are Danny Isaac Ortiz Covarrubias ("El Moreno") and David López Jiménez ("El Cabo 20" or "El Lobo"), respectively. They are the two most-wanted men in the state since February 2020.

According to intelligence reports, "El Moreno" and "Cabo 20" head homicide operations for their criminal groups, control retail drug sales, and supervise drug routes and warehouses. These drugs mostly come from Ensenada before they are smuggled into the United States from Mexicali, Tijuana, Tecate and Rosarito.

Labeled as the leading generators of violence in Baja California, security forces believe they are responsible for at least 762 violent homicides: 623 murders in Tijuana, 72 in Ensenada, 39 in Tecate and 28 in Rosarito. Baja California has an average of 6.7 homicides reported every day.

Profile: El Moreno

The criminal background "El Moreno" is quite extensive. In 2010, he was arrested for drunk driving. In 2014, he was arrested for drug possession. Three years later, he was arrested again, this time for being in possession of a stolen vehicle. None of these led to a conviction.

On 3 March 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for his capture. Authorities charged him with kidnapping and homicide. It seemed like this time things finally wouldn't go his way. However, the arrest warrant was cancelled, and "El Moreno" continued his criminal activities.

"El Moreno" started his criminal career under the CJNG by working with his brother José Giovanni Ortiz Covarrubias ("El Puma"). After CJNG member Javier López Ríos ("Tito Torbellino") was killed in November 2017, he was promoted by CJNG lieutenants. According to U.S. and Mexican officials, "El Moreno" plays a crucial role in the CJNG since November 2017. He is believed to be responsible for "managing the interests of the CJNG" in the municipality of Tecate.

Authorities attributed numerous high-profile killings to "El Moreno". In June 2018, police officer Cristian Arturo Hernández Gardea was killed. A few months later, on 5 August 2018, the wife, brother-in-law and 7 year-old son of Sinaloa Cartel operator Jorge Humberto Acosta Gallegos ("El Güero Leches") were murdered in Tecate. "El Moreno" was captured in Mexicali in February 2019 for illegal possession of firearms but was subsequently released. That same month, his brother "El Puma" was killed by gunmen working for Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant Luis Romero Fierro ("El Sombrero").

"El Moreno" reports to both Alfonso Trapero Ibarra and Israel Alejandro Vázquez Vázquez ("El 50"), who head the CJNG in Baja California. Trapero Ibarra heads three smuggling groups known as Los Enfermos, Los Hermanos Valdez and La Bondad.

If arrested, "El Moreno" will have to respond to a kidnapping case where another CJNG member was already found guilty of. In April 2019, prosecutors found his coworker Fernando Rada Paco ("El Fer") guilty of the kidnapping of Ernesto Zataraín Cisneros ("El Netillo") and sentenced him to 83 years. "El Moreno" is a prime suspect in this abduction case.

Profile: Cabo 20/El Lobo

According to security forces, "Cabo 20" was a member of the CJNG but left the group and joined the CAF in January 2019. His criminal background is also extensive.

In 2010, he was arrested for armed robbery conducted at a house. Four years later, he was arrested again for armed robbery against a driver. In 2016 and 2017, he was arrested for drug trafficking, and in 2019 he was detained for illegal possession of firearms. Authorities were unable to convict him, and "Cabo 20" was soon released.

On November 2, 2019 in Mexicali, gunmen tried to kill "El Chispis", a 16-year-old who sold drugs for "Cabo 20" but had decided to work for another criminal group. In the same attack they killed Jorge Jiménez, aged 14; as well as Alexis and Ángel, both 16 years-old. These murders were attributed to "Cabo 20".

"Cabo 20" reports to Roque García and Pablo Edwin Huerta Nuño ("El Flaquito"), the CAF leaders in Baja California. He was under high scrutiny after his boss "El Flaquito" ordered an attack against state policemen who were eating at a hot dog stance on 22 January 2020.

In the attack, civilian Jesús Héctor Cabrera Mendoza and officer Marco Antonio Reyes Nahon were killed. The CAF reportedly ordered the attack as retribution for the seizure of 360 kg (793 lbs) of crystal meth and large sums of currency from one of the houses owned by "Cabo 20" in Tijuana days prior.

"El Flaquito" tried to clean his name from the case, but authorities in Mexico City asked for an aggressive response against him and his faction. José Cristian Gómez Rosales ("El Pitey") and "Cabo 20" were soon implicated.

Source: Semanario Zeta