Guerreros Unidos Boss and CJNG Ally 'El Chato' Arrested With US Extradition Request

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat (formerly "MX")

Edgar Pineda Celis ("El Chato") at the moment of his arrest; eyes were blurred by Mexican authorities

Mexican authorities arrested Edgar Pineda Celis ("El Chato"), one of the suspected leaders of Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors), a criminal group based in Guerrero, Mexico. He is wanted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia for drug trafficking and organized crime involvement.

According to investigators, he was an active participant in the cartel's international narcotics trade and helped coordinate methamphetamine smuggling operations from Mexico to Altanta, Georgia. He worked closely with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

To operate under a low-profile, El Chato used the alias Régulo Castor Romero. He fled to Bacalar, Quintana Roo, in early 2020 to escape the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s trace. The DEA was looking for him since September 2016.

Federal agents arresting El Chato in the streets of Quintana Roo

El Chato was arrested in Bacalar by the Mexican Federal Police and with the support of Interpol agents. The arrest was conducted in response to a U.S. extradition request.

When authorities spotted him walking in the street, they asked him if he needed help. El Chato quickly became nervous and evasive. Police officers detained him and found he had cocaine in his possession. El Chato tried to bribe the officers by offering them a large (but undisclosed) amount of money.

El Chato was first sent to the offices of the Chetumal Municipal Police for his medical examination before he was placed under the jurisdiction of Mexico's Attorney General's Office (FGR). He is currently in Mexico City's Reclusorio Norte penitentiary waiting for his legal proceedings prior to his U.S. transfer.

Background

Guerreros Unidos is a criminal group based in the southern state of Guerrero. It is a splinter group of the Beltran Leyva Cartel. The group was originally composed of former Zetas and La Familia Michoacana members. They made their first public appearance in December 2011 when they publicly claimed responsibility for the murder of three individuals in Cuernavaca, Morelos.

They are mostly dedicated to extortion and kidnappings but large part of their revenue also comes from drug trafficking. Since international drug trafficking often requires sophisticated networks that smaller criminal groups may not have, they sometimes rely on the help of most-established groups like the CJNG to move narcotics into the U.S.

Known for their violent tactics, Guerreros Unidos has attracted the attention of security forces since its conception. In 2014, several of its members were involved in the kidnapping of 43 rural student-schoolteachers in Iguala, a case that shocked the world and prompted large crackdowns against Guerreros Unidos.